The first step in 12-step programs reads approximately as follows: “We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable.” The wisdom expressed in this step is amazingly powerful and transformative for everybody, not just those who struggle with acute addiction. All human beings are subject to the human condition,
Generally speaking there are six primary signs and symptoms of sexual addiction, delineated below. These signs and symptoms eventually occur in nearly all sex addicts, regardless of age, gender, race, social status, or any other external factor. Obsession: Sex addicts are preoccupied with sex to the point of obsession. They think about it, fantasize about
I first began drawing a few cartoons in the early 1980s while I was still drinking and drugging and working as a nurse at the National Institute of Health (NIH). I poked fun at the healthcare researcher’s behaviors I worked with, such as smoking cigarettes during their break. Confronted about my own using, I got
The eternal quest to find the perfect life partner – that “someone” we connect with on every level – is something we all crave. If we just find that right person, our whole lives will transform into magic. Having someone to spend our days and nights with, share the highs and lows with and make
Matters of the heart are generally a big issue for people in recovery. Not only from the emotional aspect, as we learn to come to terms with our past, but also from a physical sense, having spent years abusing our bodies recklessly. So what mends a broken heart? Self-care is always the first port of
What does Valentine’s Day have to do with yoga and recovery? Love, admiration, and relationships that are discovered within ourselves and with one another at meetings and other sharing. But occasionally we draw in advertising, movies, and other social media and experience sadness, loneliness, and, maybe, self pity. Sometimes we crave and contemplate what we
Unfortunately, there is a lot of inaccurate information floating around about sex addiction. Because of this, some people will use the label “sex addiction” to define any type of sexual behavior (in others or in themselves) that does not meet their personal, cultural, or religious view of what sex should look like. He goes to
© 2015 by Rosemary O’Connor Hazelden Publishing Published with permission of Rosemary O’Connor. “All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.”— MAE WEST For the alcoholic single mother, the dos and don’ts of dating are convoluted and complex. Dating for anyone today is like a minefield, but for recovering
Chaos has been in the fabric of my being since I was five years old. I didn’t understand it then but I was most definitely cultivating the art of creating it, developing an eye to spot it and seeking out people who responded to it. Chaos was my safe place long before booze and drugs
My essay “Managing the Madness so I can Eat Cake” was turned into a Spoke Word piece and named “The Beauty & the Madness” – By Aaron Lee Perry (SOBrSOLDIER) for the Since Right Now Network. Check out both these awesome recovery resources. “I am forty one
