It never ceases to amaze me how far unhealthy, toxic, dysfunctional people will go to tesr people down. I feel like this is just another one of those things on the long list of consequences people from dysfunctional families don’t talk about often. Sometimes, no matter how far we move from the past, there are…
Tag: addiction
Inspiration Gone Wrong.
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…
Teen Suicide
Tuesday, Oct 10th was the 25th anniversary of World Mental Health Day. I am a person in recovery from addiction and I am still learning better ways every day to embrace the latest version of who I am, post-trauma. I have suffered and survived through postpartum depression three times. Every day I still dance with general…
Go Out There and Give a F*ck
“This so-called ‘F*ck-it Bucket’. How does this work and where would I find one that isn’t defective?” -Asking for a friend. I used to believe that I was a proud owner of one of these buckets. Back when I lived my life as a girl with emotional capacity comparable to an armored tank. Present day…
As a COA, Can I Honor My Parent?
Traditionally I write tributes to all of my surrogate “moms” for Mother’s Day, thanking the countless women who have impacted my life by sharing their stories, wisdom, tips, tricks, secrets, encouragement, and advice, helping me to fill in what has felt like an excessive amount of domestic and relational inadequacies. Or, I write about my…
Here’s What I Thought I Needed To Be Accepted
From my kitchen I could hear the television in our living room. I caught the end of an interview of a young woman. I listened as she tried to explain why she had been bleaching and lightening her skin. She described what it felt like to experience feelings of inadequacy and when she began to view…
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…
5 Common Roadblocks in Recovery
You know that saying “Nothing worth having comes easy?” When it comes to being a newly sober person this couldn’t be more true. A person who is has become chemically dependent on a substance has a tough road ahead when it comes to long-term sobriety. They will need a strong support system behind them. Here are…
Dear Young People.
You just can’t see it coming. This was me. Before stealing. Before juvenile court. Before jail. Before lawyers. Before counselors. Before programs. Before isolation. Before suicide attempts. Before overdoses. Before tickets. Before judges. Before emptiness. Before probation. A junior in high school. -I had just won an award for a photo that I entered…
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…
Guest: Alexandrea- Choosing to Live a Sober Life
I’ve never written about this. Most of the people in my life know nothing about it, yet here I am, penning an entire article about the dirty little secret my family adamantly ignores as much as possible. Whenever we gather, there’s an elephant in the room. I grew up with him. For the first decade…
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…
Addiction Destroys Families.
Yes addiction destroys families. It destroys all of nouns in its path if they are within reach. It’s hostages are usually people, but relationships, mental health, physical health, emotional health, a person’s business, someone’s career, overall stability, and wellness are almost always banged up too. You name it. If it’s in the way, it either…
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…
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…
12 Ways to Help Kill Your Addicted Loved One AND Lose Your Sanity
1. Every time you talk to them, be sure to remind them of how they are wasting their life away by making stupid & idiotic decisions that make no logical sense. Remind them that if they were not stupid, they would be able to see that. 2. Be sure to base how much they love…
10 Tips: For Friends & Family of Someone Struggling with an Addiction
These are just things that would have helped me when I was struggling.Here are 10 randomly concocted tips that I have come up with: 1. Express empathy for them, directly to them. 2. Avoid arguments with them whether they are sober or not. (this creates a high-emotion situation and doesn’t do anything besides creating an urgency to use…
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….
Christianity and Science.
There haven’t been any supernatural phenomenons curing me of this sleeping monster. Jesus saved my life. Gave me life. Forgave me. Having faith in Jesus has allotted me power and strength to break free from my strongholds and keep away from substances.. to build a new life.. to find a new identity… to have a…
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….
Our True Selves.
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…
8 Things I Wasn’t Expecting In Early Recovery
Being newly sober was not what I expected. Here are some things that I personally would have wanted to know early on: 1. You might feel like you’re physically dying. Say hello to withdrawal. On a scale of one-to-ten your severity of pain or discomfort will vary, but go in knowing that your body is…