Many of us are culturally conditioned to think of vulnerability as a weakness. We’re afraid to open up to other people and confide in them lest they use that information against us. We’re afraid to divulge personal details about ourselves because we fear being judged, rejected or embarrassed. We close ourselves off to other people,…
When we’re struggling with addictions and mental health issues, it can be rare that we feel stillness and a sense of peace within ourselves. We feel at odds with ourselves. We feel consumed with inner turmoil and internal conflict. Our thoughts race. We’re filled with anxiety. Our minds are overly active and it’s hard to…
Our patterns of self-sabotage and self-destructiveness are often caused by our fears, our internal feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, self-rejection and self-blame. We hold ourselves back and keep ourselves small because we feel that’s all we deserve. We haven’t yet actualized our potential or seen the value of our worth. To stop our cycles of self-sabotage,…
Living with addiction can mean going through times where we struggle so much that we give up hope. We lose our ability to see a future for ourselves with joy, faith and optimism. Giving up hope can be a sign we’ve fallen into depression. It also makes us more susceptible to letting our addictions totally…
Depression can change the outlook of how you see the world where you feel sad all the time and think it will not get better. It is important to realize that it will always get better for as long as you are alive. By surrounding yourself with positive people, tasks, and finding reasons to live,…
Addiction recovery is not just about learning to abstain from our addictive substances and behaviors. It’s also about recreating our lives and finding purpose and fulfilment. It’s about finding healthy ways of stopping our patterns of self-destructiveness. One of the best ways we can return to ourselves and live from a place of purpose is…
Our experience with addiction and mental health issues can be profoundly traumatic and life-altering. We can find that we disconnect from entire parts of us. We lose connection to our true selves. We can feel totally confused about who we are and what our purpose in life is. We feel devoid of meaning. We struggle…
For many of us, our addictions are our means of escaping the painful things in our lives we’re unable to confront. Anger is one of the most difficult and destabilizing emotions we experience, and handling our interpersonal conflicts can feel impossible, especially when we don’t feel we have an understanding with the other person. Many…
When we are approaching the recovery process, some of us for the first time, others after multiple tries, one of the things we fear most is the struggle we’ll have to endure. We may have already experienced how hard it can be to recover. We may have survived the withdrawal process. We might have felt…
Having to watch someone we love struggle with addiction can be a very painful experience. We’re basically watching someone self-destruct and potentially ruin their lives. We have to see them suffering and in pain. We’re watching as they endanger themselves and repeatedly put themselves in harm’s way. We desperately wish we could protect them from…