Willingness - Recovered 1385
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Willingness entails a readiness to embrace new perspectives, adopt healthier behaviors, and embark on the journey toward sobriety with an open heart and mind. Without willingness, individuals may remain stuck in cycles of denial or resistance, unable to fully commit to the process of recovery. However, when coupled with a genuine desire for change, willingness becomes a catalyst for transformation, empowering individuals to overcome obstacles, confront fears, and embrace the challenges of recovery with courage and determination. Tonight, we talk about...
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Integrity - Recovered 1384
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Developing integrity in recovery is important for building trust, accountability, and authenticity in one's journey toward sobriety. Integrity is the compatibility between inner convictions and outward behavior. Integrity entails honesty with self and others about mistakes, acknowledging the impact of our actions, and taking responsibility by making amends. Integrity fosters a sense of self-respect and dignity, empowering individuals to honor their commitments, set healthy boundaries, and cultivate meaningful relationships based on trust and mutual respect. ...
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Courage - Recovered 1383
Recovered Podcast
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Surrender - Recovered 1382
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Surrender is a fundamental concept in the journey of recovery from addiction, signifying a willingness to relinquish control and accept the reality of one's powerlessness over substances or other’s behaviors. It marks a pivotal moment of recognition, where individuals come to terms with the fact that their attempts to manage or control their addiction have been futile. Surrender does not signify weakness but rather strength, as it requires individuals to confront their vulnerabilities and humbly acknowledge their need for help. By surrendering to reality,...
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Hope - Recovered 1381
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Hope is not just a desirable aspect but a necessary cornerstone of a recovery program. In the depths of addiction, individuals often feel consumed by despair, powerless to break free from the cycle of substance abuse. In early recovery, hope provides a beacon of light amidst the darkness, offering the promise of a better tomorrow. It instills the belief that despite past mistakes and present struggles, a life of sobriety and fulfillment is attainable. This hope is not merely wishful thinking but a tangible force that drives individuals to take the...
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Step 11 - Recovered 1380
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Step 11 in a 12-step recovery program holds significant importance for both straight and LGBTQIA+ individuals as it emphasizes the practice of spiritual principles and mindfulness. Regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, individuals in recovery often struggle with issues of self-acceptance, shame, and spiritual disconnection. Step 11 encourages regular prayer and meditation, fostering a deeper connection with a higher power or spiritual principles that transcend individual differences. For LGBTQIA+ individuals who may have experienced rejection...
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Step 10 - Recovered 1379
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Step 10 in a recovery program holds immense importance as it emphasizes the practice of ongoing self-reflection and accountability. This step involves a daily inventory of one's thoughts, actions, and behaviors, along with a prompt acknowledgment of any shortcomings or mistakes. By regularly examining their attitudes and conduct, individuals in recovery cultivate a heightened sense of self-awareness and honesty, which are crucial for maintaining sobriety. Step 10 serves as a preventative measure against relapse by enabling individuals to promptly address any...
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Steps 8 & 9 - Recovered 1378
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Steps 8 and 9 hold significant importance in the journey of recovery within Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Step 8 involves making a list of individuals harmed during one's active addiction and becoming willing to make amends to them. This step fosters accountability and self-reflection, encouraging individuals to confront the consequences of their actions and take responsibility for repairing the harm caused. By identifying those who have been affected by their behavior, individuals in recovery begin to understand the ripple effects of their actions and the...
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Challenges - Recovered 1377
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Dealing with challenges in recovery is paramount to achieving sustained sobriety and personal growth. One of the key aspects is the recognition that recovery is not a linear process; setbacks and challenges are inevitable. Facing these difficulties head-on provides individuals with an opportunity for introspection and self-discovery. Through the support of a community that understands the struggles of addiction, people in recovery learn to confront and navigate challenges with resilience. This process fosters emotional strength, self-awareness, and coping...
