Addiction/Recovery

5 Tips for Working Your Recovery During the Holidays

‘I dread the holiday time of year‘ is a statement shared by many with sadness, yet complete honesty. Even though most people long for the warm feelings evoked by images on Christmas greeting cards of ‘roasted chestnuts and open fires‘ shared with loved ones, many find this happy and loving picture far from their reality. They feel overwhelmed by the prospect of obligatory gift buying, feigned merriment at parties they’d rather not be at, frantic eating, and nostalgia from memories of times past with people who, for various reasons, are no longer part of their holidays. And sadly, many in recovery experience a destructive relapse.

Here are 5 tips for working your recovery during the holidays: [Read more…]

Heads Up for the Holidays!

Many of you may be striving for freedom from depression, anxiety or addictive behaviors this holiday season. The “most wonderful time of year” can be one of the lowest times of the year if you’re already struggling and susceptible to the usual holiday triggers. You can be impacted in ways you don’t even realize.

Here’s a few suggestions to help you recognize those holiday triggers, avoid relapsing in your recovery, and in the midst of the sorrow and sadness that may fill your heart, [Read more…]

Are You in the Right Group?

You probably have a friend or family member who struggled with addiction and went to a support group. Going to a group helped them overcome their addiction and change their entire life. So, you decided to go to a support group yourself.

Although you found a group and went to it for several weeks, you never built any real relationships with anyone in the group. You felt the leader wasn’t accepting of you, and the only thing anyone seemed to do in your group was complain.

Sound familiar? A support group should be a safe place—a place where you will connect and learn from others. However, not every group will be a good fit for you. Here are some signs you’re in the right group.

7 Signs Your Group is a Good Fit [Read more…]

5 Reasons Why Recovery is Selfish

“If we try to fix the world before fixing ourselves, we’ll do both badly.”—Steve Arterburn

When you were in the throes of addiction, was getting your next quick-fix more important than anything else—family, career, and even God? After all, your addiction came first no matter how much pain it caused you and your loved ones.

Now that you realize the damage your addiction has caused, you may think it’s your job to fix everyone and everything. But you can’t; you can only fix yourself. Therefore, your main goal is to get healthy and stay sober. In other words, to recover successfully, you must be selfish.

Here are five reasons that explain why recovery is selfish: [Read more…]

The Vicious Cycle of Addiction

An addiction is a lot like being on a merry-go-round, but with the exception that it’s not fun.

You turn to food, gambling, shopping, one-night stands, codependency, hoarding, or something else. The more you turn to your addiction, the more shame you feel and want to numb that feeling. So you go back to the very thing you don’t want to do. Now you’re stuck in the vicious cycle of addiction. And it’s going so fast that you don’t know how to stop.

The apostle Paul put it this way “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t” (Romans 7:18). To interrupt this cycle of addiction, you must break free from pain, acting out, shame, and relapse that keeps you in bondage.

Here is a more in-depth look at each phase.

Pain — Before you even realize you are dealing with an addiction, you’re in pain. You feel emotional, physical, spiritual, and relational pain. These painful feelings create a longing for you to get rid of the pain. Pain and addiction go hand in hand—they feed off of each other. As your pain increases, your desire for relief increases. Recognizing you are in pain and in need of help can be the first step in recovery. [Read more…]

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