I remember watching my brother free fall alongside me, feeling a sense of comfort and connection with him. We both knew we were living aimless, empty lives, but we felt better about it knowing that we were in it together. We were both hurting deeply in ways we couldn’t process. There were things that we…
Tag: recovery
2 Reasons to Fight Stigma:
For years (way too many) people have been allowed to freely assume, to judge & generalize, and to categorize & marginalized the people out in the community who struggle with addiction. This is called stigma. We (people who have struggled with addiction) are finally standing up to tell people that it’s wrong. If you have…
I’ll Have What I’m Having.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) offers this definition of Recovery: “Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness and quality of life.” My personal journey through sobriety and long-term recovery has changed many times over the last eight…
Recovery Experts
This is a very well researched article on RecoveryExperts.com. There are many Recovery experts & advocates who had the opportunity to contribute to this article, and I was honored to be one of them. Here is an excerpt: “The Drug War has lasted for decades and accomplished little. Thousands of individuals get hooked onmultiple abusive…
Recovering Out Loud.
I have received a ton of positive and uplifting feedback in reference to the “guest posts/shares” section of this blog. I really wanted to take a second say thank you, and share my thoughts on why its important to share our stories as people who are living in recovery from drugs and alcohol. Among all…
Merry Christmas from Discovering Beautiful!
Discovering Beautiful isn’t about outer beauty. It is a bunch of writing shared from my heart to yours. My blog emphasizes the beauty that is nonexistent & unnoticed when living an empty life addicted and hopeless. Sobriety and Recovery both allow us to embrace life. Because of God’s Grace, we are alive, and are given a second…
I Don’t Belong In a Church
I have been reflecting on my time and my experiences with Celebrate Recovery, and although I don’t attend meetings anymore, there are so many things that this program taught me. It is okay to be *exactly* who you are inside of an actual church: During one of the very first large group sessions that I…
Reflections From a Visit with Mom:
I had lunch with my mom on Thursday, October 15, 2015. We had only really seen each other a handful of times since our last big hoorah in March of 2006- and on that particular St. Patrick’s day we both ended up in adjacent jail cells. Fast-forwarding to our next big hoorah, that happened on February…
It All Boils Down To Staying Honest With Ourselves
I said I would tell you how things went after I left the hospital. Maybe it doesn’t ever completely ‘go away’. It goes, somewhere, but not ‘away’. I know that is not a super sciency explanation, but this is a real-life, true to every day explanation. Like if our brains were old farm-houses. Our old addictions…
The Complacency Trap
Ahhh. Complacency. We have all heard about it. I am almost positive everyone goes through a phase where they couldn’t even imagine themselves falling into an infinite loop of nothingness; and that place that isn’t necessarily ‘bad’ but it isn’t effective or healthy either. Complacency is to recovery what bystanders are to injustice. No, maybe…
Writing Exercises
In Celebrate Recovery there are a lot of homework assignments in the participant guides ask you to write down specific thoughts and feelings about specific times in our lives. Maybe times where we have been hurt, things we have not yet forgiven, times that we have made poor choices, or beginning to keep track…
My Birthday, Pregnancy, & Morning Sickness.
I turned 31 yesterday. I got a beautiful necklace and ring from my husband and children, along with some useful home-made coupons from my boys….that I will definitely be utilizing before they expire. Or, they will sit in a drawer looking all cute until I move them to a keepsake box so someday I can…
Living Free.
Freedom for me, came when I came to believe that a power greater than myself, could restore my life and sanity. That power that has shown me to be much greater than myself, is Jesus. Because of this relationship that I have: My mind is not as gullible. Yes I am sober and the fog…
Your Journey.
This is a book that I just finished. I really enjoyed it. It is probably really old. I am not sure when it was published, because I didn’t look. I found it in a huge pile of old books that were going to be thrown away. I am sharing a few excerpts that I personally…
A Pill To Cure Addiction?
I’ll have TWO! 🙂 When I saw this picture, I literally laughed out loud- hard. I so identify with this. I have spent a long time learning. I know I am a new person and I have changed my habits, thoughts, and environment. I have achieved goals and have new standards, morals and ethical values….
