This Too Shall Pass
Sobriety is a wonderful experience, but it doesn’t stop life. Life can be hard. Recovery allows us to work on the coping skills needed to face difficult experiences with strength. The phrase “this too shall pass” reminds us that suffering isn’t permanent. It’s a common phrase—but it’s used particularly often in the recovery world, and […]
Coping With Avoidant Tendencies in Recovery
People in active addiction often get used to avoidance. The drugs or alcohol are a means of escaping difficult feelings. Many of us in recovery spent a long time being unable to face our addictions. Avoidance in Sobriety Getting sober alone doesn’t mean you now know how to face reality in a healthy way. Taking […]
Fear of Missing Out in Recovery
FOMO (fear of missing out) is kind of a jokey term, but the feelings behind it are human and valid. People want to feel like they belong. Connection is important, and it’s helpful for those of us in recovery to prioritize relationships and bonding. This is why support systems are so important. Getting Sober and […]
Finding Purpose in Recovery
Recovery is an incredible gift, because it allows you to heal, find what makes you happy, figure out who you are, grow, and so much more. I and some sober people I know have had regrets about time we “wasted” in active addiction. This is particularly common in the first year or two of recovery, […]
Coping With Guilt in Recovery
Many of us in recovery have guilt about things we said or did (or didn’t say or do) during active addiction. We are not always in full control of our actions when we are drinking or using, so we often act in ways that don’t align with our values. Addiction can also lead to secrecy, […]
Sober Role Models
There are a lot of stigmas about addiction that keep people from seeking help. If you don’t know (or think you don’t know) any sober people, those stigmas have room to grow. When you speak to a person in recovery, it challenges preconceived ideas about what addiction or sobriety looks like. Sponsors In 12-step fellowships, […]
Connecting to Childhood in Recovery
In addiction recovery and therapy, we often work through childhood issues. We may find that we’re still carrying confusion, fear, shame, grief, or the effects of trauma. Even people who had relatively happy childhoods may need to work through issues from their upbringing. When there’s significant trauma, that work can be even more painful, but […]
Change in Recovery
Change and uncertainty are big parts of life. Recovery can also bring these two parts of life into sharp focus. Getting sober is a huge change that sets you on a path toward a lot of other changes—though you don’t always know what they will be or how life will look. According to the Stages […]
Figuring Out Your Values in Recovery
During active addiction, It’s often hard to stick to your values. Things like intimacy, honesty, relationships, supporting others, being creative, and finding meaning often get tossed aside when drugs or alcohol are most important. Sometimes we spend so much time using or recovering from substances that even figuring out what our values are gets sidetracked. […]
Healing From Unhealthy Family Dynamics During Recovery
Getting some sober time brings clarity. This may make it more obvious that the family dynamics you grew up with were unhealthy or destructive. You might realize you picked up patterns of relating that don’t serve you in recovery. Changing Instinctual Ways of Relating It can take time to recognize these patterns. Often they are […]