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 […]
alcoholic
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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
Thought for the day
Pray as you can, not as you can’t
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 […]
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 […]
Adult Children Alcoholics
What is Inner Child Work?
Inner Child Work The nature of inner child work will vary widely between different people and can start in early sobriety or in later recovery. People’s discovery of their inner world, and what it means […]
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.
12 Step Program
12 Step Program
12 Step Programs
12 step programs can be a slightly confusing term for some people. It originates from the organisation Alcoholics Anonymous, which developed a recovery program based around 12 specific steps, which are really statements of experience […]
12 Step Program
Rehabs and Treatment Centers
Many people who get sober do so in a rehab or treatment center. Many people are familiar with the idea of a rehab, but perhaps less clear about what happens there. Most rehabs are residential, […]
12 Step Program
Quotes …..
‘Before AA, I judged myself by my intentions, while the world was judging me by my actions’ Alcoholics Anonymous, p418, 4th ed.
12 Step Program
What is an Inner Voice?
When people talk about an inner voice in the context of spirituality, they are normally referring to an inner intuitive sense of direction in their life. This sense of there being an inner world, and […]
12 Step Program
Acceptance and Surrender
It has become almost something of a cliche in society nowadays to use the adage that you cannot cope with a problem unless you first admit it. Not that this is a new or novel […]
12 Step Program
The Downside of Gratitude
Quite often in an AA meeting or similar, you will hear someone announce themselves as my name is so-and-so and I’m a grateful alcoholic/ addict, or I’m a grateful recovering alcoholic/addict. Equally, you are quite […]
12 Step Program
The Myth of Tough Love
Tough love is one of those expressions that has crept into the vocabulary of mental health and 12-step recovery in recent years. It sort of implies that an action or directive is being given or […]
12 Step Program
What Does it Mean to Respect Boundaries?
Quite a simple question in many ways, but one that many people struggle with, both in terms of trying to set boundaries of their own, and dealing with other people who don’t respect, or don’t […]