Basketball is an excellent metaphor for recovery. On the court, as in real life, the environment and its circumstances evolve continuously. The action is constant, but energy and momentum can shift dramatically. Different players rotate in and out of the game, some playing more substantial roles than others. Each person’s playing time and the significance…
As challenging as it can be to learn and develop new skills in any area, in comparison to recovery all the examples I’ve described are simple and concrete. Skills such as accepting things you really, really want to change, but can’t, and tolerating distressing emotions and physical sensations without acting on them in ways that…
The brain plays a central role in both active addiction and recovery. Brain imaging studies as reported by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) demonstrate that physical changes take place in areas of the brains of drug addicted individuals that affect learning, decision making, judgment, memory, and behavior control. These brain changes can…
At earlier stages of addiction, treating an emerging addiction tends to be easier, less costly, and less disruptive, at later stages when severe adverse effects on major life areas are manifest, more intensive treatment is required. It’s similar to taking care of a serious infection— painful, but necessary to facilitate healing and a return to…
Addiction begins with the mood-changing effects of substances. At first, people often experience positive effects by using drugs to change the way they feel. Through using they feel “good” or “better.” Many drugs of abuse produce distinct feelings of pleasure, some of which are especially striking and powerful. Using helps people temporarily avoid or lessen…
One of the shortcomings of mind- and mood-altering substances is that they always wear off. But the effects don’t just subside, returning one to the baseline state they were in prior to seeking chemical refuge. One of the inexorable dynamics of dope in any form—whether from the street like crack, prescribed by a doctor like…
Family systems theory views families in their entirety as an organism. Families form systems or entities that are much more than the individuals who comprise them. Every family has its own rhythm and flow, and family members develop particular ways of acting and reacting with each other and with the outside world. These specific patterns…
By acting in ways that are consistent with becoming aware of the wishes, feelings, and needs of others, and taking the needs of others into consideration when you make a conscious decision about how you want to act, you will experience greater balance spiritually and overall. A solution-oriented strategy is to begin to develop a…
Feeling confused or ambivalent about spirituality is understandable. The most important aspect of developing spirituality is being honest about your feelings, where you are at in your life, and what your beliefs are, along with how these beliefs manifest in your perspective, attitude, and behavior. Your challenge here is to be open to the possibility…
A number of approaches to spirituality emphasize the value of staying in the moment, that is, being present-centered in this moment, right here and right now, as opposed to focusing on what has already happened in the past or could potentially happen in the future. This also extends to the concept of living one day…