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Early Recovery Demands

There are a few “suggestions” for people in early recovery. I say suggestions in the same way that it’s a suggestion to pull the cord on a parachute when you jump out of a plane. The first thing to realise is that recovery has to […]

Surviving the Silly Season

As we fast approach the holiday season and Christmas time, many people in recovery start to feel the anxiety. They have a lot of spare time, they have to attend family reunions where alcohol is usually involved, and financial pressure rears its head. These are […]

Recovery isn’t just about stopping the using

Many people come into treatment  and think this is recovery, if I could just stop using/drinking/acting out my life would be fine, it would go back to “normal”. Here’s the thing, what’s normal? Is normal that life you had before you started using/drinking? Is normal […]

Outgrowing Early Recovery

 I’m taken back into those first few months of early recovery, some fond memories, some hard battles. Some lost and some won, one thing was certain from the start, recovery needed to be more than just not using. I wanted a new life, I’ve so […]

Do and Dont’s for Early Recovery

In Early Recovery this is probably the single most important piece of advice for someone who continues to struggle with drug or alcohol addiction. The reason such a person is struggling is because they are dealing with a problem all by themselves, and they are […]

Relapse and what to look out for

Relapse is more than just using alcohol or drugs.  It is the progressive process of becoming so dysfunctional in recovery that self-medication with alcohol or drugs seems like a reasonable choice. The relapse process is a lot like knocking over a line of dominoes. The […]

Maintaining Recovery in early recovery

If you want to maintain recovery and keep running strong, you need to take the same approach a mechanic would take when tuning up a car. But what should you do in order to maintain your recovery successfully? How can you react to the little […]

Enabling

Am I part of the problem? How to stop enabling addiction Part of the problem with enabling is that the behaviors feel so much like help. Learn to identify three (3) enabling behaviors here. Then, we invite your questions or messages about how to quit […]

Forgiveness-Letting go of grudges and bitterness

When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge — or embrace forgiveness and move forward. By Mayo Clinic staff Nearly everyone has been hurt by the actions or words of another. Perhaps your mother criticized […]

Conflict Management in Early Recovery

It appears to be internationally accepted advice for addicts fresh into recovery not to get involved in emotional and romantic relationships for a period of up to two years. The reasoning behind this suggested discipline lies in the hope that as you come into recovery […]