Friday, June 28, 2013

GOLFING FOR RECOVERY

Charity Golf Tournament at Hidden Creek Golf Club!
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

DAILY MEMOIRS OF A RECOVE-REE JUNE 26

Our little boy seems to always be sick and we can get so caught up in the right here and now and then worry, panic and anxiety take hold.  Though it will be difficult we need to try and not focus on the immediate circumstances.  We have to get ourselves to a point where we realize that there are people in the world who I am sure have worse situations then our own.  My favorite book "Bible" states that the Lord is faithful and he has plans to bring good into our lives and to prosperous us.  When we are going through the toughest trials of our lives if we can just take a moment and look past the immediate circumstance we will find some of Gods greatest gifts.  We must make a stand and trust Him and let not the fear worry and panic over take any situation that we face.  He has a plan and a purpose.  Trust in Him with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path.  REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!

Don’t Just Talk to Your Teen: Put it in Writing










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Dear Joseph,

As a dad, I know firsthand that it’s not always easy to talk to kids about anything, let alone drugs and alcohol. The conversation can go downhill quickly. But making sure your kids know your expectations when it comes to substance abuse is important. It could serve as a critical prevention tool.

To help me start my conversation with my own teenage son, I decided to put the details of our discussions about drugs and alcohol into writing. By signing a contract, my son promised to stay safe, avoid drugs and alcohol and be open and honest with me. This wasn’t one-sided, however: I promised to support him, listen to him and help keep him safe.





Our written contract became an incredibly useful tool for my family. Your own agreement can contain whatever terms you’d like. When you set boundaries and expectations when it comes to drugs and alcohol, and educate teens about the dangers of this behavior, they will be much less likely to use in the first place.

Best,

Jerry Otero
Parent Support Specialist
The Partnership at Drugfree.org

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

DAILY MEMOIRS OF A RECOVE-REE JUNE 25

Today you are a winner.  It doesn't matter where you have been or what you have done.  There is always a reason for us to self medicate and a lot of times that reason is because we have spent a life time of listening to peoples verbal abuses and somehow they have managed to convince us that we are NO GOOD and UNWORTHY of the wonderful gifts this life has to offer.  Well I am here to tell you it doesn't matter what they have to say, it matters what God has to say! Our creator has said that you are special and that you deserve the very best that life has to offer.  We can take a punch and the bruise will go away in a week or two but when were hit with words of hurt they can remain a lifetime. Today we are going to take the sting out of those words and believe what our creator says that we are special, important and loved! Today your a WINNER!!   REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!

Friday, June 21, 2013

DAILY MEMOIRS OF A RECOVE-REE JUNE 21



I'm gonna conquer my mountain!! Lets begin today with this thought and a positive attitude. Twelve years ago in my own personal life my mountain was 3 times taller than mount Everest or at least that's what I thought. Now twelve years later I am almost to the top. Along the way it was hard. I fell a few times but I pushed and I climbed with everything that I had. Life for me is not perfect but after all that hard work it sure is worth living and I wouldn't give up one single bump or bruise. Along the way through the climb I discovered that I can, who I was, and what I can become if I was willing to do the work and never give up!Never focus on the mountain that can cause you to become overwhelmed put your thoughts to one momemt at a time.Like climbing a real mountain take slow steady determined steps an be consistent you will get there.I spent most of my past believing I will never get sober ,but to my surprise following the 12 steps and by GODS grace here I am ! REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!



