We have a responsibility to do whatever we can — even if that means pointing someone to an alternative (non-12-step) pathway of recovery. I’ve lost count of the number of conversations I’ve had with people who are frightened to leave 12-step fellowships. They contact me because they heard that I left Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics… Continue reading 5 Myths About Leaving 12-Step Fellowships
Tag: 12 step alternatives
Microaggressions: How Subconscious Biases Affect Recovery
An example of a microaggression in the recovery universe: someone from NA asks someone who’s considering Suboxone: “Are you in denial? A drug is a drug is a drug.” No malicious intent is involved, but the fellow member is left feeling disparaged. Politics and Religion: we’re encouraged to avoid these conversations, socially. Conviction can escalate… Continue reading Microaggressions: How Subconscious Biases Affect Recovery
SAMHSA Voice Awards Honor Walter Ginter’s MARS™ Project
Many people on MAT feel unwelcome at meetings, and this sense of alienation and rejection often leads to relapse. That’s where MARS™ comes in. We want people on MAT to be embraced and accepted in recovery. Held at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in Westwood, the 13th annual SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health… Continue reading SAMHSA Voice Awards Honor Walter Ginter’s MARS™ Project
Is There Life After AA?
I was fed up with the fear-based conditioning of being told that if I left, I wouldn’t stay sober, and I was tired of the constant message that my future was up to some mystic higher power. When I walked into my first AA meeting, I felt like I was broken into a million pieces.… Continue reading Is There Life After AA?
5 Tips For Staying Sober In College
At the end of the day, the college experience is about so much more than just alcohol. For most people, college is not associated with sobriety. Such was the case for me during the first two years I spent away from home. I drank often and partied hard, convincing myself that it was normal. I… Continue reading 5 Tips For Staying Sober In College
Using Marijuana to Treat Opioid Addiction
When I’m on marijuana, the thought of injecting toxic drugs into my body seems totally unhealthy and unappealing. If you believe that medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) is wrong because it’s “just substituting one drug for another,” then you’re really not going to like this article. It’s not about one of the… Continue reading Using Marijuana to Treat Opioid Addiction
More Than One Way to Recover: A Guide of Pathways
Regardless of how we achieved recovery, it is our responsibility as members of the recovery community to better inform ourselves (and others) of the other options out there rather than suggesting that our way is the only way. We live in a country where 45 million American families are affected by addiction. The statistics are… Continue reading More Than One Way to Recover: A Guide of Pathways