“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?
Tag: Features
So You Want to Move to a New City in Recovery? First Ask Yourself These Five Questions
Moving might be the right choice, but examine your motives. When we were drinking and using, we were irrational, impulsive, and at the whim of our heartbreakingly horrible decisions. We get into recovery to be more than that. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu Wherever you go,… Continue reading So You Want to Move to a New City in Recovery? First Ask Yourself These Five Questions
Is AA Too Religious for Generation Z?
“What I try to teach is: if you don’t buy into any kind of a supernatural higher power, navigate the 12-step world, filtering the god-stuff out, working the program in your own way; there is lots that really works.” Are today’s mutual-aid recovery groups ready to satisfy Generation-next? “More than any other generation before them,… Continue reading Is AA Too Religious for Generation Z?
Addiction or Mental Illness: Which Should You Treat First?
Substance use can alter behaviors, moods, and personalities so severely for people with addiction that without specialized knowledge and experience, it’s difficult to determine underlying causes such as mental illness or trauma. I credit psychological intervention for pushing me into recovery from alcoholism. Addiction is a mental illness, but is it one that needs to… Continue reading Addiction or Mental Illness: Which Should You Treat First?
Their First Day of School Was My Last Day of Drinking
That day was the last time I bought into the lies that one drink will somehow not send me on that downward spiral to insanity and destruction of everything I love and care about. The kids were still sleeping when I woke up early just to start drinking. The wine was hidden in its usual… Continue reading Their First Day of School Was My Last Day of Drinking
Alcoholics Anonymous: A Different Perspective
Rather than seeking knowledge through scientific methodology to gather more and more evidence regarding the factual attributes of successful recovery, AA emphasizes scripture, tradition, and the word of authority figures. I recently read an essay on another recovery-oriented site, a site whose focus is on people in 12-step recovery yet who are disinclined to religion.… Continue reading Alcoholics Anonymous: A Different Perspective
Artists in Recovery Find Their Fix in "The Creative High"
Creativity — making art — is another way to find that aliveness and spiritual connection often sought through drugs and alcohol. The creative process can be transformative for people with addiction. Recovery that consists of meetings, step work, and an unfulfilling job makes for a very black-and-white life — at least for me it did.… Continue reading Artists in Recovery Find Their Fix in "The Creative High"
Death by Fentanyl: Should the Powerful Opioid Be Used in Lethal Injections?
When it comes to executing people by lethal injection, “Fentanyl is just an obvious choice. You have unfortunately an inexhaustible supply of this drug in state custody – why can’t it be used?” As the end drew near, Carey Dean Moore’s face turned red, and then purple. He breathed heavily, according to the witnesses who… Continue reading Death by Fentanyl: Should the Powerful Opioid Be Used in Lethal Injections?
11 Ways to Heal a Broken Heart in Recovery
When your broken heart goes into cardiac arrest and your old “coping mechanisms” are more likely to lead you to flatline than recovery, try these 11 resuscitative tips and heal yourself. Heartbreak. At 14 or 54, we’ve all been there, but today we push through the pain, one-day-at-a-time, cold brew sober. And here’s what’s helping… Continue reading 11 Ways to Heal a Broken Heart in Recovery
How I Supported My Heroin Addiction by Selling Meat
After I pushed in the plunger, all the anguish, self-hatred and regret faded into blackness. Heroin was an anti-depressant and the only thing I found to ease the constant sadness that clutched my throat. It was the blistering hot summer of ‘75 in Los Angeles. I was over-dressed as I headed to the supermarket in… Continue reading How I Supported My Heroin Addiction by Selling Meat