By Joseph Dickerson

Thursday, June 20, 2013

DAILY MEMOIRS OF A RECOVE-REE JUNE 20

Selfishness is another way to describe addiction.  I want what I want and I don't care how anybody else feels!  I will do whatever it takes so don't get in my way.  Addiction is the worse form of selfishness.  When I was out there my selfishness ruined relationships and caused a mountain of legal and financial problems. I could help myself, I had the choice to say yes or no, but my own selfishness blinded me to what was really important in life.  I could have said no to using, but I chose to hide behind every excuse  and I did whatever I wanted because I was selfish and cared only about myself.  Your selfishness is hurting you and others and in the end you will see that selfishness has robbed you of self.
REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!
 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

DAILY MEMOIRS OF A RECOVE-REE JUNE 19

Today we need to watch our words and how we speak about ourselves and others.  Did you ever notice that you say something negative about your day or a certain situation and it happens.  The Bible teaches us that what we speak can set the course for our day.  We must be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.  Instead of thinking about yesterday and letting that decide how your day is going to be, start with 5 minutes in quiet and tell yourself today is a new day,  I can and will have a great day and overcome all of life's challenges! Yesterday I spoke about the negative words that shaped and controlled my life for years!When speaking about others or yourself speak positive.  REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

DAILY MEMOIRS OF A RECOVE-REE JUNE 18

 

    I have been a Blogger for the past year and a half.I just completed my twelfth year of sobriety.Ninety five percent of the articles I post come from other sources.I know now is the time for me to share my hopes fears and struggles with the world.My decision to move forward comes from the inspiration of my beautiful wife's encouragement and support for which I am eternally grateful.I also would like to mention two fellow Bloggers Lauren and Amy there posts have also given me the courage to move forward and post.Growing up in a house of negativity is I guess the main reason for my lack of wanting to post and share my heart with the world.As a child I was always told you will screw it up and everyone is out to get you.I never got an opportunity to  become who I was meant to be for fear of failure and rejection.I became afraid to do just about anything.Guarded is what I became ,I built a wall around me,a wall so large it became a man made prison . Drugs ,alcohol , or in a meaningless relationship were my only means of feeling normal.The world had me convinced that this is how life works.My path of destruction left many casualties including myself.Life for me was painful to live ,confusing ,consumed with the evil of my actions always looking over my shoulder waiting for the consequences of my actions to bring punishment.Suicide was always a for-thought , but i lacked the courage to complete the horrid task.Thankful now for never taking the eternal leap into hell .A day came when amidst the blur of confusion and chaos , I fell to my knees sobbing uncontrollably I cried out to God ,I hate my life , myself , everything I ever done ! I cant keep living this way,if your real please help me.One year passed after my plea and under a bridge in Philly a man came out of no where and handed me a little black book ,in that book was a story about a mans life and the story ended with a man burning in hell,and it hit me like a truck the man in that story was me.Twelve years later , I look back not to dwell on regret ,but to learn and reflect how negativity built a prison in which I lived.Freedom is on the other side of those walls but you must first surrender yourself and stuff to GOD.

Monday, June 17, 2013

New post on Ask4Recovery





Ask4Recovery – 6/16/13 – Why is admitting that I am powerless to my addiction so hard? by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’…

Why is admitting that I am powerless to my addiction so hard?

Well, who likes to actually admit they are powerless over something? I know I do not. Feeling powerless has always been associated with weakness, with disappointment, with inadequacy. Yet, admitting I am powerless to my diseases has been a huge source of empowerment. Of strength. Of freedom! The definition of powerless is ‘without ability, influence, or power.’ Now that I am able to accept that about my addictions, I have the ability, the influence, and the power.

My ‘stinking thinking’ may always be there, but my rational self is always there as well. This rational self has the power now. I no longer need to fall victim to that detrimental mentality. That destruction. That isolating place where my world got smaller and smaller until it was just me when I was living in my addictions. That is powerlessness. I am powerful when I surrender to my addictions. I am able to live a life of my own design now and not be controlled by the demon inside of me. For so long, that was my reality. I am a creature of habit, so that demon was my habit. My addiction. That is no longer the case though as I have awoken in my life and claimed the power that is innately inside of me! My addictions blocked off that power for far too long and I have regained what has been mine from day one…power. One day at a time.

Now, I can admit I am powerless to my disease and thus, have empowerment in my life. Lauren’s life. That is a miracle.

What are your thoughts on admitting powerlessness?

