Addiction Recovery: Get Back To Basics
From time to time you may find that for one reason or another, you have lost focus on keeping your recovery your number one priority. It happens.
Once you realize that you have lost focus of your recovery the best thing you can do for yourself is to get back on track as quickly as possible. The quicker you do something about it, the easier it will be. But what do you do? Where do you start? The answer: Get back the basics.
Facing Problems Head On In Recovery
The post I recently did about learning to accept the things I cannot change got me thinking about a negative behavior that I was riddled with in active addiction...not facing problems head on.
The behavior of avoiding problematic situations is something that is very common with addicts. See, the key to successfully living in denial about all of your problems is to numb yourself into oblivion until you don't think about them anymore. Simple right?
So what happens when you are no longer numbing away your problems with drugs or alcohol? Well, unless you want to continue living a miserable life that is completely based on denial and a disconnection from your soul you need to master the art of facing problems head on in recovery.
Amy Winehouse At The Grammys
Amy Winehouse performed at the Grammys via satellite from London last night in her first televised performance since entering into rehab last month.
"Yes I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know". I guess those Amy Winehouse lyrics from her song Rehab still ring true...even if she did end up saying yes to rehab.
How Do You Make Yourself Feel Better
Since we are trying to avoid the use of mood altering substances as our first defense against negative feelings, it leaves us with the question "How do you make yourself feel better?".
You know what I mean right? Those times in life when you feel lost, vulnerable, worthless, sad, hopeless...and all those other crappy feelings that I left out. How do you turn your feelings around and make yourself feel better without reaching for that instant fix?
The truth is there are a lot of ways to make yourself feel better without resorting to using drugs but the thing that we need to accept is that when feelings are concerned...there is no such thing as instant gratification.
The Importance of Support in Addiction Recovery
For anyone who has entered into addiction recovery, one thing becomes clear...support is needed in order for you to be successful in your addiction recovery.
"You alone can do it, but you cannot do it alone" - O. Hobart Mowrer
But what makes support such an important component to a successful recovery? And what is the meaning of support when it's pertaining to addiction recovery?
Merry Christmas
Just like most of us, my actively addicted self does not share much in common with my living clean self. It usually takes special occasions like the nearly here Christmas for me to realize just how much of a positive change there has been in myself.
My "birthday" or "anniversary" whichever you would like to call it is at the end of January. This means that last Christmas was one of the most dire times in my life. I still had not hit my bottom around Christmas time last year but let me tell you, I was hovering just above it.
I guess that it why this Holiday season has been so special for me. Long gone are the days when any sort of responsibility was too much for me to handle. Long gone are the days when making a plan and sticking to it was out of the question. Long gone are the days of wasting my money on drugs leaving me scrambling at the last minute for funds to be able to buy people's Christmas gifts...not to mention how hard it was to actually give my money to a cashier knowing I could be using the money to get high.
Addiction Recovery: Accept The Things I Cannot Change
There are certain things in life that we cannot change, no matter how badly it is we want to be able to. Just like the Serenity Prayer states, we hope for the serenity to accept the things we can not change.
I usually look at addiction from an addicts point of view, what with being a recovering addict and all. But it seems that I need to change up my role here for a little bit. I have a sibling that is an active addict still in the denial phase. I'm sitting helplessly watching an active addict and sometimes wishing that I could do more.
What Winners Do Is Proud To Introduce The Suboxone Help Spot
It is with great pleasure that I announce the creation of The Suboxone Help Spot. This Suboxone support forum was created with the intention of providing a place for anyone associated with Suboxone to find the information and the support that they need.
So who is "anyone associated with Suboxone"? This would include active addicts who are contemplating beginning Suboxone treatment, those recovering addicts who are currently in Suboxone treatment, Methadone patients who are trying to make the switch over to Suboxone treatment, and also those who have loved ones that are on a Suboxone treatment program.
So, why would someone who did not utilize Suboxone in their own recovery from opioid addiction choose to create a Suboxone support forum for others? Hmmm.
How Is Addiction Recovery Like Baseball?
When you think of addiction recovery you usually don't associate this with baseball BUT after reading the following quote I think you will agree that in our addiction recovery and in our spiritual lives we should be striving to be more like the game of baseball.
"Baseball teaches us, or has taught most of us, how to deal with failure. We learn at a very young age that failure is the norm in baseball and, precisely because we have failed, we hold in high regard those who fail less often - those who hit safely in one out of three chances and become star players. I also find it fascinating that baseball, alone in sport, considers errors to be part of the game, part of it's rigorous truth."
-Francis T. Vincent, Jr., Commissioner of Baseball
It is very easy in life to lose perspective and think that you should somehow strive for perfection. This can do a real number on your self-esteem which can leave you with internal pain and...looking for a way to numb that pain.
Lifestyle Changes In Addiction Recovery: How I Went From Queen of The Jams To Suzie Homemaker
It seems that I have turned into Suzie Homemaker in the little over a year period of my addiction recovery.
This change did not come without huge resistance on my part. Going from Queen of the Jams (a jam = an oxycontin pill) to Suzie Homemaker was not a smooth transformation. Obviously there were lifestyle changes that needed to be made once I entered into addiction recovery but I never pictured this.
Recent Posts
- Mother’s Day
- Maybe I’m Not Really an Addict
- Change Is Inevitable
- Are You Still Keeping Secrets In Your Recovery?
- One of THOSE Days…Getting Through Tough Days In Recovery
- Diabetes And Addiction Are A Lot Alike
- Breathing A Sigh of Relief
- Putting It All Out There
- Hey Look at My Narcotics Anonymous Key Tag, I’m a Drug Addict
- Accept The Things I Cannot Change
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