The prospect of dating as a recovering addict is daunting. In the past you relied on drugs or alcohol so much that meeting and getting to know someone while sober must feel like a foreign experience. You might lack confidence when you’re sober or worry that no one will want to get to know you […]
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When you’re in a relationship with an active addict, you live in a world filled with unpredictability, hurt, fear and sadness. At times it may seem like the addict is ruining your life, yet you can’t seem to leave or to stop hoping things will get better. You may believe with all your heart that
Beginning a Journey of Recovery From Codependency Read More »
When you love an addict or alcoholic, you have probably watched him or her deteriorate in front of your eyes into a shell of a person. He went downhill, slowly at first, and then more rapidly until he gradually became a shadow of his former self. As you witnessed what drugs or alcohol did to
Stay Out of Your Loved One’s Recovery Read More »
Parents have a powerful influence on their children’s choices, setting the tone for values and behavior. How can a concerned parent help prevent substance abuse and/or help kids in addiction recovery? The National Institutes of Health offers suggestions including early awareness and intervention, family bonding, and supervision of children’s activities.
How Parent Involvement Helps Kids in Addiction Recovery Read More »
After spending months or years revolving your life around drinking and drugging, spending time in a rehabilitation facility has helped you get a fresh start. You are probably beginning to understand the nature of alcoholism and addiction. Treatment has separated you from your drug of choice and allowed you to start to get used to
The Dangers of Going Home After Rehab Read More »
In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, it states that alcoholism is a disease of self-centeredness. This can also be said of addiction to any substance or any unhealthy behavior, such as gambling or sex addiction. While you were actively addicted, your need to drink or drug trumped any other need or it definitely came
Self-Centeredness vs. Self-Care in Addiction Recovery Read More »
For a recovering alcoholic or addict, learning to find balance can be particularly challenging. Leading a balanced life means avoiding extreme highs or lows. It also means paying attention to tendencies that many addicts have to focus or obsess too much on one activity, such as exercise or work. When the scales are tipped too
A Recovering Addict’s Guide to Finding Balance Read More »
Do you feel like you don’t fit in when you go to meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous? Many people who are newly sober feel uncomfortable at first and resist the idea of going to AA or NA meetings. They may express reasons why they feel they don’t belong and are quick to insist
Fitting In At AA or NA Meetings Read More »
Getting sober can be a scary experience. In order to live a life that doesn’t include drugs or alcohol, you have to give up the substances that have been giving you at least some degree of relief from the uncomfortable feelings that often happen in life. You may also have to give up habits, such
Facing Fears in Addiction Recovery Read More »
As an alcoholic or addict, you probably know that your own choices and thinking got you in a lot of trouble and, eventually, to the halls of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Recovering from active addiction requires changing the unhealthy thoughts that led you to drink, drug and make other bad choices. It requires that
Letting Go of Old Ideas in Addiction Recovery Read More »