Sending love,

Lauren
Ask4Recovery | June 16, 2013 at 12:02 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3wKKk-5k


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Saturday, June 15, 2013

The Partnership at Drugfree.org



 June 14, 2013
BREAKING NEWS: Urban Outfitters Pulls Prescription-Themed Products
Just over a month ago, we learned that Urban Outfitters, the national retail store popular with teens, was selling pint glasses, flasks and shot glasses made to look like prescription pill bottles. These products made light of prescription drug misuse and abuse, a dangerous behavior responsible for more deaths in the United States each year than heroin and cocaine combined.
The Partnership launched an advocacy effort and petition to ask the company to remove these products from their stores and website, securing more than 4,700 signatures of support.
It was reported today that Urban Outfitters has halted sale of these products. The retailer shared this statement with CNN:  "In this extensive range of product we recognize that from time to time there may be individual items that are misinterpreted by people who are not our customer. As a result of this misinterpretation we are electing to discontinue these few styles from our current product offering."
We thank Urban Outfitters for listening to the calls, emails and letters of parents and families, health care providers, community and government leaders, and for pulling these products from their stores.
Our efforts don’t end here. Take the Pledge today to #endmedicineabuse. 

Thank you,
The Partnership at Drugfree.org 




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Friday, June 14, 2013

New post on Ask4Recovery





Ask4Recovery – 6/14/13 – How do I achieve balance in my recovery? by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’…

How do I achieve balance in my recovery?

Let’s start with the definition of balance, ‘stability of one's mind or feelings.’ Before I entered recovery, I had no idea what balance was. What stability was. I think I tried to justify and rationalize in my head that I was living a life of balance, but in reality, I was living a life of insanity. So balance is a pretty new concept for me, but also one that I strive for in my mind, body, and soul. It is a learning process as I begin to retrain myself and understand what balance truly means for me. It is different for each person and we are each on our own unique journey.

In the past, I lived in extremes. In black and white. All or nothing. Now, that I am living a life of recovery, the grey area is where my healthy mind and heart want me to live. This grey area means sitting with discomfort. Uncertainty. Frustration. I like having things my way and the reality is, things do not always go the way I want them to go. I can’t force my will onto others or have expectations of others. The only thing I can control is myself. My thoughts. And my actions. Learning balance requires learning myself. Learning what I want out of life. Out of relationships. And that all is possible because I have soundness of mind. Recovery has brought me a miracle and that is my sanity. And with that sanity come the ability to understand what balance means for me. One day at a time.

How do you achieve balance in your recovery? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren
Ask4Recovery | June 14, 2013 at 11:43 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3wKKk-5a


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Walk Masthead 2013
 PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! 2013
  Saturday, September 21
Beautiful Penn's Landing, Philadelphia
 Have you registered your Team?
Thought of a good name?
Given your team ideas for fundraising?

        We're here to help you as we have helped hundreds of teams before you. 
Team RickyNet Steps Life's Journey
        Ask your associates, family members, and friends to join your team and to learn more about why we walk. Spread the word that recovery is real and alive! Do your part to fight stigma. Recovery Walks! 2013 is the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area's largest National Recovery Month event.

        Most important for your team to remember is why teams collect donations. Those donations, large and small, make it possible for us to continue to provide recovery support services, as we have since 1997.

        Our recovery community centers and a training center provide sites for training, support services, and a place to volunteer for committees. Trained recovery coaches, certified peer specialists and mentors provide tools for sustaining recovery; financial planning; employment consulting; health, education and housing information and encourage participation in community service. 

         Those who benefit reclaim lost lives and improve their well-being and the well-being of the community while giving invaluable assistance to others seeking to access and sustain long-term recovery. 

        For help with your team, or to ask a question,
contact Annika by clicking here or calling 215-788-3738 x 110 

Team Captains: You Can Win This Award!
  
