It took me 10 hours of phone calls, 20 voicemails, 3 chewed fingernails, and many packs of cigarettes before I found a Suboxone provider in my new town. This is the list I wish I had then. When I pulled a “geographic” a few years ago, leaving Portland for my home state of North Dakota,… Continue reading A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Finding a Suboxone Clinic
Tag: how to
Let’s Get Real: How To Handle the Tough Stuff in Recovery Without Using
Of course, people had good reason to think that I couldn’t handle upsetting news. Every time a hardship, breakup, or something unsettling happened, I wound up in the psych ward, detox, ER, or a bloody, tear-filled mess. When I was drinking, I was the girl who took pulls of rail vodka right from the bottle.… Continue reading Let’s Get Real: How To Handle the Tough Stuff in Recovery Without Using
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
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
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
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
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
6 Tools That Empowered Me to Quit My Lifelong Eating Disorder
There are no simple answers or all-encompassing solutions for the complex state of being that is abstinence from compulsive overeating. I wouldn’t wish an eating disorder on anyone else, not even on those who bullied me about my weight as a child and adult. Growing up both depriving myself of food regularly and being fat… Continue reading 6 Tools That Empowered Me to Quit My Lifelong Eating Disorder
So You Want to Write About Addicts
At its best, addict lit satiates our quintessential human yearning for stories that may lead to salvation. We want warm fuzzies. We want sweet, sweet, redemption. We started each morning of residential treatment with burned muffins, a house meeting, and introductions. “My name is Tom and I’m a junkie here on vacation. My goal today… Continue reading So You Want to Write About Addicts