Our Thoughts
Our attitudes are shaped by our thoughts and feelings. Remember, we have choices. Choose to believe the crazy notion, that positive thoughts can lead to happy moods and better days. One day at a time. Motivation is what gets you started, and habits keep you going. Forming new habits take time. Keep working hard and…
Gratitude
Can you remember that cheesy 90’s drug prevention commercial that no one actually learned from? “This is your brain.” “This is your brain on drugs.” (*cue egg frying sounds) Imagine a heart exploding, and a voice like Dennis Haysbert’s, “This is your heart. This is your heart on God’s Grace.” That’s sort of how I feel….
Sobriety: One Size Fits Most?
I just read an article written by a clinical psychologist named Gerald Shulman, who has been in the addiction field, in some capacity, for over 50 years delivering and supervising treatment. Here is an excerpt from his article in Addiction Professional Magazine It’s not 1960 anymore; A more balanced model is needed to optimize recovery potential today….
New things #BreakingCycles
Guest: Tom- Acknowledging Alcohol Abuse
Hi my name is Tom and I am a recovering heavy alcohol abuser/possible alcoholic (I can’t say I was alcoholic or not because I never got evaluated).It all started when I got back from Afghanistan in 2007 and I felt the need to drink a lot because that is what I thought everyone did when…
Guest: Rob- Celebrates 2 Years in Recovery!
“My name is Rob Kelly, I am an alcoholic and addict! Today January 10th 2014 I celebrate 2 years clean and sober, this is the longest I have been clean and sober since I was 12 years old, & I am 51.” For me the journey into darkness began after…
Unexpected Gifts of Living in Recovery.
Using substances may have been some of the darkest, saddest, loneliest & scariest times of my existence, but that wasn’t where I first started to lose myself. That started long before. I think pain & trauma can make for fertile ground for that to happen, especially if it is not addressed. I began hiding as…
The Husband Series: A Boring Future.
At this point guys- we have gone from dating, to him realizing that I had a serious problem, us having massive fights and emotionally driven issues that led to my eventual decision to try to get sober and learn about Recovery. At the point where I began going to meetings- I was figuring…
Husband thoughts part 1- The Realization
My husband’s journey through my addiction and recovery. It breaks my heart to go back and think about all that I put him through, but living this life in the now, we can both see just how much this experience bonded us and our hearts together in such a spectacular way, that if we can…
Husband Q & A
Relationships. Let’s say you are a couple. You love each other and value one another. One of you ends up with an addiction and becomes dependent on a substance. It tears them apart and dismantles who they once were. That person that you fell in love with is gone. All you are left with is…
Staying Sober Over the Holidays.
I know that this time of year is so difficult for a lot of people who are living sober lives. This is a time where emotions are running high and if you are from a dysfunctional or unhealthy family, it can really be a stress filled time. Family gatherings aren’t technically social events, but they are…
History of Addiction
I watched this series of videos and I was entertained. I know not everyone will appreciate or enjoy listening to long stretches of the historical aspect of addiction and recovery but I know a lot of you will be just as intrigued as I was watching this series! Here is the link to the first…
Each Day Is New.
For years I started each day with overwhelming sense of disappointment that I woke up…again. I never looked forward to the chase, but I’m not sure that anyone really does. My overall attitude had developed into knowing that today would be just like yesterday: ‘Same shit, different day’ and it was just the way I…
Fall 17 times, Stand up 18.
One of the first books of the Bible that I ever read (or understood) was in the book of Romans. Romans 7:18 was the first thing that I memorized. (Naturally, I had to get it tattooed on my body.) Verse 18 goes like this: I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my…
Recovery Is Real.
HOPE: 1 of 10 guiding principals of in SAMHSA’s working definition of Recovery: “The belief that #Recovery is real provides the essential and motivating message of a better future. People CAN and DO overcome the internal and external challenges, barriers and obstacles that confront them. #HOPE is the catalyst of the #Recovery process.” #SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental…