sober
12 Step Program

What is a Justified Resentment?

The idea of a justified resentment can seem to be very comforting and yet be quite damaging at the same time, often leading to a somewhat distorted emotional response to an event or a situation. […]

sober
12 Step Program

How Important is It ?

How important is it ? Slogan in Recovery This is a  slogan used in many 12 step fellowships , as well as the broader self help and mental health recovery worlds. Its main benefit is […]

sober
AA

Take what you like and leave the rest ….

‘Take what you liked and leave the rest’  – Al-Anon Closing Statement  The above statement is read at Al-Anon meetings as part of the ‘Suggested Al-Anon Closing’. It gives people the freedom  to decide for […]

prayer
AA

Our unity in God …….

” The truth is that our unity in God is not something we have to create, but something we have to discover’ God of Surprises, Gerry Hughes Step 2 describes being restored to sanity. For […]

sober
12 Step Program

Hurt People Hurt People ……..

Emotional pain is just as real as physical pain but is often much harder to see in oneself and other people, and often much more difficult to be really sympathetic to. The nature of emotional […]

sober
12 Step Program

Progress not Perfection ………..

To put it in context, the phrase ‘progress not perfection’ is taken from the book Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 5 entitled ‘How it Works’. The actual phrase is ‘ We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual […]

sober
12 Step Program

Doing Esteemable Things ………..

Doing esteemable things is a piece of advice often given to people in recovery who struggle with the own self-image or self-esteem. Whilst it may seem practical to make yourself feel better by doing good […]

sober
12 Step Program

Let it begin with me ….

Let it begin with me is perhaps one of the less well-known slogans in recovery, perhaps more commonly associated with Al-Anon or Coda, but it is definitely one of the more effective sayings in helping […]

sober
12 Step Program

What Do Character Defects Really Mean?

What Are Character Defects? The phrase ‘character defects’ is often used in 12 Step Recovery, unfortunately not in the context that it was originally intended. This often leads to a more judgmental approach by people […]

sober
12 Step Program

The Sobriety Handbook

Available Here -The Sobriety Handbook What is Sobriety – What does it mean? What seems like a really simple question takes on a very different meaning for someone who has struggled with a serious drink […]

sober
12 Step Program

How Gentle is a 12 Step Program?

Being gentle and being kind, especially to oneself, are in many ways at the heart of recovery from alcoholism but often get overlooked by a more macho do-or-die culture. Early Recovery It is probably fair […]

sober
12 Step Program

Why High Class Problems Matter

There is a tendency nowadays by some people to avoid using the word problem and to use the word challenge instead. This has been a trend for a number of years, and has a very […]

sober
12 Step Program

What is a Dry Drunk?

The term dry drunk is used a lot in AA and in recovery generally. Some people find it helpful, other people find it a bit judgmental. Whatever it may mean to people, its real value […]

sober
12 Step Program

Gods Will or My Will?

Many people in recovery struggle with the idea of God at all, and find it even more difficult to approach or deal with the issue of what is God’s will for them as a person. […]

sober
12 Step Program

What is an Adult Child and Why it Matters

The term adult child refers to an adult of any age who grew up in a home where alcoholism had been present, meaning that the child would have been seriously affected in several different ways.

sober
12 Step Program

When Alcohol Stops Working ………..

One of the main benefits of going to meetings in early sobriety is that people hear other peoples stories. Often they will hear things that help them make sense of their own drinking, even if […]

sober
12 Step Program

Spirituality and Religion in Recovery

There is much talk in Alcoholics Anonymous about spirituality and religion, and the mix between the two. There is a fairly simple reason for this. Many people who look to get sober have had bad […]

sober
12 Step Program

What is Emotional Sobriety?

Emotional sobriety is a phrase that was used by Bill Wilson in a Grapevine article, entitled The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety, published in 1958, some 20-plus years after he got sober. Originally a letter to […]

sober
12 Step Program

Adult Children of Alcoholics

Adult Children of Alcoholics, often referred to as ACA or ACOA, is another 12 step fellowship that has a close association with Alcoholics Anonymous. It is aimed at adults who grew up in a home […]