Recovery

Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 12:49pm

Dear RecoveryHelper.org Readers, Welcome to the Addiction Recovery Newsletter (12/4/2009). In this edition we have included news, articles and videos. You can find more resources on our website: RecoveryHelper.org. Addiction Recovery News Good Parenting Creates Drug-Free Kids, Conference Experts Say The underlying theme to the conference is that just having parents isn’t enough to preve[...]

Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 09:19am

I want to feel myself part of things, of the great drift and swirl; not cut off, missing things, like being sent to bed early as a child. ~Joanna Field Today I am grateful… that I wasn’t counting, but I can remember at least six people yesterday telling me they love me that the mystery of life seems, these days, more like an adventure. Well, rope me and call me Do[...]

Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 06:16am

Dear Men,Beard stubble is just not sexy unless you are Sam Elliott. If you are on any kind of visual media what so ever then shave! Not you Sam, you can just roll out of bed and move on with your day and hey, call me sometime.If you have hair on your chest then don't wear a necklace period. If you are over 25 then don't wear a necklace period. Never pierce your earlobes. Gay men, don&#03[...]

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 10:42pm

The UK Department of Health has released an iPhone app that is designed to help British imbibers track and better manage their alcohol consumption over the holidays. ‘It is all too easy to lose track of how much you drink. So as the festive parties start to build up, this innovative tool will help people keep tabs on their drinking – wherever they are. It’s one of many ways [...]

Tags: Alcoholic, Recovery, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drink Tracker, iPhone App

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 09:15pm

6” x 4”, acrylic on plastic Donation to Visual Aids postcard art auction. Founded in 1988, as a response to AIDS and as a way of organizing the art world towards direct action, Visual AIDS has evolved a two-part mission. 1) Through the Frank Moore Archive Project, the largest slide library of work by artists living with HIV and the estates of artists who have died of AIDS, Visual AID[...]

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 09:07pm

Here's my Wednesday video. This week's topic: Alternative Therapies - art, writing, dance, etc.As always, click to view on YouTube, as embedding is not available.:)

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 04:51pm

Cocaine is currently the most abused stimulant in the United States. The use of cocaine is certainly not new in this country. The drug was wildly popular in the 1970s and 80s among partygoers, but its prominence as a recreational drug has risen sharply in the past few years, thrusting it once again into the spotlight. How Addictive Is It? Even though some people believe that cocaine really is[...]

Tags: On Addiction, cocaine addiction, cocaine detox, cocaine treatment programs

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 09:33am

Spend unbroken chunks of time with the most important people in your life. ~Brian TracyToday I am grateful…to have slept under heavy covers unfretted and unfetteredthat somehow I remain honest, open-minded and willingthat last night I watched someone’s face as they listened to their friend share about service work. His face was beaming with love and pride for his friend that has grown[...]

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 06:18am

I can't find Mr. Yogi and it's so damn cold here in Houston. I'll look again this evening. Ms. WillingPants Sponsee picked up her 18 month chip last night and as she was sharing she said her Sponsor is an amazing woman. I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable because I still see myself as a drug addict trying to do the right thing. The fact that she benefited from it is just a by-pr[...]

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 12:16am

In the TDA Alphabet Primer, “E” is for egocentrism. Alcoholics are deeply selfish, self-centered individuals that serve only the disease that has become the core of their being. I decided to go with this term instead of waiting for the selfish “S” because an alcoholic requires a clinically insane level of conceit to enable acting out with such utter disregard for the heal[...]

Tags: Alcoholic, Recovery, Sobriety, Egotistical, Selfish, Egocentrism

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 05:34pm

A new study suggests that feelings of loneliness can spread through social networks like the common cold. “People on the edge of the network spread their loneliness to others and then cut their ties,” says Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School in Boston, a coauthor of the new study in the December Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “It’s like the edge of [...]

Tags: Addiction, Spirituality, Stress / Balance

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 12:24pm

Thank you, everyone, for all the kind words and for all your votes for my blog. I'm still in the Top 20 and...There are only 2 weeks left to vote for my blog!You can vote only until Dec. 15th, so please cast your vote for me now, if you haven't already. I truly appreciate all the support. If you watch my videos, read my posts, and like the art/writing/ideas/suggestions/recovery-oriented [...]

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 09:07am

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~Joseph Campbell Today I am grateful... to have this day and all it holds that I might have an easier day if I set aside the differences and focus on the similarities for another day to develop a spiritual connection that as today unfolds I am filled with gratitude that [...]

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 06:09am

Blue Bamboo. Now say that out loud. Fabulous right?Someone here in blogland installed bamboo floors this year, were you paying attention?Three days of this cold ass weather is about all I can stand. It's depressing as hell to have to move so fast to get from the car to the house. I like to walk thru the back yard and check plants and stuff, but Nooooo I have to hurry inside before my bones br[...]

