Sobriety requires ongoing effort on your part. Many recovery activities are long, challenging tasks that involve concerted mental, emotional, and physical effort. Fortunately, for those who lead busy and demanding lives, this isn’t true for every recovery task.

If you have just five minutes to spare in the day, there are plenty of things you can do to further your recovery.

These simple actions offer amazing benefits for both your health and happiness, plus they help to keep your recovery on track. Here are a few:…

I sat down and opened up the Big Book I brought with me. And somehow, my daughter – who had yet to give up on me – had snuck a note in there.

“I’m so proud of you, Daddy, for taking the first step.”

That’s when I knew I had to make this work. I had to give this everything I had left. And it wasn’t much. Luckily, the other patients know what it’s like to wake up with that pit in your stomach the first day. They look out for the new guys and tell you how things work…

People who problematically drink or drug often use alcohol and other drugs to feel good, to stop feeling bad, or both. They do this even when drinking or drugging interferes with their work, taking care of their family, and handling important responsibilities.

Although these people might agree in the abstract that work and family are far more important than drinking or drugging, their actual day-to-day behavior appears to put an extravagantly high value on feeling good…

What makes life meaningful?

Knowing the answer can make a big difference in your personal fulfillment. At Sunshine Coast Health Centre in British Columbia, program director Geoff Thompson and his team regularly help clients discover and develop a meaningful life.

Despite that, Thompson doesn’t have any easy explanation for what makes life meaningful.

“A meaningful life is…

Consider those who excel at giving gifts. First, they take joy in finding what seems to be the perfect gift. Their excitement begins before any gifts are opened. I know this because my wife is an excellent gift giver, and she is filled with anticipation at the point of purchase. Second, these gift givers take joy in your joy, assuming you are quite pleased with the gift. Joy all around, with double joy for the givers.

When you see someone who has had many years of recovery, you see someone who has made a lot of changes in life and in their environment.  It’s no secret that recovery changes your entire life. It means work from you and support from loved ones every day. However, these changes are not easy to make. You might be holding on to many thoughts, behaviors, patterns and people because it’s all you have known for a long time. But holding on to the old way of doing things means staying in addiction.