        We are pleased to announce that PRO-ACT will award a prize at Recovery Walks 2013 to the Team Captain whose team raises the most in donations. They will earn:
  • The rare honor of throwing out the first pitch at the 2014 National Recovery Month Baseball Game
  • A pre-game tour of Citizens Bank Park for four people
  • Four complimentary field-level seats
  • Their picture on Phanavision
  • An electronic disc showing them throwing the first pitch in September 2014 
        The deadline for the winning team donations total is the day of the Walk, September 21. The winning total will include all donations made up to and including the day of the Walk. 
  
          The names of the winning team captain and team will be announced from the stage on September 21.
  
REGISTER NOW FOR THE WALK

Go to our Recovery Walks Web Site to register yourself or your team, to make a donation, sign up for Honor Guard, or to see a video of last year's walk

TEAM CAPTAINS
Did you see the useful tools in our Recovery Walk Kit?
Click here to see what's available and to download them
The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc.
252 West Swamp Road, Unit 12
Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901
215-345-6644
           

Thursday, June 13, 2013


New post on Ask4Recovery





Ask4Recovery – 6/13/13 – How do I stay positive when the negative pull is so strong? by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’..

How do I stay positive when the negative pull is so strong?

I have to be honest, I am struggling with this as we speak. It is so easy to get caught up in the victim, why me, self-pity party. Our addictions thrive off of that. Our thinking becomes skewed, self-centered, selfish, ego-centric when living in the negative. We become angry, resentful, judgmental and end up beating ourselves up. Why do we do this? Well, we have a disease. And, we are creatures of habit and pattern. Most of the messages that lie within us today were sent to us in our childhood. This becomes part of our subconscious, and about 95% of the time we are living in our subconscious. So we are working against a lot to get to that 5% level of consciousness. But, it is possible to regain consciousness. To connect with our true and authentic self that innately is positive. That self that embodies hope, patience, compassion, and love infinitely. The negativity sucks this out of us.

For me, it is important during these times to take a step back. Reflect on my current status and the amount of spiritual, emotional, mental growth that has evolved during my time in recovery. And begin discerning between my diseased mind and my healthy mind/heart. When I do this, I slow down the thought process. I allow for my higher power to enter and guide me towards doing the next best thing. Which is admitting powerlessness. Surrendering and asking for help. My disease wants me dead. Wants me stuck in negativity. I do not though. And when I am being pulled toward the negative, I have to remember all the times I was able to escape that pull. All the strength I innately have inside of me. I am deserving of everything and more. That helps me. Connecting with others helps me. Releasing the destructive thoughts helps me. I am not alone. And never have to be again. When I remember this, an attitude of gratitude takes over and a mental shift towards the positive occurs as well. It truly is a miracle.

How do you stay positive in recovery? What do you do when the negative energy comes in? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren
Ask4Recovery | June 13, 2013 at 11:52 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3wKKk-55


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Walgreens Agrees to Pay $80 Million in Prescription Painkiller Settlement

Walgreens on Tuesday agreed to pay $80 million in civil penalties, in order to resolve allegations by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that the company violated federal rules regarding the distribution of prescription painkillers such as oxycodone.
The settlement was the largest in the DEA’s history, Reuters reports. The DEA said Walgreens, the nation’s largest drug store chain, allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone and other prescription painkillers to be diverted for abuse and illegal black market sales.
“National pharmaceutical chains are not exempt from following the law,” Mark Trouville, special agent in charge in the DEA’s Miami Field Division, said in a statement. “All DEA registrants will be held accountable when they violate the law and threaten public health and safety.”
According to the DEA, Walgreens’ Distribution Center in Jupiter, Florida was the largest supplier of oxycodone to retail pharmacies in the state. The DEA said the distribution center failed to comply with agency regulations that required it to report suspicious prescription drug orders that it received from its pharmacies.
Six retail pharmacies in Florida that received suspicious drug shipments from the Jupiter Distribution Center filled customer prescriptions that they knew, or should have known, were not for legitimate medical use, according to the DEA. As part of the settlement, the six pharmacies and the distribution center will be banned for two years from dispensing various controlled substances. Walgreens admitted it failed to uphold its obligations as a DEA registrant.
In a statement, the company said, “As part of the agreement with DEA and our continuing desire to work with DEA to combat prescription drug abuse, we have identified specific compliance measures – many of which Walgreens has already taken – to enhance our ordering processes and inventory systems, to provide our team members with the tools, training and support they need to ensure the appropriate dispensing of controlled substances and to improve collaboration across the industry.”

