I could be saying how well I was doing, while the psychic megaphone over my head screamed, “Can’t you see how lonely I am?” Not surprisingly, I wasn’t drawing healthy people into my world. When the words “feelings aren’t facts” first pierced my brain, I was hooked. My baseline was misery, so it was a… Continue reading Recovery Myths That Can Hurt You
Tag: Features
How to Stay Sober at Burning Man and Have the Best Burn of Your Life
I mean, really, you’re never going to be at a meeting in the “default world” sitting between a rainbow unicorn and a naked old guy. Have you ever been to Burning Man, that strange, magical world where anything is possible? Where strangers become friends in under an hour? Where food, water, gifts, and substances are… Continue reading How to Stay Sober at Burning Man and Have the Best Burn of Your Life
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
No Vacation from Recovery: A Packing List
Recovery cannot be left to chance but requires planning, even—and maybe especially—on vacation with its temptations: tropical drinks, laissez-faire schedule, swim-up bars, and late nights. For a long time, when my bipolar disorder, alcoholism, and eating disorder were out of control, I believed that the geographic cure, specifically travel, was the antidote to all my… Continue reading No Vacation from Recovery: A Packing List
Academics and Alcoholism
Academics too often share a simultaneous denial and pride in their alcoholism, and the profession does little to dissuade such a sentiment, even with all the attendant problems it brings, preferring to interpret self-medication as mere collegiality. I’ve heard it repeated as a recovery truism that nobody is too dumb to stop drinking, but plenty… Continue reading Academics and Alcoholism
Alcohol, Drugs, and Rape
“We all know right from wrong. Yeah, maybe alcohol inhibits a person. But at the end of the evening, the little monster of shame, regret, or guilt is gonna be in your head saying ‘You really messed up, that was wrong.’” Alcohol and drugs are inextricably linked to a large part of rape culture. And… Continue reading Alcohol, Drugs, and Rape
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
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
5 Ways Sobriety Changes Over Time
I want to be able to use my story to let people know that getting and staying sober at a young age is possible and even enjoyable. When I first got sober a little over five years ago, I couldn’t imagine a time when sobriety wouldn’t be front and center in my life. The beginning… Continue reading 5 Ways Sobriety Changes Over Time
Sex, Money, and Power in Recovery
What are the things you can’t live without in a relationship? Those are your needs. And what are the things you’d like but could live without? Those are wants. Romance and Finance. Two of the toughest things to manage in recovery—and the most likely to lead to a relapse. While someone with addiction can stay… Continue reading Sex, Money, and Power in Recovery