Addiction Recovery

No one at any time, anywhere, has any idea of what the definition of alcoholism is unless they’ve had the problem themselves. It is infuriating when you see promotions for, in generic terms, “You Can Get Sober in 20 Days” by people who not only don’t know what addiction is in the real sense on any level and how serious it is, sometimes life threatening, but are more than willing to cheat the people who are in enough pain to buy their false promises.

Any user searching for help must be careful not to be taken in by the incredible number of scams out there under the guise of offering a cure for alcoholism. It might be tempting to the individual who is desperate and in need of help now, but the genuine articles are few and far between. There are pages and pages on the internet of hyped up offer after offer, most using regular sales material amazingly enough (the same tactic they would use to sell you a piece of sporting equipment) not caring at all that they are treading on sacred ground.

A person who suffers from alcoholism, from the beginning stages to the advanced stages, has an extremely serious affliction, and will need at least some legitimate help to overcome this huge obstacle. Alcoholism is a disease that over time will take everything from the user, ranging from his or her friends, family, house, health, finances, anything that resembles peace of mind, and usually the last thing to go is the job. Alcoholism is the only disease that tells you, even when your life is falling apart, that everything is fine.

This renders alcoholics vulnerable when they are in the midst of the disease, and there should be a law against these predators who further victimize the victims. Since there are no such laws in place, the alcoholic or potential alcoholic will have to be more vigilant in looking out for himself and others in his situati Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most powerful tools I know of for moving out of an eating disorder is the tool of writing or journaling. I would say without exception, that every single client I have seen over the years, has for one reason or another struggled with feeling free to express herself emotionally.

We get all sorts of messages in our families growing up about what is permissible to talk about. People that struggle with addictions typically were not allowed to express themselves in ways that allowed them to be themselves. When feelings are chronically stifled, not spoken or expressed, all of the energy of those emotions begins to rumble. Feelings don’t just go away, or dissolve.

Everyone experiences lots of uncomfortable emotion growing up. And for the most part, it is our family that teaches us how to navigate the discomfort and find a way to express ourselves, in ways that are safe for us and for others. When this does not occur, we are at a developmental disadvantage.

In the moment that we have a negative feeling, if our family has given us the message that it’s not okay to express that, we are in a bind. We have to choose to either adhere to family rules, or be true to ourselves. When we are young, survival comes first. We are dependent and must make sure our needs within our families are met- and so usually we comply with the basic rules- spoken or not.

In order to do this, we have to either disconnect from our true feelings, deny them and squash them down, or make ourselves “wrong” for having them, or do something else to bring relief. For you, that something else was using food to self-soothe in those times. It became a pattern.

If you add up all of those moments of not expressing painful thoughts and feelings, year in and year out, that adds up to a powerful and well-worn pattern of disconnecting from negative emotions thro Read the rest of this entry »

We all know someone who cannot control his or her drinking, and sometimes after repeated attempts to stop, the alcoholic is successful and can control the urge to drink. The following represents some of the classic alcoholic behaviors in the first stage of alcoholism. According to various reliable sources, the person’s drinking is no longer social because it has become a means to escape work-related stress, relationship issues, inhibitions, and life’s problems in general. Early into the development of the disease of alcoholism, the person increasingly depends on the feeling that results from drinking. Tolerance for alcohol also gradually increases requiring larger amounts in order to reach the desired level of intoxication.

Some of the early, classic alcoholic behaviors are lack of recognition by the person that he or she is in the early stages of alcoholism, as exhibited by frequent drinking of increasing amounts, huge tolerance, boasting, an ability to drink huge amounts of alcohol, and behavioral changes including irritability when unable to drink. Once a conflict surfaces the alcoholic denies there is a problem as he or she begins to experience physical symptoms including stomach upset, vomiting, hand tremors, hangovers, and blackouts. Problems begin to arise in all areas of an alcoholic’s life, and instead of facing on the real cause, alcohol; they begin to blame everyone and everything around them. Now the alcoholic is drinking not for stress relief, but because of the dependence. The next disruption is usually marital difficulties, work-related issues, health problems, and financial difficulties. Things that were once of great of importance to the alcoholic are now neglected, aggressive and grandiose alcoholic behaviors prevail, avoidance of family and friends increases, violent or destructive behaviors occur, poor nutritional habits and Read the rest of this entry »