New post on Challenging Addiction

HAMMERED

by April Pfrogner
Hammered
Hammered

Hammered


My first sponsor was a hammer.  She defied the definition of sponsor as we know it from recovery literature. Because I had no idea what the “next right thing” was, I did whatever she told me to do. She had three years clean and sober, so to me, she knew everything. I met her while in a recovery home. She defied the rules by secretly becoming my sponsor and friend. Then I left the place at three months clean, against the advice of the director, to move into her apartment. I had a crappy job at the time and she told me I had to split the rent. I did. The woman had next to nothing but what she had, she appreciated. I felt blessed that she would trust me to live there too. She put a 10pm curfew on me and said if I broke it, I was OUT! When I whined, she told me to shut the hell up and go to a meeting. When I was bored, she found me something to do. When I lacked spirituality, she told me to pray and get my ass to church. She was there that fine day when step one “happened” to me. People thought we were lesbians because we were always together. I really didn’t give a crap.
She didn’t sugar coat it. Most sponsors give “advice” nicely, as not to offend. Being offensive was this woman’s middle name. I needed it though. I was a know-it-all who knew nothing. Compliments were few and far between but when she gave them, she meant it.
After a few years I moved back to my hometown. Something was going on with her and I didn’t like it. At five years clean she was slipping back into old behaviors. I got another sponsor. This woman who was a HAMMER of a sponsor, who went over and above the call of duty, relapsed. Our mutual friend called me one morning to tell me the bad news. This woman had had a spiritual awakening?! How could she just throw it all away? I was crushed to think she went back out. Situations like these remind me that I am never well enough to do without the program of recovery. The day I’m well enough will never come. I think of her when I don’t want to go to a meeting or work steps. I remember the hammer that she was, but also that she GOT hammered. She fell of the pedestal I had created for her. Her final lesson to me was that no one is immune from relapse, not even the best and brightest of the crowd. --Anonymous
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The Partnership at Drugfree.org
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“My son, now 24, was addicted to heroin and cocaine for a couple of years. He became addicted while a sophomore at college. By the end of his junior year…grades slipped, he lost his job…totaled his car and dropped out of school. I want to say to everyone that there is HOPE, there is SUPPORT, and there can be SUCCESS. My son has been clean for over two years…He is now involved in law enforcement and hopefully provides encouragement and support to those who are addicted that he comes across at his job.
Charlie, as posted on The Hope Share.

Dear Joseph,
What does Father's Day mean to you?
For Charlie, Father’s Day may provide an opportunity to appreciate how far he and his son have come as a family. It’s a special time to reflect on the knowledge that addiction is treatable, and recovery is possible.
We are so grateful for the help and hope you’ve given families like Charlies.
Joseph, we hope you will express your love and support once again this holiday, in two unique ways:
First, send a free Father’s Day eCard to a loved one and recognize him for being an amazing dad.
Second, click below to Donate and help The Partnership at Drugfree.org be there for even more parents.
 
Thank you for your support and Happy Father’s Day.

Stephen J. Pasierb, President and CEOThe Partnership at Drugfree.org
P.S. To see read more inspiring stories like Charlie'svisit The Hope Share
P.P.S. Text DRUGFREE to 50555 and reply YES to make a one-time $10 donation to The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
Your donation will be added to your mobile bill. Message & data rates may apply. Full Terms at mGive.org/T


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IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME FALL



Dear Valued Member,

I had to share this with you my Addict's Mom Family..

