Tuesday 27 October 2009
Addiction and Recovery Podcast - Episode 1
I have decided to give podcasting a go. I am only testing the waters at the moment, but hopefully it will become a regular thing.
Saturday 24 October 2009
How to deal with stress in recovery
Stress can be a real problem for people in recovery. In fact it was often our inability to handle life that drove many of us to addiction and kept us there for years. It was not so much that our lives were always more stressful than other people’s lives (although sometimes they were) but more to do with the fact that we just didn’t have the tools or mental resources to deal with it.
Stress isn’t that bad really; in fact sometimes a little bit of stress can be good if it we need to do something like sitting an exam that requires a lot of effort. It is only when stress is too much for our capabilities that it really becomes a problem. For many of us who spent years in the midst of addiction our way of dealing with stress was to stay numb to it. When we enter recovery our feelings defrost and suddenly we feel raw and everything can quickly get on top of us. We no longer have our addiction to run to so we are trapped. If the stress becomes too much some people deal with it the only way they know and they relapse back to addiction.
When we enter addiction we must find new ways of dealing with stress. Here are some of the things that have worked for me;
- Go for a walk; it is amazing how a bit of air and a change of scenery can make us feel better.
- Listen to your favorite music; simple but surprisingly useful.
- Exercise; fantastic way of clearing the mind
- Meditate; the path to stress free living.
- Talk to a friend about your problems.
- Write about how you feel; this has saved me from madness so many times.
- Try and do something for somebody else; the best way of escaping our problems.
- Watch a good film or play a computer game.
- Buy a punch bag and use it.
The main thing is that you don’t drink or use again. If you really feel like relapsing just wait for another 24 hours and see what happens.
Stress isn’t that bad really; in fact sometimes a little bit of stress can be good if it we need to do something like sitting an exam that requires a lot of effort. It is only when stress is too much for our capabilities that it really becomes a problem. For many of us who spent years in the midst of addiction our way of dealing with stress was to stay numb to it. When we enter recovery our feelings defrost and suddenly we feel raw and everything can quickly get on top of us. We no longer have our addiction to run to so we are trapped. If the stress becomes too much some people deal with it the only way they know and they relapse back to addiction.
When we enter addiction we must find new ways of dealing with stress. Here are some of the things that have worked for me;
- Go for a walk; it is amazing how a bit of air and a change of scenery can make us feel better.
- Listen to your favorite music; simple but surprisingly useful.
- Exercise; fantastic way of clearing the mind
- Meditate; the path to stress free living.
- Talk to a friend about your problems.
- Write about how you feel; this has saved me from madness so many times.
- Try and do something for somebody else; the best way of escaping our problems.
- Watch a good film or play a computer game.
- Buy a punch bag and use it.
The main thing is that you don’t drink or use again. If you really feel like relapsing just wait for another 24 hours and see what happens.
Thursday 15 October 2009
You will often hear it said that any drunk will need to hit rock-bottom before they will be able to recover from their addiction. This type of comment makes me uncomfortable, and for a long time this was my excuse for continued drinking. I developed the idea that the only way that my escape from addiction would be by reaching this mythical place. Even during two years sober during my twenties I continuously worried that maybe I hadn’t yet reached my bottom and was doomed to drink again; I did drink again but it is not my belief that this continued suffering and deterioration in my life was needed. It is my view that rock bottom is where you want to stop, and there is no special place in the suffering addict’s fall into misery that will make recovery any more special or likely to last. If you have enough then you have reached your rock bottom.
The problem with waiting for things to get bad enough to force you to quit is that this type of thinking can easily kill you. I almost destroyed my own liver while waiting for inspiration to arise. My final day of drinking was no worse than many of the other days that came before it; the only difference that day was that I had enough. I have no belief in the possibility that a few more weeks drinking would have made my current recovery any more special or strong; it would only have extended the suffering and considering how bad my health was at the time it could have been fatal.
If addiction is making your life miserable then just quit now. You don’t need to wait for any special day or for anything particularly bad to happen. You don’t have to lose your family, end up on the streets, or kill someone when drink-driving. When you want to stop you have already reached your rock bottom.
The problem with waiting for things to get bad enough to force you to quit is that this type of thinking can easily kill you. I almost destroyed my own liver while waiting for inspiration to arise. My final day of drinking was no worse than many of the other days that came before it; the only difference that day was that I had enough. I have no belief in the possibility that a few more weeks drinking would have made my current recovery any more special or strong; it would only have extended the suffering and considering how bad my health was at the time it could have been fatal.
If addiction is making your life miserable then just quit now. You don’t need to wait for any special day or for anything particularly bad to happen. You don’t have to lose your family, end up on the streets, or kill someone when drink-driving. When you want to stop you have already reached your rock bottom.
