Dropping Our Defenses and Making Change

We all have defense mechanisms that we’ve developed over time, often without being aware of it. In times of trouble, the behaviors that have worked to get us past challenges with the least amount of pain are the ones that we repeat; even when part of us knows they no longer work. for example us as alcoholics are constantly seeking elevated moods usually through alcohol. We know we are powerless and have lost the ability to choose a different path even though we know it no longer works for us. We continue on, not knowing exactly how lost we were and how much damage drugs and alcohol did until we seek alcohol addiction help and get into a drug addiction detox or an affordable rehab. Such behavior is a natural response from our mental and physical aspects. But because there is a spiritual solution as well, we have the ability to rise above habits and patterns to see the truth and hope that lay beyond. And from that moment on, we can make choices that allow us to be free from the bondage of our addiction.

Most of our defense mechanisms were developed in childhood; from the moment that we realized crying would get us the attention we craved. Passive aggressive ways of communicating may have allowed us to get what we needed without being scolded, punished or laughed at, so we learned to avoid being direct and honest. Some of us may have taken refuge in the lives of others, discovering ways to direct attention away from ourselves entirely. Especially when our drinking began to really take off and we started losing control. Throwing ourselves into projects or rescuing others from themselves can be effective ways to avoid dealing with our own issues. And when people are truly helped by our actions, we get the added bonus of feeling heroic. But while defenses can keep away the things we fear, they can also work to keep our good from us.

When we can be honest with ourselves about what we truly desire, as well as the true nature of our disease then we can begin to heal.

The Importance of Fun in Sobriety

When we first receive alcohol addiction help and get sober we can become very serious. While this is important since we are dealing with such a cunning, baffling, and powerful disease, it is also important to remember to have fun along the way.

Often when we talk about fun, or doing things just for fun, we talk about it in a dismissive way as if fun isn’t important. We tend to value the steps, 30 day rehabs, work, drug addiction detox, and seriousness, and we forget to pay our respects to the equally important, light side of silliness and laughter. After all we didn’t get sober to be miserable and surprisingly enough there is tons of fun to be had in sobriety.  We all know the feeling of euphoria that follows a good burst of laughter, and how it leaves us less stressed, more openhearted, and more ready to reach out to people. We are far more likely to walk down the street smiling and open after we’ve had a good laugh, and this tends to catch on, inspiring smiles from the people we pass who then positively influence everyone they encounter. Witnessing this kind of chain reaction makes you think that having fun might be one of our most powerful tools for changing the world. In while it is important to recover and do the work it takes to stay sober it is also important that we enjoy ourselves. It is our duty to be examples of this program and if were walking around miserable what kind of example are we really being? There will be hard times. Times when you might want to give up, or are not able to see the light at the end of the tunnel but if you keep doing the work and keep trying there will be many moments of nothing but pure happiness.

Laughter is good medicine for us alcoholics, and we all have this medicine available to us whenever we recall a funny story or act in a silly way. We magnify the effects of this medicine when we share it with the people in our lives. If we are lucky, they will have something funny to share with us as well, and the life-loving sound of laughter will continue to spread.

Addiction, Getting Sober, and Adding to the Story of Our Lives

Everything in our lives adds on to our story; it’s what we do with that story that matters…

One of the hardest things in life is feeling stuck in a situation that we don’t like and want to change but are powerless over. We may have exhausted ourselves trying to figure out how to make change, how to go about seeking alcohol addiction help, trying to figure out which drug addiction detox or 30 day rehab to go to, and we may even have given up. The fact is that every detail of our life has shaped and molded us, it either brings us closer to who we are and want to be or it keeps us further away from our ideal as alcoholics we often times do the same thing over and over again expecting different results when it comes to drugs and alcohol. This type of behavior can often leave us feeling helpless. However if we look at the story of our life there always seems to be some point in it when we were not dependent on alcohol…for example our childhood. For many of us there was a time in life where all was well before we got engulfed in our disease, and if we have an ounce of faith or willingness we find that that place is still accessible if we do the work. We can choose to stay sick and enslaved to this disease because of the lies we tell ourselves as a result of our story or we can draw from those times where we caught a glimpse of what life could be like if we weren’t dependent and decide to get help. The choice is yours.

Drunkorexia – Another Failed Diet Plan

A new study conducted from early 2012 – present by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention shows nearly 1 in 6 adults engaging in binge drinking at least 4x per month. Of this statistic, the largest group of drinkers appears to be between 18 and 34 years of age. Though not specifically to blame, a new form of binge drinking, coined “Drunkorexia” is steadily gaining popularity among this demographic.

CDC studies from 2006 indicate the cost per average binge drinker to be $746, including various expenses, such as health care, auto accidents, STDs, and violence.

To sum it up, “Drunkorexia” refers to a form of binge drinking where young men and women consciously limit their food intake as a way of reserving calories for alcohol consumption; a practice that has been found to enhance the risks of unprotected sex and overdose.

