Addicts of all types almost universally experience an increasing tolerance to the mood-altering effects of their substance/behavior of choice. As a result, they must, over time, use more of that addictive substance/behavior or a more intense substance/behavior to achieve and maintain the escapist high they seek. If you’re struggling to understand this, consider
What do I mean by Recovery? Recovery is the process of being able to consistently abstain from a problematic substance or behavior, to correct control over behaviors that damage personal relationships, and to repair dysfunctional emotional responses. (Adapted from the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s definition of addiction.) In finding control over behaviors we also
Relapse and Triggers What is Relapse? Lapse describes a short “fall off the wagon,” and relapse describes a longer and perhaps more permanent “fall off the wagon.”. Hendershot et al. describe it this way: “a setback during the behavior changing process” (2011 www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1747-597X-6-17/pdf) . If you re-engage with sugar or sex, codependent
What is the relationship between recovery, relapse and triggers? Addiction. What is “yoga” doing in the title? Yoga brings the keys to self-awareness that help maintain recovery, prevent relapse and release triggers in a healthy way. In order to fully appreciate the benefits of yoga, we have to delve deeper into recovery, relapse,
Active sex addicts rarely view their escapist sexual fantasies and behaviors as the cause of their unhappiness and life challenges. Even when they are neck deep in consequences, they somehow don’t let themselves view their sexual acting out as a contributing factor. In fact, they typically see their behavior as the solution to rather than
Alcohol is often looked at as the magic elixir of life that will promise to deliver the good times, your dream love and is the ultimate necessity for having fun. Billions of dollars are spent in the advertising industry to embed into your unconscious mind that you truly need this substance for your life to
Photography by Kenny P Huge egos- blinded by greed leading us nowhere Tweeting, texting, mocking normal conversations Pure White doves flying around carrying olive branches Shot down- silencing peace stifling truth Confusion breeding pain & panic guns blasting away- Its children- Fear & Ignorance Compassion communicating Commonsense listening
Am I enabling or helping and what is the difference? This is a question I have been asked by clients many times. It is also a question I have asked myself. We can all think of fact patterns that we would consider enabling. However, sometimes the answer is not so clear. Sometimes the answer is,
The impact of addiction on a spouse or long-term committed partner is not the same for all addictions. For survivors of chronic infidelity or sex addiction, there are five major ways that sex addiction is different than other addictions, creating unique challenges to the betrayed partner and the repair of the couple’s relationship. 1. Sexual
Is four pm a kind of witching hour? Is there some sort of Ayurvedic twist of the clock, a Basal Metabolic shift, a change in the internal tides at that time? It seems my daily resolutions fall apart about then. I set intentions each day. Some are affirmations of long-term Sankalpa, others are directions I