Tuesday 6 October 2009
How to win against addiction
Addiction made my life miserable for years; my alcoholism nearly killed me. In some ways I’m grateful because I wouldn’t be who I am today without that experience, but the sad truth is that many people never escape addiction; many die from it. Here are some tips to help you escape addiction.
1. Don’t believe that you have to reach some rock bottom before you can begin to escape addiction. This may often be true, but believing this way could cause you to put off getting help until it is too late. The best time for you to quit addiction is now; your rock bottom could be death.
2. Don’t believe that relapse is a normal part of recovery. People do escape addiction without any need for continued relapse. It is too easy to use this belief as a means to justify continued addiction. Don’t beat yourself up for having a relapse, but don’t try and fool yourself into believing that what you are doing is normal. Relapse isn’t normal; it is deadly.
3. If the only thing to change in your life is that you are no longer drinking or using then you are not likely to win against your addiction. Freedom from addiction doesn’t mean returning to your old life with the only difference being that you no longer party as hard; freedom from addiction should mean the start of a great new life. You don’t have to change everything over night; in fact this could be counterproductive, but you need to be willing to take your life in a new direction.
4. Tell everyone that you are going to stop your addiction. They may not believe you if you have made too many broken promises in the past, but this is more for your benefit than theirs. It is not enough to help you win against addiction by itself, but telling other people about your plan is one more thing to keep you going.
5. Take a few moments to mark the beginning of your quit. Do whatever you can to make it feel significant. It doesn’t matter what this is; it could be a few moments of silent reflection or praying to your God or gods; it doesn’t matter just make this feel significant.
6. Treat your withdrawals the same as you would any other illness. It will pass after a few days. If there is any risk that you could go into the DTs then you should seek medical assistance.
7. A mindfulness technique can be a great way of dealing with your drinking thoughts during your withdrawals and beyond. Observe your thoughts as the pass through your mind without identifying with them. Observe your mind saying I need to drink or I need to use, but don’t identify with as being you.
8. Read plenty of inspirational material about recovery. Use anything and everything that will encourage you to keep going; anything from the AA big book to whatever you can find on the internet – so long as it is positive about recovery.
9. Join a support group. These can really make the difference to your recovery, but many people do have successful recoveries without time - I did. The important thing not to dismiss anything. You need to be prepared to do whatever it takes to get sober or clean; this may mean joining a support group. If you have never belonged to one of these groups then I would strongly advise to at least give them a try.
10. Join an online recovery support community; these are a great way to share and get helpful advice about recovery from addiction.
1. Don’t believe that you have to reach some rock bottom before you can begin to escape addiction. This may often be true, but believing this way could cause you to put off getting help until it is too late. The best time for you to quit addiction is now; your rock bottom could be death.
2. Don’t believe that relapse is a normal part of recovery. People do escape addiction without any need for continued relapse. It is too easy to use this belief as a means to justify continued addiction. Don’t beat yourself up for having a relapse, but don’t try and fool yourself into believing that what you are doing is normal. Relapse isn’t normal; it is deadly.
3. If the only thing to change in your life is that you are no longer drinking or using then you are not likely to win against your addiction. Freedom from addiction doesn’t mean returning to your old life with the only difference being that you no longer party as hard; freedom from addiction should mean the start of a great new life. You don’t have to change everything over night; in fact this could be counterproductive, but you need to be willing to take your life in a new direction.
4. Tell everyone that you are going to stop your addiction. They may not believe you if you have made too many broken promises in the past, but this is more for your benefit than theirs. It is not enough to help you win against addiction by itself, but telling other people about your plan is one more thing to keep you going.
5. Take a few moments to mark the beginning of your quit. Do whatever you can to make it feel significant. It doesn’t matter what this is; it could be a few moments of silent reflection or praying to your God or gods; it doesn’t matter just make this feel significant.
6. Treat your withdrawals the same as you would any other illness. It will pass after a few days. If there is any risk that you could go into the DTs then you should seek medical assistance.
7. A mindfulness technique can be a great way of dealing with your drinking thoughts during your withdrawals and beyond. Observe your thoughts as the pass through your mind without identifying with them. Observe your mind saying I need to drink or I need to use, but don’t identify with as being you.
8. Read plenty of inspirational material about recovery. Use anything and everything that will encourage you to keep going; anything from the AA big book to whatever you can find on the internet – so long as it is positive about recovery.
9. Join a support group. These can really make the difference to your recovery, but many people do have successful recoveries without time - I did. The important thing not to dismiss anything. You need to be prepared to do whatever it takes to get sober or clean; this may mean joining a support group. If you have never belonged to one of these groups then I would strongly advise to at least give them a try.
10. Join an online recovery support community; these are a great way to share and get helpful advice about recovery from addiction.
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