Depression (A Chapter from my upcoming Book)

Here is the chapter from the book I am currently writing addressing Depression. I would love to get some feedback on it, as I am still trying to get the book cleaned up to send off to the editor! Please, let me know what you think:

Long-Term Recovery: Why Relapse isn't an Option

“Everyone has a relapse left in them, but I don’t have another recovery in me.”

Absolutely one of the worst things I have heard.

Ever!!!!!!!!!!!

Why do so many people leave that relapse an option, stalking them every day. Is it not enough that our brains and old playmates and playgrounds are already against our continued sobriety? It was for me, so I decided to do something about it. I tried on long-term recovery and liked how it fit. Then I poured myself into recovery like I had my addiction, 24/7 and 365. I kept the momentum going and never stopped doing the next right thing!

Long-Term Recovery: It Works if You Work It

I was hacked off this week. A friend relapsed, and it made me angry at first. How can anyone who has significant clean time relapse. Once you have several years and see life is amazing without drugs/alcohol, what could possess you to use again?

Then I remembered how cunning, baffling and strong addiction can be. I thought back to my relapses in the past. I no longer wanted to use, yet I did anyway. There were multiple reasons that I relapsed. In a way they were useful to me because I always learned and grew from them.

In the wake of his relapse, I reflected on the things that have kept me rocking a sober recovery this time. Never forget, your addiction is in the back of your head: running on a treadmill, lifting weights and doing research! It is getting stronger and smarter each and every day, trying to figure out the best way to take over your life again. This is to be avoided at all costs!!

If our addiction is getting stronger and smarter, we obviously need to insure our recovery is stronger than our addiction. The question is, how do we strengthen our recovery? There is no easy way. In fact, it can be difficult at first. Here is how I have built long-term recovery:

The Platinum Rule beats the Golden Rule for Long-Term Recovery

When I got sober, I believed I deserved to hurt. I deserved pain for the people I hurt. There was a massive trail of broken lives in the wake my addiction had created. When I got hurt, I knew I had it coming. My sponsor saw I had this problem and talked to me about the Golden Rule. I had trouble relating to it.

Next he introduced me to the Silver Rule, thinking I could understand that better. The Silver Rule posits, "One shouldn't treat others in a way they would not like to be treated." This still did not work. I thought I had to do penance for old behaviors. When bad things happened, I chalked them up to reaping what I sowed.

I knew I had to become more positive so I looked to the person I felt positive about. No matter how much I disliked myself, I loved my sister. At the time she was the person I loved the most. I did not ever want to see someone mistreat her. She was my inspiration for the Platinum Rule, which is to:

TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TO TREAT THE PERSON YOU CARE ABOUT MOST