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 01:58am

Last month while waiting for a connecting flight from Houston to LA I kept noticing a guy that seemed to be someone I knew but just couldn’t place. It wasn’t until we were about to board and the gate area had become rather crowded that I realized it was Art Alexakis of Everclear. Earlier this year I had interviewed Art, a recovering addict and advocate, over the phone for The Discove[...]

Tags: Recovery, Addiction, Alcoholism, Advocacy, The Discovering Alcoholic, Art Alexakis

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 08:17pm

Today I am remembering my sweet Chester. He would have been 20 today. He has his own Rainbow Bridge posse now. When I hear of someone’s pet crossing over I have him round up his friends and they all run to the Rainbow Bridge to greet them as they make their way over. I miss him. But he is doing good work.

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 10:39am

If we ask for what we want and need, and get those needs met, we will not be able to punish people, or push them away later on, for disappointing us. ~Melody Beattie Today I am grateful… that my world keeps getting bigger. More people come in--my heart keeps expanding to allow that. that I had my pink/black/white plaid fuzzy slippers to put on this morning th[...]

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 06:34am

Remember when I said I was anxious to get back to work? Well that feeling wore off by 10:30 yesterday. I was in bed by 8:00 last night because of first day back exhaustion.We have cold weather here in Houston this week but it seems we can not have cold without wet. And we can't have cold and wet without lots of wind. "YO...mutha nature-pick ONE."I have a butt warmer in my car and it[...]

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 10:46pm

In the TDA Alphabet Primer, D is for drunk. The term itself can be used in many ways. As a verb, it can be used as the past tense of drink. Not a bad thing for me since drinking is certainly a thing of my past that has no role in my present or future. As an adjective, it could mean physically and mentally impaired because of alcohol intoxication. Place drunk behind boy, teenager, and then ma[...]

Tags: Recovery, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drunk, The Discovering Alcoholic, Embarassment

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 09:01pm

Hi everyone,I have officially stopped accepting art for my Calling All Art! Show & Tell and Giveaway (unless you get something to me within the next 3 hours, that is). I still have some more artwork to put up on the site in the next couple of weeks, but I will no longer be collecting more for the Giveaway. Stay tuned, because there are some DAZZLING pieces still to come.On a different note, I

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 07:16pm

When I first discovered Husband's secret life, I told only three close girlfriends - two that are sisters to me but live far away and one that lives close to me who I knew would be more inclined to listen than to judge (she's the one I made a pass at in the early crazy weeks after I first found out!) We also told one close friend who is like a brother to both of us. And Husband told his[...]

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 06:37pm

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 10:47am

The 'never have's' sit on the sidelines and tell you about all that can't be. Will you join them or will you quietly go about doing the impossible on your own? ~Melody Beattie Today I am grateful… for all the times this month I got to raise my hand and say, “I’m Scott, I’m an alcoholic and on the 18th I had six years.” to have[...]

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 05:53am

I remember writing this exact same thing last year that I'm thankful for every ones hard work in putting up lights and trees and bows because I get to enjoy all the beauty without having to do any of the work. I don't decorate anymore and I don't feel guilty about it either. But please carry on with your decorations because I do love to drive down the street at night and see it all.[...]

Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 10:07pm

I’m starting to plan my next excursion to Japan. I’ve known since before evening returning from my Feb 09 work/leisure trip to the island nation that I would return, but have not let myself do any planning for fear that I would become distracted from more pressing issues like family and work (an obsessive recovering alcoholic, go figure). I figure once again to combine business and [...]

Tags: Alcoholism, The Discovering Alcoholic, Sapporo Snow Festival, TDA in Japan

Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 09:33am

Today I have choices. I can stay in a bad mood, I can stay in a bad moment. Or, I can let them pass me by. ~unknown Today I am grateful… that as much as I love our Houston Round Up I am grateful it is over. I always get overwhelmed—so many people. My schedule gets disrupted. My alone time is diminished. It will be good to get back to some routine, even if that routine is uns[...]

Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 08:15am

Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 07:11am

Problem.I have done penance for 18 years with my Mother. She never required this mind you, but I felt the shame of my life diminish every day that I accomplished being a good daughter. I could go to bed with peace in my heart each night with good thoughts about myself. I don't know where to get that now. I had a purpose. I made a vow to myself in my very first week of sobriety that I would ne[...]

Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 11:24pm

Codependency or Codependence describes a pattern of detrimental behavioral interactions within a dysfunctional relationship, most commonly a relationship with an alcohol or drug abuser. In general, the codependent is understood to be a person who perpetuates the addiction or pathological condition of someone close to them in a way that hampers recovery. This can be done through direct control o[...]

Tags: Recovery, Addiction, Alcoholism, codependency, The Discovering Alcoholic

Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 11:17am

This is the fourth piece of artwork in my Calling All Art! Show & Tell and Giveaway. This piece is by Soul Voyager and is called "Love Blossoms."[click for a larger view]Soul Voyager writes:"The circle represents reconnection with the spirit of the feminine, the creative life force of the earth. Recovery also entails rediscovery - rediscovering all that lies beneath that were pr[...]