Shared on the Addict's Mom Facebook Group reshared with permission https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaddictsmom/

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME FALL

IF you love me let me fall all by myself. Don’t try to spread a net out to catch me, don’t throw a pillow under my ass to cushion the pain so I don’t have to feel it, don’t stand in the place I am going to land so that you can break the fall, (allowing yourself to get hurt instead of me).
Let me fall as far down as my addiction is g...oing to take me, let me walk the valley alone all by myself, let me reach the bottom of the pit....trust that there is a bottom there somewhere even if you can’t see it.

The sooner you stop saving me from myself, stop rescuing me, trying to fix my broken-ness, trying to understand me to a fault, enabling me.....The sooner you allow me to feel the loss and consequences, the burden of my addiction on my shoulders and not yours....the sooner I will arrive....and on time....just right where I need to be...me, alone all by myself in the rubble of the lifestyle I lead...resist the urge to pull me out because that will only put me back at square one.
If I am allowed to stay at the bottom and live there for a while, I am free to get sick of it on my own, free to begin to want out, free to look for a way out, and free to plan how I will climb back up to the top. In the beginning as I start to climb out....I just might slide back down, but doesn’t worry I might have to hit bottom a couple more times before I make it out safe and sound. Don’t you see?? Don’t you know?? You can’t do this for me...I have to do it for myself, but if you are always breaking the fall how am I ever supposed to feel the pain that is part of the driving force to want to get well. It is my burden to carry, not yours. I know you love me and that you mean well and a lot of what you do is because you don’t know what to do and you act from your heart and from knowledge of what is best for me....but if you truly love me, let me go my own way, make my own choices be they bad or good. Don’t clip my wings before I can learn to fly....nudge me out of your safety net....trust the process.

Where else you can find the Addict's Mom?


Just a reminder you can find the Addict's Mom on Facebook



Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/theaddictsmom/

Facebook Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/#!/addictsmom (please like there is so much power in numbers, together we can make huge changes)

Also check out our blog:

www.addictionandfamilies.org



The Addict's Mom is dedicated to helping mothers of addicts heal on their journey to becoming healthy addict's moms..



Much love,

Barbara


Visit The Addict's Mom at: http://addictsmom.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Ask4Recovery – 6/12/13 – How do I deal with ‘living life on life’s terms’ in recovery?

New post on Ask4Recovery





Ask4Recovery – 6/12/13 – How do I deal with ‘living life on life’s terms’ in recovery? by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’…

How do I deal with ‘living life on life’s terms’ in recovery?

This has been a hard concept to grasp and I am learning something new about it each day. For 26 years, I lived life on MY terms. My way or the highway. I wanted things done exactly when I wanted them done. I wanted an answer exactly when I wanted an answer. I wanted control. And when things did not go my way, I went into my selfish and self-destructive thinking and engaged in some form of maladaptive behavior to disconnect and numb out. My form of control.

Now that I am no longer active in my addictions and a paradigm shift has happened in the way I perceive people, places, and things, I am beginning to live life on life’s terms. This means accepting things exactly as they are. Not resisting. Not controlling. Acknowledging my mind and my thoughts. Accepting them. Not acting impulsively, which my mind still likes to convince me to do at times. And making a choice to do the best thing I can possibly do in that moment. And most of the time, it goes against what my previous patterns and habits were. But with those previous habits I was living a life of self-destruction, sadness, anger, and disconnection. So my way was obviously not working. I now have a connection to something bigger than myself. A life force that is guiding me and connecting me to my true purpose. My reason for being here. When I was active in my addictions, I was soulless. Spiritually and emotionally bankrupt. And that all happened on ‘Lauren’s terms.’ Today, ‘Life’s terms’ is a whole lot more fun and fulfilling so I am coming back to life, one day at a time!

How do you live life on life’s terms in recovery? What has worked for you? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren

P.S. Check out my friends over at http://www.sobernation.com, the #1 National Recovery Resources and Addiction Treatment Centers Database on the internet. They are spreading the message!
Ask4Recovery | June 12, 2013 at 11:03 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3wKKk-50


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Angst | Renew Everyday

Angst | Renew Everyday

 

June 12
Psalms 74:20
Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.

