Many years ago, I came upon a very interesting book. The book was entitled When Society Becomes an Addict (Harper Collins Publishers: New York, New York, 1987). The author was Ann Wilson Schaef, who was a clinical psychologist and died in 2020. I began thinking about this book a number of months ago and finally …
Recently, I finished writing a book on the 12 Steps: Affirm & Nurture: A New Look at 12 Steps (Minneapolis, MN: Gasscann Publishers, 2024). In the book, I give a more positive tone to some of the Steps. As I have reflected upon the Steps, what has come up is that the Steps can provide a …
As we move more deeply into December and prepare for the coming holidays — a delight for some, misery for others — we look ahead to a new year about to begin. This means that ’24 is rapidly coming to a conclusion. We are in a kind of in-between time, and this transition time means …
Over the thirty or so years that I have been in recovery, I have learned many valuable lessons, for which I am grateful. Some of these are: isolation and disconnections fuel addictive thinking and behaving, while communities where we belong support recovery; triggers to act out – no matter how long we have been sober – …
For some time, I have been thinking about perfectionism – my own as well as the people I have met in almost thirty years of recovery. The image that comes to me about perfectionism led to the title of this article. Perfectionism can often be a curse! I see the drive to be perfect as …
I have been in recovery for almost thirty years and have been part of a 12 Step group for the same amount of time. In this article, I would like to share some struggles I have had with the idea of Higher Power – an important concept in recovery through the lenses of the 12 …
An on-going issue for all of us who are aware of our addictions is simply how to continue to live in recovery. This really is a life-long challenge, isn’t it? It is for me, as addictive triggers can burst upon my life at any moment. In this article, I am sharing the importance of expressing …
As I prepared to write this article, I was seeking to find a word that speaks about how I see the impact that stress has upon us and our recovery. The word that came to me was “tricky.” There can be too much stress in our lives that can lead to distress, and there can …
There are many different ways to look at what helps us choose a way of recovery as well as maintaining sobriety — whatever be our addiction. As I continue to reflect upon what I have learned in my journey to recovery, it is the importance of others with whom I have been blessed to journey. …
I chose the image of a key as a way to describe accountability, which I see to be an important aspect of recovery — whichever addiction we are dealing with. As we begin this reflection, I would invite you to think about how important keys are in our lives. Keys help us to get around …
