In one of the readings in my 12 Step group, we read “Just for today, I will get a better perspective on my life.” At some meetings, you’ll hear some chime in “not yours.” It’s easy to look from the outside in. Looking inside, finding perspective among all the emotions and thoughts and ingrained self…

My addiction is best described by my IOP (intensive outpatient) instructor: Maladaptive coping skills learned in our childhood In other words, my addiction stems from ways I learned to cope with life as a child. It’s my opinion that all addicts have this in common. For me, the disease of addiction can be summarized in…

When I got clean, this phrase was so confusing! I feel things all the time. Isn’t that the same thing? I’ve learned that noticing a feeling and allowing myself to actually feel that feeling are very different. For me, feeling my feelings begins with noticing an emotion, but them I need to name that emotion,…