People ask me how I plan to continue in recovery without AA and without practicing the 12-step program. I never have an easy answer. I have been to AA, know the steps, and understand the benefit of community, but I had to find my own path in recovery without AA. I took time to think […]

Open-mindedness means being receptive to new ideas and different ways of seeing the world. It is rooted in humility and wisdom, and in awareness that you don’t have all the answers and so must be receptive to learning from others. In recovery, being open minded is an absolutely essential mental state that can make a […]

It might seem as if nothing good can come out of adversity and uninvited changes, but challenges can also provide valuable learning experiences and act as a catalyst for discovering new directions, expanded perspectives, positive developments, a reset of priorities, and unexpected openings. by Christiana Star   Use the toolkit below to recover, rebuild, and […]

There’s no worse feeling than watching someone you love waste their life because they’re addicted to drugs. Here are 5 tips for helping someone with addiction… In 2015, close to 21 million people had a substance use problem in the United States. One in three of these people had a drug-related disorder. One in eight of these […]

Switching good habits for bad ones can help you cure anxiety at the initial stages and is an additional treatment for intense anxiety.   by Devansh Nahata An anxious person obviously does not start their day with the objective of being stressed or worried all day. But then there are certain habits which they follow, that […]

We all start out as kids with big dreams; we want to be movie stars, astronauts and sports superstars. We want to be somebody. But then we get out into the real world and it starts beating us down, and then we start beating ourselves down. We get to the point where we have little or no […]

Without open-mindedness, we cannot expect to make much growth in recovery. (marekuliasz/Shutterstock)   Many members of AA and NA define the three primary principles of recovery as honesty, open-mindedness and willingness. In previous articles, we’ve discussed the importance of honesty and the origins of willingness. We have not, however, discussed the importance of opening one’s mind. And while […]

The Moment They Knew Treatment was the Right Choice I was ready to let that battle go Most of us can identify a defining “aha” moment of our lives: for some, it might be choosing to leave an unhappy marriage, and for others, it could be making a major career change. I recently spoke to rehabilitation graduates […]

Drug addiction and alcoholism are addictions that most people are familiar with, but there are many addictions families suffer from. The fact is that any addiction from drugs and cigarettes to shopping and gambling can have disastrous social and financial consequences. When the addict has a family, the cost of the addiction can wreck the […]

Here’s a clear picture of what it’s like to experience addiction, to go through withdrawal, and to work toward sobriety. Many don’t fully understand what it’s like to experience addiction, from developing the illness, to going through withdrawal, to working towards recovery. But it’s important we try our best to achieve a greater understanding, so […]

  Nobody can trust an addict, least of all him- or herself. And that’s what I’m going to talk about: this lack of self-trust and why it’s so pivotal in addiction and recovery. First — my history of addiction…(blah blah). And then, the 187th time I tried to quit, it actually worked. I think quitting […]

  Now and then I come across an interesting story of someone in recovery doing it differently than the mainstream of Alcoholics Anonymous, residential treatment etc. I believe it is important to look outside of what makes us comfortable and the recovery road society tells us we should take. There are many different paths. Here […]