I was really pleased to come across Recovery Movie Meet Ups concept recently. When I was in treatment many years ago, we used to watch a movie once a week and it felt like a cheap way of keeping a few clucking addicts quiet, amused or comatose for a couple Continue Reading
Addiction Recovery
WHAT IF I LOSE MY MOJO?
I was fascinated to read this article in The Guardian. One of the most common themes I’ve encountered with people seeking recovery who have an interest in the creative spheres, or who make their living through creativity, is the fear of creating without using – or rather if they will Continue Reading
LIVE AND LET LIVE
A big thanks to the National Centre For Social Research For their latest (September2022) Report on British social attitudes. Their latest annual poll was reported on by those lovely people at Positive News who reported the following:- “The majority of the UK public are now in agreement with so-called ‘woke’ Continue Reading
Curiouser and Curiouser – Down the rabbit hole of sobriety!
How important is the portrayal of addiction and recovery in popular culture? The change in the way addicts are represented (remember Norm in Cheers), through to the plethora of representations (too many to list but special mention to Mae Martin – Feel Good) of the past few years suggests a Continue Reading
FREEDOM IS THE MAIN(E) THING!
I had not come across Erin French until a friend sent me a link to a BBC World Service programme from their Outlook strand. I can’t recommend it enough, just click here A decade ago Erin French’s life was in tatters. She was in rehab having lost her restaurant, Continue Reading
IT MIGHT NOT BE “THE THING” BUT IT IS A THING
This article by John Crace appeared in The Guardian UK edition on Monday 27th of December. Whilst by no means a completist site, I don’t try to catch everything to do with addiction and recovery posted everywhere, I do try to collect and archive messages that mean something to me Continue Reading
ROOTS OF RECOVERY
There are no ‘sides; here (in Recovery). You don’t have to go to AA and do the 12 steps if you don’t want to. There are, thankfully, other methods to get sober, some paid and some free. Seek the one that fits you best and don’t settle for anything less Continue Reading
Should I say (or should you know?)
It seems the biggest obstacle to stopping drinking (or using drugs) is still based in shame and stigma. Broadly the shame appears to be along the line of thinking that suggests if we have a problem we should be able to solve it ourselves, so if we can’t we try Continue Reading
Social media addiction – real or not?
Dr Gabor Mate defines addiction as “Addiction is manifested in any behaviour that a person craves, finds temporary relief or pleasure in but suffers negative consequences as a result of, and yet has difficulty giving up. In brief: craving, relief, pleasure, suffering, impaired control. Note that this definition is Continue Reading
The cracks are where the light gets in.
“Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything” – Anthem by Leonard Cohen Often mentioned as an acceptance of imperfection, this sentiment lends itself perfectly to understanding recovery from addiction and learning to accept the past and our imperfections. Childhood Friends the poem by the Sufi Continue Reading