Category: Addiction Blog Posts
AA Step 5 — Confession
In AA, step 5 is often looked at as one of the hardest steps that exists. Why? Because the 5th step in AA is confession—and confession is incredibly humbling and humiliating. If you’ve gone through confession before, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Talking about your deepest, darkest secrets isn’t exactly fun—it’s horrible. You…
Grief and Addiction in the Time of a Pandemic
Grief and addiction can be so intertwined in the addict as to be almost inseparable. Opposition to change, and an unwillingness to be uncomfortable, is at the heart of the addict’s reaction to grief. Dealing with grief—processing grief—is a skill every person, addict or not, must learn in order to live an emotionally healthy and…
Step 4 AA | Time for Action
Step 4 of AA is intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Up to this point in the 12 steps, we’ve done nothing more than answer 3 questions and make a decision. In step 1, we admitted that we were powerless over drugs and alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable. Those are a…
Step 3 AA | Turned Our Will and Our Lives Over to “God”
Step 3 of AA is something I’ve seen hundreds of people struggle with. It’s so hard that many people just can’t get past it at all. But step 3 doesn’t have to be so bad. There are a few ways of looking at it. And to tell you the truth, you don’t have to believe…
Step 2 AA | This Is Why It Can Be so Hard
Step 2 of AA takes a lot of people out. Step 1 is the hardest step. It’s a bitch. But step 2 of AA can be just as difficult. It’s a deceptive step. Many people think that they have it the moment they walk in the door because they believe in a higher power–some god…
Step 1 AA | What It Is and How It Works
Step 1 AA: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (and drugs)—that our lives had become unmanageable.” I’m sure we’ve all heard this in meetings before: “Step 1 is the only step you have to do perfectly.” I always wondered what the hell that meant. How can a step be done perfectly? What does that…
What Rehab Is Really Like
If you’re wondering what rehab is like, then let me just tell you my personal story about going to rehab. I’ll never forget first time someone told me they’d been to a drug rehab. It was like talking to a leper. I was still using, and I would continue to use for another couple years.…
Are 12-Step Groups Cults? Maybe
In the recovery community, we have to grapple with this question all the time: are 12-step groups cults? The answer is complicated. As far as what an addict/alcoholic needs to do to be successful in their recovery, there are many opinions and suggestions, and sometimes they can be so different that the newcomer doesn’t know…
This Is Why Addicts Can’t Stop
You’ll hear a lot of reasons why addicts can’t stop doing drugs and why alcoholics can’t stop drinking, but the main reason they can’t stop is because they literally cannot stop—their brains won’t allow it. If they would, and they truly wanted to, I promise you that they could (some don’t want to stop, and…
Are You Sober If You’re on Suboxone? I Wasn’t | I Was Snorting Suboxone
Are you sober if you’re on Suboxone? I wasn’t — I was snorting Suboxone. It’s a question that many opioid addicts have to ask themselves, especially when facing the question of eventual Suboxone withdrawal. When I woke up in a detox in 2011, the doctor said, “We’re going to put you on Suboxone to wean you…