A recent study, involving 227 York University students – ages 17 – 21 – showcased the three main types of eating disorders, including emotional eating, dieting, and eating as a direct response to external stimuli as opposed to hunger. Of these three types, dieting was found to show the highest risk for alcohol abuse.

This alcohol dieting practice is even more concerning, provided the fact that alcohol and weight loss are mortal enemies. Though the occasional drink can certainly have its share of health benefits, those choosing to consume massive amounts of alcohol in lieu of healthy calories actually stand to gain weight.

Alcohol is metabolized in a very different way than other beverages and food items. Under typical conditions, the human body is able to obtain its energy from the calories found in proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, which are processed and absorbed by the gastrointestinal system. When alcohol is present, this process is altered. Because the body views alcohol as a toxin, the fluids will receive immediate attention from the digestive system.

When alcohol is consumed on an empty stomach, the molecules within the alcohol diffuse through the walls of the stomach, reaching the liver and brain in a matter of minutes. The process is much slower when the stomach is full, but as soon as food has entered the small intestine, alcohol is given first priority, and quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.

To boot, alcohol makes it difficult for the body to properly absorb fat and carbohydrates. As such, the calories that would typically be processed for energy are ultimately converted into body fat and stored away within the body. As such, those seeking to maintain or shrink their waist line through drinking, will actually gain weight over time.

If you or someone you know is dealing with alcohol addiction, our Above It All addiction specialists are available to help. Give us a call 24/7, and find out how you can get on track towards the healthy, fit, and happy lifestyle you’ve been chasing.

Having Fun in Sobriety

When we first receive alcohol addiction help and get sober we can become very serious. While this is important since we are dealing with such a cunning, baffling, and powerful disease, it is also important to remember to have fun along the way.

Often when we talk about fun, or doing things just for fun, we talk about it in a dismissive way as if fun isn’t important. We tend to value the steps, 30 day rehabs, work, drug addiction detox, and seriousness, and we forget to pay our respects to the equally important, light side of silliness and laughter. After all we didn’t get sober to be miserable and surprisingly enough there is tons of fun to be had in sobriety.  We all know the feeling of euphoria that follows a good burst of laughter, and how it leaves us less stressed, more openhearted, and more ready to reach out to people. We are far more likely to walk down the street smiling and open after we’ve had a good laugh, and this tends to catch on, inspiring smiles from the people we pass who then positively influence everyone they encounter. Witnessing this kind of chain reaction makes you think that having fun might be one of our most powerful tools for changing the world. In while it is important to recover and do the work it takes to stay sober it is also important that we enjoy ourselves. It is our duty to be examples of this program and if were walking around miserable what kind of example are we really being? There will be hard times. Times when you might want to give up, or are not able to see the light at the end of the tunnel but if you keep doing the work and keep trying there will be many moments of nothing but pure happiness.

Laughter is good medicine for us alcoholics, and we all have this medicine available to us whenever we recall a funny story or act in a silly way. We magnify the effects of this medicine when we share it with the people in our lives. If we are lucky, they will have something funny to share with us as well, and the life-loving sound of laughter will continue to spread.

Changing Your Life, Changing Your Story

Everything in our lives adds on to our story. It’s what we do with that story that matters…

One of the hardest things in life is feeling stuck in a situation that we don’t like and want to change but are powerless over. We may have exhausted ourselves trying to figure out how to make change, how to go about seeking alcohol addiction help, trying to figure out which drug addiction detox or 30 day rehab to go to, and we may even have given up. The fact is that every detail of our life has shaped and molded us, it either brings us closer to who we are and want to be or it keeps us further away from our ideal as alcoholics we often times do the same thing over and over again expecting different results when it comes to drugs and alcohol. This type of behavior can often leave us feeling helpless. However if we look at the story of our life there always seems to be some point in it when we were not dependent on alcohol…for example our childhood. For many of us there was a time in life where all was well before we got engulfed in our disease, and if we have an ounce of faith or willingness we find that that place is still accessible if we do the work. We can choose to stay sick and enslaved to this disease because of the lies we tell ourselves as a result of our story or we can draw from those times where we caught a glimpse of what life could be like if we weren’t dependent and decide to get help. The choice is yours.

Living Sober, Happily

After spending years attempting to escape reality through drug and alcohol abuse, it’s important that you begin your road to sobriety with a healthy dose of optimism and pride. Many hold on to the idea that drugs and alcohol are the root of all their problems… Thus implying that without it, life will be grand! However, many who achieve sobriety will often tell you that the road to happiness far more complex. In this entry, we will offer up some tips on maintaining a positive, healthy and sober mindset throughout your recovery and the lifetime to follow.

1 – Delve into the stresses, anger and hurt that pushed you towards your escape in the first place. Divorce, low self esteem, business failures and family illness are all very common triggers. Once you’ve made the decision to stop using, you may very well find these issues ready and waiting for you to deal with them properly. Recognizing these triggers and taking the initiative to deal with them head-on will help alleviate some of the risks associated with relapse, while providing you with a greater sense of purpose and understanding.

