People find recovery in a number of ways, but the recipe that has worked for me over the past twenty-nine years remains unchanged: Prayer, twelve-step meetings, working with other women, a morning program to start my day, and nature. I never realized how important...
It’s no secret that the cost of depression in America runs into the billions, but does it matter if a person’s depression is clinical or situational? I think it does. Doctors continue to medicate people and label them depressives when in fact the person is depressed...
Most of us don’t have perfect families, but a few lucky people out there probably have families that come close; these are the people who can enjoy familial relationships where most all get along and life is grand; these are the people who look like one big Hallmark...
It may be a skosh early for Christmas bulbs and lights, but it’s not too early to devise a game strategy on how you plan to deal with all the people and festivities that will vie for your time, and if you allow, maybe even steal your peace. As the holidays bear...
There are numerous variables when we wonder why some people have an increased risk for mental health diagnoses and substance abuse, and others don’t. The one question that should be asked by doctors and other health professionals when they encounter someone who is...
Too often there are deeper reasons why so many people flock to the bar after work or insist on drinks while cooking, lunching, brunching, or when curled up in a blanket to languish away the day on the couch—the bottomless glass of wine or cocktail as much a part of...
Even with all the progress that’s been made in the dialogue surrounding alcoholism and addiction, I’m still baffled that labels, stigma, and for some—the shame of claiming a disease that they think if they only had enough willpower, they could control. Is it...
Help! I can’t breathe; I feel I may suffocate under the delusion that I can still find a way to be perfect. If you can relate to the above sentence, even a little, keep reading… Are we so worried about being perfect that we drink ourselves into alcoholism...
There’s so much talk about addiction and the struggle that can ensue for those mired in addiction, but little time is spent focused on the children who have no say so in the matter. The addict or alcoholic who struggles to live a sober life understands better than...
Prior to recovery my go-to modus operandi was react and run. Once I got sober I had to learn to switch gears. I had to learn to live the trite but true sayings like, feel and deal, and you don’t have to be tore up from the floor up before you make a change. How in the...
