The Recovery Time Capsule: What 2024 Taught Us About Healing Well, folks, we made it through another year without setting ourselves on fire (metaphorically speaking, at least). As we wrap up 2024, let's crack open this time capsule and look at how recovery got a serious tech upgrade, while somehow becoming more human than ever. The Year AI Became Our Late-Night Confidant Remember when talking to robots meant you'd definitely had one too many? Well, 2024 said "hold my kombucha." According to recent developments , AI is now revolutionizing addiction treatment with personalized care and virtual therapy. And let me tell you, as someone who once thought "cloud computing" meant doing math while high, this is pretty mind-blowing stuff. Research shows that AI chatbots are now providing support similar to human interaction, minus the judgment about your 3 AM existential crises. They're like that friend who never gets tired of your stories – because, well, they ...

Resolutions Reimagined: Why 'Getting Sober' Isn't Enough (And What to Aim for Instead) Ah, New Year's resolutions – that magical time when we all collectively decide to become perfect humans overnight. And if you're thinking about recovery (or already in it), you've probably heard the classic: "This year, I'm getting sober!" Spoiler alert: I've been on both sides of that declaration – first as the person making it, then as the counselor hearing it. Let me tell you something they don't put on those inspirational recovery posters: according to research , about 80% of New Year's resolutions fail within six weeks. Ouch. But here's the plot twist – I'm not here to rain on your recovery parade. As someone who traded meth for a bachelor's degree (talk about an upgrade), I'm here to tell you why "getting sober" isn't enough... and what you should aim for instead. The Problem with "Getting Sober" as a Reso...

 The Space Between: Navigating the Quiet Days After Christmas in Recovery The decorations are still up, but the magic has faded faster than your aunt's passive-aggressive smile when you declined her spiked eggnog. Half-eaten cookies sit in tins nobody wants to touch anymore (except at 3 AM when the sugar cravings hit like a freight train). The relatives have gone home, and your sanity has almost returned. Almost. Welcome to what I like to call "the space between" – that weird twilight zone between Christmas and New Year's where time loses all meaning and we're not quite sure if it's okay to wear pajamas to the grocery store. (Spoiler alert: it is.) For those of us in recovery, these days can feel like walking through quicksand while carrying all the emotional baggage our family kindly "gifted" us during their stay. The rush of holiday adrenaline crashes hard, leaving us alone with our thoughts in the aftermath of family gatherings, social obligations...

              Let the Holiday Dysfunction Begin   You know those perfectly curated holiday photos on social media? The ones with matching pajamas and pristine dinner tables? Let's talk about what's really happening behind the scenes for many of us. Right now, someone's getting bombarded with passive-aggressive texts from Aunt Karen about why they're not coming to Christmas dinner. Someone else is trying to figure out how to dodge intrusive questions about their life choices. And plenty of us are setting boundaries with family members who think the holiday season gives them an all-access pass to our lives. Here's what I've learned: You're not alone in this mess. Not even close. Those uncomfortable family group chats? The guilt trips? The manipulation tactics? They're playing out in homes across the world right now. It's like a holiday tradition nobody asked for, but everyone got it anyway. But here's the th...

  Scrolling Sober: The Wild West of Social Media Recovery (Yeah, It's a Thing Now) Let's get real for a hot second: as someone who's both been there (hello, recovery!) and now sits on the other side of the desk as a counselor, I've watched the recovery landscape transform faster than you can say "TikTok made me do it." And let me tell you, it's a whole new world out there, folks. The Digital Sobriety Revolution (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Zoom) Remember when getting help meant physically dragging yourself to a church basement? Well, welcome to 2024, where recovery support is available 24/7 from the comfort of your couch (pants optional, but recommended). As someone who now provides telehealth services office-to-office and office-to-client, I can tell you it's been a game-changer. And yes, sometimes my cat Steve Or Baby Dog  makes guest appearances during sessions – consider it free pet therapy. The Good: Why Digital Recovery Doesn...

  Patience in Recovery: When "One Day at a Time" Feels Like Forever Let's talk about patience – that elusive virtue that everyone preaches about but nobody actually enjoys practicing. You know, that thing we're supposed to have while watching paint dry, waiting for water to boil, or – oh yeah – rebuilding our entire lives in recovery. 🙃 The Instant Gratification Paradox Here's the thing: We live in an Amazon Prime world. Want something? Click. Bam. It's at your door tomorrow. Need information? Google it. Done in 0.3 seconds. Hungry? DoorDash is already sending you notifications about your favorite takeout. And then there's recovery. Where everything. Takes. Forever. As both a recovery counselor and someone who's walked this path (plot twist!), I can tell you that the universe has a pretty twisted sense of humor when it comes to teaching us patience. Just when you think you've got it figured out – BAM! – life throws you another "growth opportu...

