http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr A supportive environment for those recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:01:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This next block is in italics: this text is wrapped in italics http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2009/04/07/test/ A meeting topic this week focused on guilt. It seems to be something that rises up for various reasons and can drag us down if we let it. Guilt is defined as having remorse for having done something wrong. What is important is to decide to forgive ourselves by letting ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/17/screw-guilt/ Today, at a meeting a nicely dressed woman showed up drunk. She is a designer who has been coming to meetings for a while. She had been out partying and was completely messed up, laughing and generally making a lot of commotion. A couple of guys got her quieted down ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/15/sad-to-see/ There are things in life, situations, whatever, that I still don't navigate so well.  I don't know if that's the part where I'm "recovering" and have a ways to go, or if it's simply endemic to being an addict, recovering or not, or if perhaps I'm simply an outright mental ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/14/still-ok/ I don't expect altruism, but this and this are creepy. http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/14/capitalism-and-pharmacology/ I've spend this whole, entire day not calling my husband. All I can think about is how much I want to call him, and I know that I can't call him. When I'm feeling this deep need to connect with him, he can hear it, and he will use it ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/14/no-phone/ Sure, Sunday nights are perfect for spending time with fellow recovering addicts. Sunday's here are even better, because you have a chance to hang out with your favorite bloggers in our chat room. Our guests of honor want to share their experiences with you and open the room up for ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/14/ginger-bauler-will-host-chat-this-sunday/ I've heard a lot of jokes and humor regarding the Al-Anon program. I don't take offense at them because there often is a misunderstanding of what the program is about. What it isn't is a program that bashes or promotes criticism of the alcoholic. In fact, Al-Anon encourages compassion towards the ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/14/dispelling-the-myths/ Day One Monday night I told my partner, "I want to quit smoking." This is very different than agreeing with family members, "sure I need to quit smoking."  They always start THAT conversation. I woke up and took the dog for a really long walk, about 2 miles. I made a point to ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/13/day-one-ending-the-dependency-on-nicotine/ Holidays are a time of stress for so many in recovery. Whether it's relatives' alcoholic behavior or just plain screwed-up dysfunction, our families have special access to our triggers. Who but family can elicit the reemergence of every character defect, personality flaw, and long lost resentment that we thought we'd ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/13/dreading-the-holidays/ Boy, that sounds severe. Especially from someone who thinks of concentration camps, "Work Will Set You Free" propaganda, Hitler's design to convince Jews to work themselves to death. But some people who work the Steps tell me that they don't get five minutes off. No time to ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/13/work-is-your-playground/ Unfortunately, access to longer term treatment is often limited to those who can afford to pay out of pocket, but it looks like long term treatment may be making a comeback:In fact, data suggest 30 days aren't nearly enough.Research published in 1999 by Bennett Fletcher, a senior research psychologist at ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/13/back-to-the-future/ One of the things that relatives of alcoholics do is put forth a happy face to the world that masks a mess underneath. I've always liked the saying that "Happiness is an inside job". But one of the challenges in recovery is to understand how to go ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/13/its-an-inside-job/ I found a kitten in a gutter yesterday! It's the best thing, ever. She's soft and cuddly and has a beautiful white belly, and all she does is sit on my shoulder and play with my hair and poop on the floor and sleep and love! Ωxxxxg That was a message from ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/11/kitten/ Paul Krugman posts a picture announcing that "The Civil War is over." Well, yes, it is, but blatant racism still exists in our country, despite our new Presidential flavor. Meanwhile, Makani Themba-Nixon offers a better illustration: "If anyone doubts that racism is alive and well in American politics, the fact that more ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/10/the-defeat-of-prop-5-california-is-disappointing-the-country/ He mentioned his life partner died a year ago. That caught her attention. It was her first clue. She assisted him as he limped into the hallway with his new walker. Purposefully, she asked, "How long were you and your partner together?" It was only a slight variation from the ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/10/the-closet-a-story-of-love/ Oy vey. What is there to say. More of the freak show. Truth is, most addicts will tell you that they started with tobacco or alcohol. For several years, I've been seeing more young clients report pot as the first drug they tried. Now, it looks like pain relievers may be overtaking ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/10/same-old-same-old/ The other night, my husband and I were watching The Amazing Race, a show in which teams of two people follow clues to race to various destinations around the world. Many of the teams view this challenging competition as an opportunity to work together and become closer to each other, ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/09/easy-street/ The new issue of Addiction has a provocative editorial on mandated treatment. It's an issue that I'm very interested in and posted about recently. The writer makes the case that autonomy is usurped by addiction, making it ethically justifiable to coerce treatment for the purpose of restoring autonomy. The author then goes ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/08/denying-autonomy-in-order-to-create-it/ Depression disabled me. I was unable to work, even unable to care for myself at times. Then, after deciding alcohol was good medication for what ailed me, I became an alcoholic! I got sober and my depression symptoms have been slowly improving, finally, over the last several months. I haven't ... http://www.cyberbitten.com/tsr/2008/11/08/of-a-new-directionand-fear/