Before I go through my story I will cut to the chase – I don’t know if counselling can a practicing alcoholic or addict. But I believe that it can help those close to them. Alcoholism affects the people around the alcoholic, and these people can benefit greatly from outside help – and I mean […]
Sober in AA on the Camino de Santiago
I was just three years sober when I thought it was a great idea to take a month and walk the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain; more specifically the Camino Frances. I have no idea why, but it never occurred to me that I would be going for a month without going to an […]
Alcoholics Anonymous is a New Habit Forming Machine
In many ways Alcoholics Anonymous is a new habit generating machine – it almost demands that you leave behind old habits and form new ones to stay sober. The first step in AA asks me to look at my life and my drinking and accept the fact that I cannot drink with safety. It also […]
A Letter to my 18 Year Old Self
It is hard to look back and see how it would be possible before you are 18 for you to be able to take any of my advice. Life has been messy, very messy for you up to this point, and even looking back I can’t see any avenues for escape from the family that […]
Is Practice the Answer to all Confidence Issues?
I am currently reading Pure Sport: Practical Sport Psychology. The chapter that I am currently reading and was looking forward to is on relaxation – because I am so relaxed… (How many do you know in AA who are?) In the middle of the chapter the authors cover dealing with the lack of confidence in […]
The Psychology of Addiction and Recovery
Addiction is more complex than people think. Any psychologist, like FPS, will tell you that there are physical and psychological components of addiction. It is important to focus on both components of addiction when it comes to overcoming addiction. A lot of people just look at the physical, and not the psychological. The psychological component […]
Did Drinking Save My Life?
In AA meetings I have heard people share the thought that drinking saved their life. Another goes along the lines of drink was my medicine. This post is about these two things as I have some doubts that this is true – however I might change my mind by the end. Teenage Drinking Like many, […]
How Many AA Meetings A Week do You Attend?
Right now I attend only 1 or 2 AA meetings per week. It has not always been like this and looking back I think I have went through cycles that are fairly similar to other people. Why Go to AA Meetings? I started going to Alcoholics Anonymous meeting over twelve years ago. I only wanted […]
So Smart I Can’t Make Myself Happy
This was my flash of wisdom during coffee with a friend one day last week. I was talking about how many people when sharing in AA meeting sound like they are trying to prove how intelligent they are – so intelligent that they can’t make themselves happy. I find it frustrating when someone is a […]
Came to Believe That a Power Greater Than Ourselves Could Restore Us to Sanity
This at first seemed impossible for me, as I am an atheist. So how could I possibly believe in a power greater than me? In the end it was simple, however it was not easy for my hard head at that time to get there. The first part of believing was to look at this […]