A new government had seemed the best solution. The overthrow had taken place a new government was installed, and then something had gone wrong. The new president sat enthroned in a palatial estate, where no one could get in to see him. The proposals of the new majority went unheeded. The oppressors had not been eradicated, they had merely changed faces and places. The people were betrayed, and the cruelty continued.
 
Broken promises. They litter the land of most countries. Trust is offered, then it is trampled on. A man or woman's word is only as good as the individual chooses to make it. Thank God that He is constant and true. His covenants are eternal. God never turns from His people, and they never need to fear that they will be forgotten. Let us work in our lives to copy God's commitment to covenant in the promises that we make.
 
Prayer: Make my word was good as the finest gold, dear Lord. Help me to accept the fact that I am lied to each day, and to forgive those who offer up the lies. Amen.
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Scientists: Research Could Lead to Lower-Dose Painkillers, Reducing Dependence

A team of scientists at the University of Michigan say they have identified a new approach to pain therapy that could lead to lower-dose painkillers, which may reduce the risk of dependence.
Patients taking common painkillers such as hydrocodone or morphine tend to develop a tolerance for the medications, which leads them to take higher doses for pain relief. This increases the risk of harmful side effects and dependency, HealthCanal reports.
Opioid painkillers used for moderate to severe pain bind to receptors on nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to prevent pain. “We have for the first time discovered compounds that bind to an alternative site on the nerve opioid receptors and that have significant potential to enhance the drug’s positive impact without increasing negative side effects,” researcher John Traynor, PhD, said in a news release. The compounds potentially could work with the body’s own natural painkillers to manage pain, he stated.
He noted the research is still in the early stages. “This opens the door to developing pain relief medications that require lower doses to be effective, helping address the serious issues of tolerance and dependence that we see with conventional pain therapy,” he added.
The findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

TODAYS ASK Ask4Recovery – 6/11/13 – How do I set proper boundaries in my recovery?by Ask4Recovery



New post on Ask4Recovery

Ask4Recovery – 6/11/13 – How do I set proper boundaries in my recovery?by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s Ask…

How do I set proper boundaries in my recovery?

Ah, the question of boundaries. This can be a hard one. The definition of boundary is ‘something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent.’ I had no idea what boundaries were before I started on the road to recovery. I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it. The concept of setting boundaries was a foreign concept for me. They were blurred and nonexistent. When I was active in my addictions, people were like toys and I used them to manipulate to get exactly what I wanted from them. Ultimately, that is how I felt about myself as well. I was so far from living my truth and constantly manipulated and rationalized the destruction caused by my addictions. My loved ones bore the brunt of this. I expected them to be at my beckon call when I needed them and then blocked them out of my life as soon as I got what I wanted from them. I had no respect or regard for others, but most importantly, did not have any respect for myself. I had no identity and thus, had the inability to set proper boundaries, to assert myself, to express my feelings, or to effectively communicate. My relationships became enmeshed and my self-worth was very low.

Throughout my recovery I have learned what it means to set boundaries. I have learned that I can’t force my will onto others. I have also learned that it is okay to say no and not exert myself in every capacity to appease others. I have learned the meaning of ‘accepting others limitations.’ There are still times when I want someone to do something the way I want them to. Or to react a way I want them to. These expectations are just resentments waiting to happen. With the concept of boundaries comes the concept of acceptance. Acceptance of the person you are and honoring that person in each moment. With that honor comes a sense of identity and the ability to set proper boundaries. This is all a work in progress and I am learning something new about my boundary setting each day. The difference is now, I am aware and have the self-worth to set effective boundaries. Without admittance of powerlessness and surrendering to my addictions, none of this would have been possible!

How do you set proper boundaries? What has worked for you in your recovery? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren

Ask4Recovery | June 11, 2013 at 10:57 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/p3wKKk-4W

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