2 – Take time to appreciate your sobriety and the effort it took to get where you are today. Many people struggle for years to achieve even a small amount of freedom from drug and alcohol dependency. If you’ve already made it this far, it’s an achievement worth taking pride in. Do Not Let Go.

3 – Accept the fact that while you likely have regrets; they do not require that you not be entitled to the beauty, wonder and happiness life has to provide. You deserve to feel all the happiness, pain, love, and splendor on a grand scale… not through an alcoholic fog.

4 – Weed through the people in your life who keep your thoughts negative, while choosing to spend time with individuals who encourage your success. Find someone to inspire you… fictional or real… and fill your heart with a full dose of hope.

5 – Find your purpose in life! Pick up an instrument, take a class, exercise, dance, go for walks, laugh, love, and TRY NEW THINGS! Devoting yourself to something outside of your own being will place you in a mindset far from self-indulgence and excess.

If you’re interested in a new lease on life, love and happiness, our Above It All treatment center alcohol counselors are there to help. Give them a call today and find out what we can do to help you achieve the fulfilling, centered and sober life you deserve.

Saying Yes to the Universe Opens the Gate to Receiving What is Really Best for Us

The hardest thing about asking for alcohol addiction help is that it potentially means accepting everything life puts in front of us. Most of us have a habit of going through our days saying no to the things we don’t like and yes to the things we do, and yet, everything we encounter is our life. We may be afraid that if we say yes to the things we don’t like or try new things like a drug addiction detox, getting sober, or an affordable rehab or some sorts we might be afraid we will be stuck with our decisions forever, but really, it is only through acknowledging the existence of what’s not working for us such as drugs and alcohol that we can begin the process of change. So saying yes doesn’t mean indiscriminately accepting things that don’t work for us. It means conversing with the universe, and starting the conversation with a very powerful word—yes.

When we say yes to the universe and to our truth, we enter into a state of trust that whatever our situation is, we can work with it. We express confidence in ourselves, and the steps and we also express a willingness to learn from whatever comes our way, rather than running and hiding when we don’t like what we see. The question we might ask ourselves is what it will take for us to get to the point of saying yes. For some of us, it takes coming up against something we can’t ignore, escape, or deny, and so we are left no choice but to say yes. For others, it just seems a natural progression of events that leads us to making the decision to say yes to life.

The first step to saying yes is realizing that in the end it is so much easier than the alternative. Once we understand this, we can begin examining the moments when we resist what is happening, and experiment with occasionally saying yes instead. It might be scary at first and even painful at times, but if we continue to say yes to every moment through the process, we will discover the joy of being in a positive conversation with a power greater than ourselves.

Doing Your Best vs. Being the Best

We often come into contact with the idea that our best isn’t good enough, as if this were actually possible. If we are doing our best with the work and are staying sober there is nothing more we can do if we are giving it our all. If we ask for alcohol addiction help, and go the extra mile by getting into a drug addiction detox or 30 day rehab program then we are right on track .instead of being hard on ourselves we should celebrate the new life we are starting. Your best is always good enough, because it comes from you, and you are always good enough. You may not be able to deliver someone else’s idea of the best, but the good news is that’s not your burden. You only need to fulfill your own potential, and as long as you remain true to that calling, and always do your best to fulfill your purpose, and stay sober you don’t need to expect anything more from yourself then you are capable of.

It’s easy to get tangled up with the idea of trying to be the best—the best parent, the best employee, the best child, the best sober person, or best friend. If we try to be the best, we run the risk of short-circuiting our originality because we are striving to fit into someone else’s vision of success. In addition, if everyone is striving for the same outcome, we lose out on creativity, diversity, and visionary alternatives to the way things are done. On another note, there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve, but examining where this feeling comes from is important because wanting to be better than others is our ego coming into play. This is something that can be extremely destructive to alcoholics.

The Alcoholic and Letting Go

Sometimes it can be difficult for us as alcoholics to let go of things. Sometimes because of fear and sometimes because of the idea that we know what’s best for us. We have a desire to hold onto and control things because in our mind they might still work for us or will work us again one day. The fact is that if we have taken an honest 3rd step after receiving alcohol addiction help then we know that God will and is taking care of us …And that whatever gets in the way of our sobriety and quality of life will be taken away. It is imperative that we rely on our higher power. Especially when we are new and going into a drug addiction detox, AA meetings, or some type of 30 day rehab program. If we do the work we can be certain that we are more than taken care of. We can be sure that the things we aren’t ready to let go of but need to are things that we no longer need and are capable of letting go of with God’s help. The only requirement in order to achieve sobriety is a desire to stop drinking … but how do we get to that point? Through our higher powers grace and love and an unshakable faith that nothing absolutely nothing happens in Gods world by mistake. To think that we have better ideas is to think that we know better than God and it isn’t until we can let go and except that we don’t that we can recover.