Originally from Toronto, Patty began drinking and using drugs recreationally as an adolescent. At eighteen she moved to New York City where chance meetings with other addicts opened doors to careers, romantic relationships, the art world and the music scene. For years, whenever the negative consequences of addiction started taking their toll, survival instincts kicked

  Robert Weiss LCSW, CSAT-S is a digital-age intimacy and relationships expert specializing in infidelity and addictions—in particular sex, porn, and love addiction. An internationally acknowledged clinician, he has served as a subject expert for multiple media outlets including The Oprah Winfrey Network, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, and

I was 19 when I first came to AA in Manassas, Virginia. It was a total accident. With no direction in my life, I told my one friend that I wanted to die. I had no idea that really I just needed to stop drinking. He said, “I use to go to something called ‘AA

  Gaslighting: To manipulate someone by psychological means into questioning their own sanity. Gaslighting is real, it is dangerous, and it is a very powerful tactic. I should know. I was preyed upon by a narcissist for four years. It was the most horrific, dreadful, frightening relationship I had ever been in. Most people who use this

In previous postings I have discussed the importance of Steps 1 and 2 and a few ways in which those steps can be worked. To recap, Step 1 helps you understand the nature and consequences of your addiction, and Step 2 helps you understand and accept that if you want to establish and maintain sobriety,

The hardest challenge I faced when I entered early sobriety was figuring out where I fit in. You may think I’m joking, but for me, something that fundamental was so difficult to decode and understand. I was caught between two lifestyles; being a party girl, and trying to remain social, but without the drugs and alcohol. I

Read the previous two parts of Ricks story here My sons moved to Portland, Oregon and wanted to come and visit me up in Olympia. After getting over the tidal wave of emotions, I said sure. They arrived a week later in an over loaded Hyundai, with two of their friends. Through the process of elimination,

    My son messaged me earlier on Facebook and was commenting on one of my articles that I had written for a magazine publication recently. The conversation started by him asking “dad, did that story really happen? Or was this just kind of a thing that you made up, to submit for this magazine

  Read Part I of Ricks story here “On my second day in Germany, I got so drunk that the hangover lasted for three days…….” I drank and got drunk almost everyday that I spent in Germany. When I first got there, I fell in love with their beer and food. I never drank American

Trauma and the 12 step meeting is the rebel 12 step group where the tough conversations take place Dr. Jamie Marich is definitely one of my favorite people in the recovery community. Her wisdom, knowledge, passion and professionalism towards her work is undeniable. She is not only brilliant in her field on a clinical level,