Tag: living sober
12-step fellowships advise addicts to seek out similarities in others’ stories. In this guest article, award-winning memoirist Michele Kirsch shares how seeing her benzo addiction as different kept her in denial; and how identifying and connecting with other addicts helped her recover. My Anxiety Medication Led…
Quitting drinking has a multitude of benefits, whether you’ve merely misused the booze or you’re a full-blown alcoholic. But putting down the bottle rarely pays off immediately. You’ll know this if you’ve ever had a hangover. However, in the longer-term, quitting alcohol may well be…
Cross-addiction is common in recovery. It’s very frustrating to have quit a substance or behaviour you were hopelessly addicted to, only to find another addiction takes its place. Understanding the role of dopamine in addiction, and learning to balance it, can help you stop cross-addiction…
After celebrating 32 years of 12-step abstinence-based recovery, Marilyn Davis, Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist and author, shares 32 lessons that helped her heal, change, and grow. Finding Recovery After Treatment When I got out of treatment on November 8, 1988, I wondered if I could…
Recovering addicts can never take sobriety for granted. Staying clean and sober can require work, especially during challenging times. But what if, in the midst of difficulties, you don’t have access to your recovery tools? Lockdown and isolation can be especially painful if you don’t…
Recovering from addiction is a tough, but rewarding, road. Unfortunately, addiction is complex and many people trying to recover and rebuild their lives make some fatal mistakes. Here are five common mistakes that recovering addicts make, and how to avoid them. 1. Trying to control…
Whether you’re an alcoholic, a drug addict, a binge eater, or a compulsive porn viewer, you may have found yourself trying to use willpower to control your habit. You may have found that your self-control lasted for a small amount of time, only to weaken…
I am both honoured and intrigued to interview Paul Garrigan, a man who beat his alcoholism after two decades of entrenched drinking. He went on to become a mindfulness teacher, nurse, writer, and inspiration. After deteriorating through alcohol, it seemed like there was absolutely no…
Just like the song by the late, great Amy Winehouse, when I was told to go to rehab, I also said “No, no, no.” In fact, I used much stronger terms than that. Something more along the lines of “Not on your effin’ life!” I…
