Staying home, whether self-imposed or by government ordered, offers us the opportunity to invest in family relations and enjoy more “quality time.” Even in the healthiest of families, cabin fever eventually sets in. For those of us in families that are struggling, quarantine may feel especially hard.
Tag Archives: addiction recovery
Covid-19 and recovery options
In the midst of this crisis, folks are losing access to countless services. For people like me, the absence of in person addiction services and 12 step meetings puts us at heightened levels of risk and anxiety.
Why your brain is 100mph and what to do about it
All of us whose brains go 100mph engage in addictive thinking – the black and white, all or nothing, now or never mindset. Our minds get hijacked by urges, cravings and shiny distractions that distance us from ourselves. We strive to attain – whether it’s for the next fix, the next conquest, or even in achieving our recovery goals, our approach is largely the same:
How do I let my walls down?
Nearly everyone I’ve ever served as a therapist or as a coach has said to me, “You’ll have to be patient. I have trust issues.” My response to that statement depends on how good I think their sense of humor is. What I’m most likely to say is, “Relax. We all do.”
Am I too much?
Our fears are often irrational, but given our experience, it makes sense that we fear becoming something we are not. Thus, we who were raised to believe that we weren’t good enough, now come to fear that we’re “too much.”
Getting “better” is scary! (The fears nobody talks about)
It’s ok to be scared of change and transition. I urge my clients to be patient, especially because we tend to associate change and transition with loss.
5 ways to stop hating the holidays
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and winter. This is the time of year we feel obligated to be around people we don’t like, have an adversarial relationship with the environment, spend too much time on the couch, experience copious amounts of stress and put ourselves in financial straits. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Overcoming self-centeredness in recovery
There’s a form of self-centeredness that isn’t intentionally selfish at all. The adage that applies is, “I’m not much, but I’m all I can think about.”
Taking compliments & why it matters
We are people who desperately want praise, recognition, affirmation and validation. Sadly, we are also uncomfortable receiving them and so we often reject (minimize, water down) kind words.
Adulting in Recovery
The hardest part of “adulting” is balance. We tend to approach our lives categorically: work, home, family, friends, our recovery, and other ongoing undertakings/investments. Very often we find that parts of our lives have fallen out of sync.