I Don't Belong Here Frequently when I get a new client that I hear a variation of “I’m not like that.” I treat a lot of high functioning persons who have substance use disorders, high functioning persons who misuse, overuse, abuse or are addicted to substances. Rarely do they identify as “addicts” or “alcoholics.” ** If they have been in...[ read more ]
Why You Can’t Think Your Way Into Not Drinking I’ve observed a tendency in my clients that they believe because they have achieved so much, they "should" be able to address their substance use disorder themselves. My clients are mostly high functioning persons with an alcohol use disorder** or substance use disorder**, people who are over-using alcohol, drinking too much,...[ read more ]
Grief I forgot an assignment last month. Now, that might not seem like a big deal, but I am in in a Doctorate program; I have participated in a LOT of academics. I have 3 degrees and several certifications; I have done an s-ton of assignments, and never forgotten one until last month. Why? Grief. Did you know forgetfulness is...[ read more ]
Your Definitive Guide To a Happy Sober Holiday Season - Tools And Tips Welcome to the Tools and Techniques Entry. So far, you’ve reviewed your current status of recovery in general, and you’ve assessed your upcoming holiday specifically. Today we’ll build a list of tools and techniques that can help you curate a holiday season that you enjoy free of...[ read more ]
Your Definitive Guide to a Happy, Sober Holiday Season - People, Places, and Traditions “The Holidays” Those 2 words create feelings, emotions, and begin a series of automatic responses in people. For some, “the Holidays” creates feelings of fun, festive, family celebration. They remember and anticipate laughter, Aunt Jen’s sugar cookies, Dad’s turkey, and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade...[ read more ]
Your Definitive Guide to a Happy and Sober Holiday Season - Accurate Status Assessment It’s common for newly sober persons to be concerned about “The Holidays.” Totally understandable. The holidays bring together many of the elements known to challenge sobriety or a recovery program: family, celebrations, cultural expectation of partying with alcohol, time demands, official and unofficial parties, money and...[ read more ]
7 Reasons You Should Start a Gratitude Practice Today November is known in the Recovery Community as “Gratitude Month.” Go to a 12-Step Meeting in the month of November, and the selected topic is even more likely to be “gratitude.” (In case you are not aware, gratitude is a common meeting topic the other 11 months, too.) Meeting attendees are...[ read more ]
The Science of Woo: Contemplative Movement This is the next in my series “The Science of Woo: How the practices of spiritual disciplines, positive psychology, and other “out there” ideas are backed by science.” You can read earlier posts in the series below: I covered forgiveness. Here you can read about the science of gratitude. And you can LMAO yourself...[ read more ]
The Science of Woo: Service and Volunteerism The Greek philosopher Aristotle summarized that the essence of life is “To serve others and do good.” It’s Memorial Day in the United States, and I thought that would be a good day to publish the next in my series “The Science of Woo: Service and Volunteerism. You can find the beginning of...[ read more ]
The Science of Woo: Laughter Before I went to sleep last night, I laughed so hard tears were rolling down my cheeks. When I woke up this morning, my sides hurt. The same thing happened yesterday. This is a special and delightful weekend for the Recovery Therapist. My daughter graduated from college yesterday. That is, of course, one of my...[ read more ]
