If it sometimes seems like you can’t escape the memories of your addictive past, there is a solution: The only way to get past the past involves forgiving yourself for whatever you have done and then to get busy living life in the present, making new memories. This holiday season, while others you know and …
Give Thanks for Sobriety, Make New Memories in Recovery Read More »
One of the worst feelings of your life is waking up after drinking or drugging for a week straight and realizing that your hard-won sobriety has veered into the ditch. Not only do you hate yourself for relapsing, you know you’ve let your loved ones down as well. Swallowing the bitter taste of relapse – …
Whether we’re talking about a new medication or a different psychotherapy technique, at some point you’ll hear the phrase “studies show” that it works. Or you may have read that “research indicates” that a particular intervention (for example, practicing yoga to help improve mood) is effective. Perhaps you’ve wondered about this: what kind of studies? …
Decoding Research Claims: How Do We Know What Works? Read More »
Most people enter an addiction treatment program for one reason and one reason only. They have suffered painful consequences related to their addiction and they want the agony to stop. Oftentimes they don’t even have a desire to be clean and sober; what they really want is to learn how to “drink like a gentleman,” …
For those struggling with weight loss or addiction, a pill that could cure drug dependency overnight or magically melt 100 pounds away seems like the goal: an impossible, yet endlessly desirable gift. Our bodies, however, have the right idea. Going through the difficult and taxing work of detox and then the long, grueling journey of …
Feeling shame about past alcoholism may increase the likelihood of relapse, according to a new study in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Assn. for Psychological Science. Conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia, the study finds that behavioral displays of shame strongly predicted whether recovering alcoholics would relapse.
Everyone wants to have a quick and simple remedy for how to “make it” in recovery. Who wouldn’t desire an easy, painless solution to how to overcome the anxieties and doubts, the fears and guilt and shame that often trail along even after completion of a drug and/or alcohol treatment program? Sorry to disappoint anyone …
The following story comes directly from a person in recovery and a Promises P.A.T.H alumna. For her privacy, we have removed all references to her name. However, we hope that this story will inspire others who are addicted and their loved ones to seek out recovery programs like Promises P.A.T.H to learn how to live …
Fourth in a Series: Forgiveness We often focus on the problem of addiction more than the results of a successful recovery. True sobriety is a wonderful transformation that showcases the beauty of humanity. However, the challenge of achieving long-term sobriety can seem unattainable to those who suffer from addiction. Addiction is a masterful enemy; one …
Important Characteristics of Sobriety: Forgiveness Read More »
The final step in the twelve step program states, “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” Whether you are recovering from an addiction to alcohol, narcotics, overeating, or anything else, if you have made …