Tough love is a tricky way to support a loved one in recovery. Many experts feel that tough love is an outdated ideology that favors cutting someone off as a way to push them towards abstinence. When discussing the topic of tough love in recovery, researcher and writer William White says, “It’s time to accept…
A trigger is an external or internal stimulus that prompts a response or reaction. An external stimulus can be people, places, or things, like conversations about alcohol—basically, anything that comes from outside of you. Internal triggers are often emotions, thoughts, or senses that remind you of alcohol or using alcohol to cope with unwanted feelings…
In alcohol addiction recovery, you will identify people, places, situations, and things that generate a desire to consume alcohol. You may experience an urge to consume alcohol when you are reminded of times you used to in the past because your brain associates those people, places, and situations with drinking. These experiences are known as…
Let’s face it: Sobriety isn’t easy, which is why all the recovery milestones you reach are worth celebrating. Celebrating successes – no matter what size – are important for several reasons. First, these milestones or successes serve as a reward and reminder of our determination to stay clean. In addition, they reinforce all that we’ve…
Have you ever had something great happen to you, only to feel more down and even somewhat empty afterward? You may even feel compelled to drink alcohol. You’d think that you would be able to revel in your victory or whatever accomplishment you just experienced, but it doesn’t always work out this way. Sometimes, alcohol…
Recovery is more than abstaining from alcohol. It’s often referred to as a journey or process that begins with abstaining and continues by making healthy changes to improve overall well-being. Recovery is an opportunity to find purpose in life and fulfill that purpose for the greater good. In early recovery, you may find yourself wanting…
After reading A Day in My Life: Addicted to Alcohol, you’ve seen a glimpse of what my life was like as I tried to ease my pain and the pain of those I loved. In my active addiction, I did so many terrible things – I hurt my family and close friends, I racked up…
I’ll never forget the day I woke up alone on the floor of my Airbnb in Mexico City. Tangled hair. Bloodshot eyes. Bloated face. Blotchy skin. Pounding headache. Mouth made of sandpaper. Two empty bottles of mezcal. A shattered glass on the counter. A steadily growing bruise on my right hip. A no-longer-oscillating fan I…
I vividly remember my first Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. In the days preceding it, I drank for three days straight. I was on such an epic binge that I even drank wine that had gone sour. By Sunday evening I was a total wreck. After drinking 20 bottles of wine, I was fairly sure I…
I was a high-functioning alcoholic for well over a decade. I’m now 10 months sober, and the thought of picking up a drink ever again makes me want to hurl. I didn’t go to rehab. I didn’t attend AA meetings or a 12-Step program. I don’t have a sponsor because I haven’t found the need…
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