The 12-step model is effective but not universally applicable in recovery. Many individuals successfully navigate recovery without attending meetings. Emphasizing personal growth and spiritual foundations, recovery should not be strictly defined by 12-step participation. Support should focus on unconditional love rather than conformity, enabling diverse paths to personal evolution and self-love in the journey of recovery.
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Addiction
I am still trying to explain the awesomeness of recovery to those new in recovery. It’s a challenging topic to describe because there is no logical point of reference for something you’ve never experienced. What I try my best to convey: If you can just dig in for …
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Anything is possible with an unaltered mind. If I hadn’t lived it, I would be hard pressed to believe it. I don’t consider myself one of those people who gains from another’s experience. I was the kid (adult too) who wanted to: 1) know what everything felt like—first …
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Before recovery: In early recovery: Now: Enter: Holistic Health and Wellness Coach, Kathy Catlin. I love this gal. She’s inspiring. I’ve been reading her newsletter, trying her recipes, and gently hanging on her coattails. Yesterday I got this gem (PDF) in my inbox:
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Being an addict can feel, initially, like obligatory reflection. Reflection—one of the things that drives us to drink in the first place. We aren’t good feelers. As I look back on my early recovery I can see that everything was exacerbated. Good feelings were REALLY good and bad …
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Ever wonder why you don’t understand sober people? Today’s post is a mini-lesson in making sense of applying another’s advice, suggestion, or philosophy to your recovery. What they say: What is means: …
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As a coach by occupation and a spiritual seeker by nature I find my world is riddled with more questions than answers. Even when I find an answer it begets more questions. I am learning to acquiesce to this apparently never ending cycle of learning. But I’m not …
Read more →Where’s mine? This was the basic theme of my life. My whole life. Especially through early sobriety. If I was going to have to give up alcohol and suffer the horrors of an alcohol-free life I was deserved of some type of compensation. After all, it wasn’t fair …
Read more →I tentatively side-stroke toward the Paradisus pool bar in Cancun. It’s packed with spring-breakers eager for their cocktails. It’s all inclusive. Translation: It’s already paid for. I can drink for free. I can do this. I will get my diet soda and glide away. Easy breezy. There—six inches …
Read more →Where are those magic words? Those words that let the reader know I understand. I understand where you are, but if you can just trust there is another way, I promise there is. Active alcoholism, especially when in it, is the worst kind of torture. Non-addicts have no …
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