Best of Resolutions for a New Year
12 Days of Hope Series #3 This time of year, the word “resolution” is on the mind. There is something about a clean New Year and the hope for change. For those with active addiction or an eating disorder, the holidays exacerbate their disorders and accentuate emotional triggers. Social media says we should keep resolutions […]
Resolutions and Changes – Making Them Stick
12 Days of Hope Series #2 Welcome to 2025! In your social circles, the “buzz” is probably about New Year’s resolutions. Did you make any? I want to share some perspectives on how humans make behavioral changes, such as resolutions or adjustments to our relationships and lives. In our second addition to the 12 Days […]
Hopeful Resolutions – How to Make Behavioral Change Stick in 2024
In less than two weeks, it will be 2024. In your social circles, the โbuzzโ is probably already about New Yearโs hopeful resolutions. Have you made any? According to the Statista Global Consumer Survey, the top resolutions for the coming year are to exercise more, eat healthier, and lose weight. The resolution to deal with […]
Thinking vs Acting – the First Steps to Recovery
Making changes to your alcohol habits is a massive undertaking. It can take months – years even – to get to the point where you actually stop drinking. And thatโs okay, because transformation is a long process and it starts from deep within. Often things can be moving well along in the direction of change […]
Denial of Addiction – the First Stage of Acceptance
In our last article, we reviewed what it feels like to be a person developing a substance use disorder (SUD). We are now beginning a series discussing the dynamics and defenses used by people as they develop an SUD. The primary defenses used as addictive disease progresses are denial, justification, deception, and manipulation. Denial, […]
Gracefully Welcoming Change: Recovery in an Ever-Changing World
Change. Many of us struggle to navigate it gracefully. To create meaningful change, we have to do things differently. We must engage in some self-reflection. And practice self-awareness. And admit our shortcomingsโฆ Itโs a lot of work. I could draw a metaphor, here, about the changing seasons (itโs finally starting to feel like spring […]
Clever Addicted Brain – Sabotaged when Contemplating Change
My favorite scene in the movie Jurassic Park doesn’t end well. The Australian park ranger is hunting raptors and one of the creatures rattles the fronds in front of him. While he prepares for the kill shot, another raptor sneaks up from behind. The ranger is eaten alive, but not before uttering the unforgettable […]
The Moment of Action – Creating Meaningful Change
How do we know when we are ready for change? How do we enact change in our lives? When we anticipate profound change, we believe the momentย will come to us in an equally profound way. We want the moment.ย We expect it.ย I’ll change when the moment presents itself to meโsomeday when it’s right. The moment permits […]