🌟 Hump Day Reality Check: What's Your "One Thing" Today? 🤔 You know how we're always like "Thank god it's hump day!" and counting down to Friday? I caught myself doing that this morning, and then I had to laugh because... aren't we supposed to be living in the present now? (Pretty sure that was mentioned once or twice in the history of recovery 😉) But for real though - instead of just pushing through to the weekend, I want to flip the script. What's ONE thing you're going to do for YOU today? Not tomorrow, not this weekend. Today. Could be something tiny like finally making that doctor's appointment you've been putting off (guilty as charged), taking a 10-minute walk instead of scrolling through your phone during lunch, or maybe facing that work project that's been living rent-free in your head. Recovery taught me that the small choices we make each day are what really move the needle in our lives. So I'm putting it out the...

  The Bizarre Mathematics of Suffering: When Loss Equals Gain Ever notice how life has this twisted sense of humor? Studies show that 70% of lottery winners end up bankrupt within a few years, while 77.9% of cancer survivors report at least one positive life change from their harrowing experience. It's like the universe is running some sort of cosmic practical joke shop. I've been thinking about what Musonius Rufus said about choosing sickness over luxury. At first glance, it sounds like the kind of philosophical BS that trust fund kids spout while "finding themselves" in Bali. But here's the thing – that crusty old Roman might've been onto something. See, luxury is like that friend who shows up with cocaine at 2 AM. Seems fun at first, but before you know it, you're selling your grandmother's jewelry and wondering where it all went wrong. It doesn't just rot your body; it gets into your soul like termites in a log cabin. And much like those term...

  Real Talk: You're Your Own Chaos Coordinator 🎭 Let's get brutally honest here (because that's what we do best, right?). Everyone's walking around saying "OMG, my mother-in-law is driving me crazy" or "This job is killing me!" Meanwhile, I'm sitting here thinking... hold up. You know what's actually happening? We're basically volunteering to be everyone's emotional punching bag. Plot twist: we're the ones throwing the punches at ourselves. 😅 Quick reality check: That coworker who "makes your blood boil"? They're just existing. You're the one doing the internal screaming. The holidays that "stress you out"? They're just dates on a calendar. You're the one turning them into your personal horror movie. That person at the grocery store who "ruined your day"? Honey, you handed them that power like a free sample. Listen, I get it. Life isn't all sunshine and rainbow-colored unicorns p...

  When Your Recovery Feels Like a Bad Netflix Series: Stuck on Repeat Look, we've all been there. One day you're crushing it in recovery, feeling like you've finally got your shit together, and the next thing you know, you're staring at your ceiling fan wondering if it's spinning or if that's just your brain doing somersaults. Welcome to the recovery rut – that special kind of hell where your routine decides to ghost you like a bad Tinder date. The "Oh Crap, Everything's Falling Apart" Phase You know what's funny (in that not-really-funny way)? We spend all this time building these perfect little routines, like nourishing our bodies with healthy food, exercise, and consistent sleep schedules – things we probably laughed at during our using days. Then one day, poof – it all goes sideways. Maybe your meditation app unsubscribed itself from you (rude), or your support group started feeling more like a bad reality TV show reunion. Family: The Ult...

  Recovery in the Age of Trap and TikTok: Navigating Today's Soundtrack I'll admit it: the other day, I found myself yelling at a Gen Z relative, "In my time, we had real music! None of this autotuned, mumble-rap nonsense!" (Spoiler alert: I came off as an out-of-touch oldster.) It hit me: the musical landscape has changed dramatically, and this shift can be especially complex for those navigating recovery. Let's face it: fire up TikTok or browse through contemporary charts, and you'll find a mix of tracks that are, quite frankly, a little triggering. Trap bangers with casual references to Xanax as a study aid? check. TikTok creators gleefully lip-syncing about getting lit? You bet. It's enough to make you contemplate deleting your streaming apps and subsisting solely on your oldies playlist. But here's the thing: recovery doesn't mean living in a musical bubble, and there's still a wealth of inspiring, uplifting content out there. You might n...

