Blog Articles
Additional resources written by our PCS therapists.
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Water and Ice— Two Symbols of Emotional Wisdom
Many twelve step groups allow for a feelings check, frequently at the beginning of a meeting. Many people struggle to identify and embrace feelings. Sometimes, a group member will struggle and share a thought while attempting to express a feeling. An example might be “I feel like I am in… -
For the Addict: Integrity is More Important than Sobriety
“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance Hard won sobriety is a treasure. The stories of addicts who fail to achieve this illusive paradise are replete. For some, sobriety has been inaccessible. In support groups addicts take chips to mark… -
The Intimidation of a Guru Mentality
“We are the leaders we have been looking and waiting for”— Grace Lee Boggs-Detroit Grace Lee wrote this in the last book of her life, The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century when she was 98. The content of her book expressed challenge, conviction and an implemented… -
Mother Work
We come from fallible parents who were kids once, who decided to have kids and who had to learn how to be parents. Faults are made and damage is done, whether it’s conscious or not. Everyone’s got their own ‘stuff,’ their own issues, and their own anger at Mom and… -
Self-Sabotage: The Common Undoing of Every Addict
“You know, it’s not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if the world does it to you long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself.”— James Baldwin Through the years of working with addiction, self-sabotage offers the most common cause… -
Objectification vs. Seeing People for Who They Are
“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs”— Step 12 If you choose to stay with the 12 step program long enough, inevitably you will need to embrace Step 12. … -
Compassion: Tenderhearted Consideration for Healing Broken Relationships
Compassion is a conscious choice to care for yourself and others in the presence of human suffering. It opens my heart that would otherwise remain closed. A closed heart is a common response to human suffering. In a closed heart, brokenness is sequestered and allowed to fester. Fear dominates. Hate… -
Empathy and Compassion: Crossover Experiences That Cultivate Depth in Personal Healing
It has been my experience that the most impactful healing component in addressing addiction has been the cultivation of empathy and compassion. Each emphasize the importance of care for self and others. There is crossover with both components. Some think they are the same. Compassion and empathy are not magic… -
Everyday Brokenness: The Source of Beginner’s Brilliance
“I absolutely want to paint a starry sky. It often seems to me that night is still more richly colored than the day”- Vincent Van Gogh The word brilliance in our world is most often reserved for those with high IQ and those who are able to combine physical talent… -
Relapse— Again?—Are you kidding me? Real Steps to Resurrecting Sobriety from the Ashes of Relapse
“It doesn’t’t take much brain shit for the junkie worm to do its work in the thought life of an addict” – KW One of the most difficult struggles about recovery is that it is so daily. There are times that it can be so difficult and such a drag…. -
Learning to live inside limits: The secret to finding your own brilliance in long term sobriety
When our granddaughter, MJ, turned 2, she exploded into a world of adventure with nonstop exploration and inquisition. Her world was an ongoing journey of exploring experiences that the adults around her had long since accepted as common place. There was no stopping her except when it was time to… -
The Importance of Resilience on the Road to Recovery
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.” ― J.K. Rowling Most of us in recovery have our own description of “rock bottom”. Some have lost everything while others experience of failure led them to a place of spiritual bankruptcy and despair without losing it all…. -
Flexibility: The Key to Long term Sobriety
“I was desperately unhappy trying to adjust to the world” – Al Purdy One day I watched a 10 year old boy who loved PBJ’S (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). From the shelf, he grabbed his jar of creamy peanut butter and from the fridge he reached for his favorite… -
Vulnerability: Everyday experience in the life of a Sex Addict
“Going to school without your pants on is a common dream of vulnerability for a lot of people. Telling someone you are a sex addict is getting emotionally naked for real. Vulnerability ain’t no dream for a sex addict”— Ken Wells I’ve been in recovery for 30 years now. I… -
An Open Heart: Essential Ingredient to Cultivating Every Day Brilliance
One of the great difficulties to mastering recovery is that it is so daily. Every day issues that demand recovery keep coming at you relentlessly. Struggles with disappointment, overcoming fear and intimidation, shortcomings and failures in mundane moments of everyday living are reality for us all. Utilizing strategies to manage… -
Average: The Scariest Place on Earth
M. Scott Peck once wrote in his classic book, The Road Less Traveled that “life is difficult”. It’s also difficult to admit or accept that you are average. For many, to be average is the equivalent to failing. Who wants to talk about being a failure? Who celebrates being average—like,… -
Affirmation – “Send love in response to hate”
Most of us grow being taught that it is not OK to hate. I have heard some people say that if they told their mother when they were little “I hate you” they would get their mouth washed out with soap. Religion has also frowned on hate. The encouragement is… -
Spirituality
“I am not a human being having a spiritual experience but a spiritual being having a human experience” There are different people who have been credited with this common quote utilized by many. Some people feel boxed in using the word spirituality to describe experience in life. It is often… -
Gray Zone
Living out a sober life is quite a feat regardless of the addiction. Cravings dominate to varying degrees. Commitments begin to meltdown as soon some addicts close their mouth in a 12 step meeting. We have all heard stories of addicts who swore to commit to sober living who began… -
Affirmation
“This is my day and I am not going to let anyone or anything take away this day of expression, love and celebration-not another person, experience or thought – I will have a beautiful wonderful day” Often times I have wondered why some addicts who have struggled for so long…
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