Author: Mark T. Scannell

Addicted Societies and Recovery

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 …

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A New Year Coming – Resolutions?

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 …

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At the Heart of Recovery: Changing Habits

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 – …

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The Curse of Perfectionism

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 …

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Higher Power, Higher Powers and the 12 Steps

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 …

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Creativity: One Response to Addiction and Recovery

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 …

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