The Sky is the Limit - My Story as related to Heroes in Recovery

My story was recently put on the Heroes in Recovery website. I would ask that you visit their website (www.heroesinrecovery.com) and check out everything that they are doing to break stigma and share the hope that there is a Better Life in Recovery. Here is the link to my story on their website: http://heroesinrecovery.com/stories/9206/

Here is what they printed:

Long-Term Recovery: Spiritual Spackle

Today, I want to introduce you to the concept of Spiritual Spackle. It is what took me from bitter to grateful and from abstinent to being in recovery. To understand what Spiritual Spackle is, let’s start with a story from my younger years:

7 Years Ago My World Stopped Turning

7 years ago today my world stopped. I laughed at the time. I do that when I’m hurting. Then I drank…………..a lot. I went to Florida and tried to drown my sorrow. I found out it could swim. What chance did I have of escaping the truth?

Long-Term Recovery: 12 Tips for a Safe, Sane and Sober Holiday

The holiday season is either one of the best or worst times of year. Holidays can be dangerous times for people in recovery. Like them or not, we will see family and friends we don’t see often. We may be invited to parties where alcohol and other drugs are in abundance. We may even be alone. All of these can lead steer us towards depression, anxiety and relapse. Here are 12 Steps for making it through the holiday season safe, sane and sober:

Long-Term Recovery: The 5 Pillars of Recovery

What are the 5 Pillars of Recovery? They are 5 things you must have to insure successful long-term recovery. As a counselor specializing in co-occurring disorders, I use the 5 Pillars with all of my clients: eating disorders, chemical dependency, codependency, depression, grief and loss or stagnantion. They are beneficial for everyone.

In the field of recovery, I have found that they are vital. When I have had a client relapse, it was usually because they had not made all 5 of them part of their lives. When I have had a friend who slipped, it was because they stopped doing one or more of them. There is more to recovery than just these 5 things, but I have never seen someone who was actively applying them on a consistent basis relapse. That is how important they are!

The Locker Room: 10 Requirements for Long-Term Recovery

I am big on using analogies; people understand analogies. Today, we are going to talk about everybody's lives using a sport’s themed analogy. Whether you are in long-term recovery, addiction or consider yourself normal (what ever that is), this applies to you! I believe we all have basic needs that must be satisfied to live our lives well. 

"What do we need?"

Glad you asked! First, realize our lives are like a game. In most games when you lose, you start a new game. In Monopoly, when you land on Go to Jail! you do not pass go, you do not collect $200 and you go directly to jail. This game is serious. In this game, when you go to jail, you are in a 5 foot by 9 foot cell and they might keep you for a while. This game is real, it is for keeps. Most of us only get one chance at it, so let’s make the most of it. 

So how do I make the most of my life?

Your Life Can Be Better in 8 Easy Steps

If you have never done drugs I encourage you not to start. If you are doing drugs, I encourage you to quit now. Most of my old friends are either dead or in prison. I am working and get to spend time with my wife and children and play at the park with them. Trust me; this recovery thing is everything they tell you it is. There is a better life in recovery, and I am living proof!

There are some requirements to recovery, and I everyone can benefit from them whether they struggle with addictions or not. Here are 8 requirements to living a better life. I start with my 5 Pillars of Recovery and add a few more:

Get Addicted to Long-Term Recovery

There is a purpose to this blog. It is to tell you what drives me, and for anyone who has struggled with an addiction to understand a little more about themselves.

I am an addict. We will get that out of the way now. When I say I am an addict you probably know at least one thing about me; I have impulse control problems. I get an urge to act on whatever my addiction might be to and I do it. I live my life by the Nike slogan, "Just Do It!" I am not saying it is right, it is simply what I do.

Once I act upon it, I go places people should not go. In fact, I go places most people would never go. I do not act like most people. I push the envelope with all that I do: drinking, drugging, eating, etc. I go all out. I have trouble stopping once I begin.

Sadly, I am seldom that way with positive things. I once heard a guy at a meeting say the only thing he ever did in moderation was work the steps. I found that funny but true.