Posts Tagged ‘Families & Loved Ones’
Children of Addicted Parents: Hope for Healing Families
Addiction affects families deeply—especially children. Healing is possible through awareness, faith, and supportive community.
Read MoreWhat to Grab in an Emergency
When life throws an emergency our way, we all have instincts about what to grab first: our phone, our wallet, maybe our medications. But for one of our recovery group members, “Mark”, that list included something unexpected—his copy of The Dunamis Effect. Mark is in his 40s and has been facing multiple health challenges, including…
Read MorePost-Traumatic Growth: Finding Your Tribe in Recovery
If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit in at church—or even that you’re not really wanted there—you’re not alone. In my work in addiction, I hear this all the time. People tell me they grew up with some kind of religion, but when life got messy, they felt like the church didn’t want them…
Read MoreI’m Sober — Why Don’t People Trust Me? Rebuilding Trust After Addiction
Why Doesn’t Sobriety Automatically Restore Trust? You’ve stopped using. You’re going to meetings. You’re trying to rebuild your life. Maybe for the first time in years, you feel clear-headed and hopeful. So when the people closest to you still seem guarded, skeptical, or even cold, it stings. You want to say, “Can’t you see I’m…
Read MoreThe Promises of a New Life in Sobriety
In many meetings of AA, there is a scheduled reading (frequently toward the beginning of the meeting) of what are known as “The Promises.” To be more accurate, they are the 9th Step Promises, and many long-time attendees can recite them by heart. In short, they are a brief list of the many things a…
Read MoreRecovering Thanksgiving
An article I read the other day lamented that the holiday of Thanksgiving has become just another secular excuse to miss work, overeat, and drink beer while binge-watching football. For most in the United States, the days of dedicating time to recounting one’s blessings and expressing gratitude to God for the abundance many of us…
Read MoreWhy Does Someone Use In The First Place?
In a recent conversation with a friend, he posed a fundamental question in the realm of addiction medicine. Hailing from a religious tradition that staunchly prohibits alcohol, recreational substances, and gambling, he inquired, “Why do people try alcohol and drugs in the first place?” While the answers are undoubtedly multifaceted, they can be distilled into…
Read MoreHeal the Family…Heal the Person
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1 in 10 young adults has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, and 1 in 7 is addicted to alcohol or some other drug. In a recent Kaiser Foundation survey, two-thirds of American young people said they had someone in their family who suffered from addiction. These numbers…
Read MoreThe Serenity Prayer Isn’t About Coping — It’s About Power: The Christian Meaning of the Serenity Prayer
Discover the Christian meaning behind the Serenity Prayer and its power in recovery.
Read More‘Tis the Season…Sobriety and The Holidays
The holiday season, often stretching from Halloween to New Year’s Eve, poses a significant challenge to those newly embracing sobriety. This period, which may also encompass events like the Super Bowl and St. Patrick’s Day, is rife with parties where alcohol is prevalent if not the focal point. Coupled with the stress of family gatherings,…
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