By Dominica Applegateand Erica Lee and Kelly McClanahanJan 21, 2021 If you’ve ever struggled with intense negative emotions, you probably value emotional stability. Not being able to manage your emotions can really put a damper on life and For those who are recovering from an addiction, whether it be alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, or what…
Did you know that addiction is classified in the DSM-5? It’s a mental illness that lives in the brain stem: the same brain stem that serves a critical role in regulating certain involuntary actions of the body, including heartbeat and breathing. Addicts feel that they need their drug of choice (DOC) the same way they…
The Casual Relapse AA meetings provide relapse-prone members with a mnemonic device to give the memory of the venom in one sip sufficient force. AA helps to prevent what the authors of the “Big Book,†or Alcoholics Anonymous (Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 2001), refer to as a “casual†relapse. This relapse is distinguished by such thoughts as…
Indigenous ways of life promote interconnectedness to all things on earth and beyond, recognizing that we are inherently connected to everything and everyone at once. In the Native way, change is seen within the context of a circle. The circle implies connection to Creator first and foremost, and only from this sacred place can we…
As we travel through life, many of us navigate a series of shifts concerning our beliefs in a higher power (or lack thereof), together with our sense of alignment with that power. I suspect this is particularly true for those of us who align ourselves with a Twelve Step orientation to recovery. I particularly like…
Our History of Addiction By Carl Erik Fisher Our culture, ever on the lookout for easy, unambiguous answers to the predicament of being flawed and often unhappy humans, is a sucker for all-encompassing, reductive paradigms like “addiction” and, more recently, “trauma.” What these tropes share is a medley of explanations, depending on whom you listen…
By Carl Erik Fisher The Washington Post January 29, 2022 Hundreds of elegant passengers poured off the Queen Mary, the enormous luxury liner, and down to the docks of 1935 New York City. Among the jostling crowds, Marty Mann’s mother and sister craned their necks, eager to catch a glimpse of Marty. They wondered: How…
Spirituality and AddictionFreedom to Choose Life and Love (Blog) Wednesday, November 17, 2021 Fr. Richard Rohr, OFMAuthor and psychotherapist Gerald May (1940–2005) was a friend and early mentor of Father Richard. In this passage, May explores how addiction keeps us from living with the full love and freedom for which we were created: It seems…
Allen BergerCounselor Magazine, Weekly Digest, August 19, 2020 Recovery counseling is based on a new paradigm for alcohol and drug counseling. Before I explain this new concept, let’ s discuss the model that has dominated the field for over eighty years. The paradigm that has dominated the field views people suffering from alcoholism and other…
Allen Berger Counselor Magazine, Weekly Digest, August 19, 2020 October 22, 2015Recovery counseling is based on a new paradigm for alcohol and drug counseling. Before I explain this new concept, let’s discuss the model that has dominated the field for over eighty years. The paradigm that has dominated the field views people suffering from alcoholism…