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Steps 6 & 7 - Recovered 1376
Recovered Podcast
To skip the intro, tap 3:25 Steps 6 and 7 are crucial stages in a recovery program, guiding individuals on their path to recovery. In Step 6, participants become willing to let go of their character defects—those negative traits or behaviors that hinder personal growth and well-being. This step calls for self-reflection and a genuine desire for change. It requires individuals to confront their shortcomings with honesty and openness, laying the groundwork for personal transformation. Recognizing the need for change and cultivating a willingness to let go of ingrained patterns are...
info_outlineAs a way to introduce the recovery topic of Anger, let’s see what our listeners think. I asked our listeners:
When you were new, with what/who were you most angry with?
Some of the responses we received included:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/JQWCt2t_2BgbS8n_2Bre9RGhDIxy3nFgJeTitshdHJljIxw_3D
Anger can be labeled anger, mad, cranky, frustrated, irritated, irate, agitated, seething,
and many more. Many alcoholics/addicts and their family members are surprised that to find
that the newly recovering person continues to experience a lot of anger. There are many
reasons why a recovering person would continue to feel angry once they have quit
drinking/using.
Let’s start at the beginning of recovery. Initially, detox may have something to do with it.
Thoughts on anger at the beginning of recovery and the physical withdrawal from substance and the effect on mood.
Swetha, Many alcoholics/addicts and their family members are surprised that to find
that the newly recovering person continues to experience a lot of anger. What has been your experience your observations within the al-anon community?
Sometimes the newly recovering person is still angry about how they came to be in
recovery. They may be angry at law enforcement, the judge, the boss, the wife, the
family in general, or society for not condoning active addiction. What has been your experience in regards to those closest to you in early recovery?
Swetha, what are the common expressions of anger for the new al-anon?
The newly recovering person, still not very adept at processing feelings, may project blame and
responsibility for their feelings onto others. Although they may be angry with themselves, the family may still be getting the brunt of it.
The family members of alcoholics/addicts also have anger. Instead of the addict being
grateful for family members getting them into treatment and saving his/her life, the addict
is angry at them. They cannot understand this because they remind the addict that is, and
has been, the family that has been holding down the fort, making all the payments, taking
care of the kids, the bills, the house, etc. The family member has been taking care of
everything and the addict is mad at them!
The addict does not understand why the family member is not giving him/her credit for
his sacrifice and understanding how difficult this has all been. The addict is angry that
when they do make efforts to do the things that family members have been asking them
to do for a long time, that the family member either does not notice or that that family
member just expects it. From the family member’s perspective, the fact that the addict
wants a reward for doing what everyone else is expected to do, is inconceivable. Neither
understands the other’s frame of reference.
Ryan Interview use the itunes player
But we at Recovered are all about the solution. What are some of the tools of recovery that you use?
What steps?
What slogans?
What prayers?
What about sponsors?
What about sponsees?
What about service work?
What about your higher power?
what our book says
...If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison. We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future. We were prepared to look at it from an entirely different angle. We began to see that the world and its people really dominated us. In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to...
...running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. It works - it really does. We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple...
...Try not to condemn your alcoholic husband no matter what he says or does. He is just another very sick, unreasonable person. Treat him, when you can, as though he had pneumonia. When he angers you, remember that he is very ill. There is an important exception to the foregoing. We realize some men are thoroughly bad-intentioned, that no amount of patience will make any difference. An alcoholic of this temperament may be quick to use this chapter as...
...In some circumstances we have gone out deliberately to get drunk, feeling ourselves justified by nervousness, anger, worry, depression, jealousy or the like. But even in this type of beginning we are obliged to admit that our justification for a spree was insanely insufficient in the light of what always happened. We now see that when we began to drink deliberately, instead of casually, there was little serious or effective thought during the period...
...but frankly said that he was not ready to stop. His wife is one of those persons who really feels there is something rather sinful about these commodities, so she nagged, and her intolerance finally threw him into a fit of anger. He got drunk. Of course our friend was wrong - dead wrong. He had to painfully admit that and mend his spiritual fences. Though he is now a most effective member of Alcoholics Anonymous, he still smokes and drinks coffee,...
Final Thoughts
http://aa.org/twelveandtwelve/en_tableofcnt.cfm
http://www.hazelden.org/web/public/thought.view?catId=1901