My depression didn’t entirely cause my alcoholism, but it certainly played a key role.
Tag: Christopher Dale
Prevent Opioid Overdose Deaths: A Call for Specific Prescribing Laws and Physician Oversight
Make doctors precisely explain why they are prescribing opioids and why they decided on the pill count and refill allowance for each patient.
Warning: Detoxing in Jail May Lead to Severe Injury or Death
Given the undeniable and inextricable link between jails and dangerous withdrawal from drugs and alcohol, isn’t it time that more jails had adequate detox infrastructure and medical personnel?
Scared Straight: How My Fear in Early Sobriety Evolved Into Lifesaving Discipline
I was free from myself. And this freedom was a direct result of being completely mortified at having put myself in such a precarious, powerless position. It was the most honest fear I’d ever felt – and the healthiest.
Why You Should Embrace AA Groupthink and Shed Your Terminal Uniqueness
AA encouraged me, a sauced snowflake loaded on liquor and individualistic narcissism, to put aside enough of myself to embrace two traits required to curb my alcoholism: discipline and structure.
Does Everything Actually Happen for a Reason?
“Everything happens for a reason” conflicts with AA principles: it misleads recovering alcoholics into thinking they are special—that they are somehow more worthy of salvation than the addict or alcoholic who perished. “Because genocide.” That was me, in my typically understated fashion, explaining to a newly recovering alcoholic why he shouldn’t heed the single silliest… Continue reading Does Everything Actually Happen for a Reason?
Death Threat: The Unique Dangers of Grieving in Recovery
Though I’ve developed tools for dealing with heartache and anguish in sobriety, this level of grief is a sadness on steroids against which I feel futile and frightened. My father’s older brother, Stephen Dale, died at age 69 in mid-August. He was more than the family’s patriarch; he was its ballast, its mooring. The home… Continue reading Death Threat: The Unique Dangers of Grieving in Recovery
Re-Balancing Act: How to Restore Marital Equilibrium in Recovery
Was I really at an AA meeting as I claimed, or was this the night that I—and all hope for our marriage—would vanish anew? For my wife Patricia and me, it’s been a long road to even. Ish. My wife said “I do” in April 2007 to a man who, despite depression and anxiety issues,… Continue reading Re-Balancing Act: How to Restore Marital Equilibrium in Recovery
How Sponsoring Fellow Alcoholics Is Teaching Me How To Parent My Son
How do I, an alcoholic with a dysfunctional childhood who didn’t even begin maturing until his early 30s, go about the daunting duty of raising a son to manhood? Recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous has helped me build an incredible life. A restored marriage, a promising career, and a comfortable suburban home highlight the tangibles; the… Continue reading How Sponsoring Fellow Alcoholics Is Teaching Me How To Parent My Son