Surviving (and Actually Enjoying) Thanksgiving in Recovery The holidays. A time of joy, gratitude, and hotly contested political debates around the dinner table. It's a season of sparkling lights, cozy sweaters, and the warm, fuzzy glow of a freshly uncorked bottle of wine. Or three. Or ten. For those of us in recovery, the holiday season can feel like a minefield, with triggers lurking behind every innocuous-seeming mug of hot buttered rum. And Thanksgiving, with its focus on food, family, and (let's be real) getting absolutely hammered, can be especially fraught. The Minefield of Family Dynamics Picture this: you're seated at the dinner table, surrounded by the loving faces of your family. Your aunt is telling the same story about your childhood embarrassing moment for the 12th time. Your cousin is loudly expounding on his political views. And your grandma keeps offering you "just one little pill" to take the edge off. For people in recovery, the holidays can be...

  Creative Ways to Handle Election Stress (Because Let's Face It, We Need Them) Election seasons can feel like an endless cycle of anxiety, a political stress rollercoaster we can't escape. It's like being trapped in a never-ending Twitter argument, but with worse punctuation and more existential dread. But fear not, friends! There are ways to cope, even when it feels like the world is losing its collective mind. Embrace Your Inner Artist (Even If You Can't Draw a Straight Line) Get creative! Paint, draw, or sculpt your feelings. You don't have to be good at it. In fact, the worse you are, the more hilarious it might be. Imagine a stick figure of a politician with a bright orange face and a hairdo that resembles a startled cat. Laughter is the best medicine, right? Learn Something New (That Has Absolutely Nothing to Do with Politics) Always wanted to learn how to knit, play the harmonica, or cook exotic dishes? Now's the time! Engage your brain with a new hobby ...

  Shades Off: Ditching Negative Thoughts with a Dash of Dark Humor We've all been there - stuck in the quicksand of crappy thoughts, with our mental binoculars locked on the worst-case scenario. It's like trudging through a swamp while wearing sunglasses smeared with mud and pessimism. But what if you could wipe those lenses clean? Challenge those gloomy assumptions? Swap your Eeyore vision for something more realistic...and maybe even a little rose-tinted? The Dark Side of Negative Thinking Before we dive into the tools, let's talk about why it's so important to address those negative thought patterns in the first place. Getting stuck in the muck of negativity can have some serious consequences for both our mental and physical health. Mental Health: When we let negative thoughts run the show, it can worsen depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental health challenges. It's like spinning your wheels in the mud - you're not getting anywhere, but you're d...

  From Rock Bottom to Rising Confidence: The Journey of Self-Esteem in Recovery Self-esteem – everybody's favorite topic, right? Well, buckle up, folks, because we're about to dive into the messy, beautiful world of rebuilding pride and finding inner peace in recovery. And hey, we'll sprinkle in some dark humor along the way, because if you can't laugh at the absurdity of it all, you might just lose your mind. So, why is self-esteem such a big deal? Think of it as the engine of your recovery. With a healthy dose of self-esteem, you've got the power to keep moving forward, even when the road gets rough. But during active addiction, that engine gets trashed. We're talking sputtering, smoking, on the side of the road – it's a miracle the thing still moves at all. So, how do we get that engine roaring again? First, let's acknowledge that this isn't a quick fix. Rebuilding self-esteem takes time, patience, and a whole lot of kindness towards yourself. It...

  Recovery: It's Not a One-Size-Fits-All Sweater (The Extended Remix) You know those awful holiday sweaters your aunt insists on knitting for you? The ones with the garish reindeer and itchy yarn? Yeah, traditional recovery approaches can feel like those. Well-meaning, but a poor fit and kinda scratchy. I'm tired of the "my way or the highway" mentality plaguing the substance abuse treatment world. We've all encountered the zealots: "AA is the only path!" or "Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the devil!" It's enough to make you want to toss your recovery goals out the window and grab a bottle of... well, something. Here's the thing: we're not all knit from the same yarn. What works for your coworker, your neighbor, or that one guy from that one meeting might not work for you. And that's okay. More than okay – it's essential to understand. Recovery isn't about surviving; it's about living. It's finding a qual...

From Hell to Helping: Navigating the Challenges of Recovery in the Field They say those who can't do, teach. But what about those who've been to hell and back? Can they teach, counsel, or nurse? Should they? The question of individuals in recovery entering the helping professions is a complex one, filled with landmines, silver linings, and a whole lot of gray area. The Dark Side: Relapse Risks and Unfinished Business Let's get the scary stuff out of the way first. The helping professions aren't for the faint of heart, and they're certainly not a cakewalk for those in early recovery. The stress, the trauma, the endless needs of others...it's a recipe for disaster if you're not solid in your own sobriety. One moment of weakness, one boundaries slip, and you could be face-first in the booze or dope again. And this time, you're not just dragging yourself down, but also the vulnerable people relying on your care. There's also the matter of unfinished busi...