Welcome to the Addiction Blog RoundUp for the Week. Enjoy your reading!
Inspiring Book Quotes Part 1
Beth over at B Here Today says she spent some time going through her books over the weekend and found some fabulous quotes. She’s right! My favorite quote from this list involves what I always label as courage – being afraid of something and still showing up or doing the activity anyway. This is a huge struggle in early recovery, and can continue to be even further along in sobriety. Here is the quote:
The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, continually moving forward. The most important aspect of being on the spiritual path may be to just keep moving. ~ When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron
And as a bonus, she has a Part 2 list that was posted yesterday so you can go read those quotes too!
Gratitude – Don’t Forget the Little Things
Over on the Gratitude and Trust blog, Tracey Jackson is writing about gratitude (!) this week. She spent the week being grateful for all the little things that we take for granted in our lives every day. Gratitude is something that does not come easy in early recovery. It is often a struggle to see the small things that are wonderful in our lives. A great reminder that, whatever the problem is: “It’s not the end of the world.”
Befriending at the Right Pace
This is an interesting article about friendship written by Peg O’Connor at the Philosophy Stirred Not Shaken blog. She is talking about Aristotle’s three types of friendships: pleasure, utility, and virtue/complete. As someone moves into recovery, the friendship issue often becomes a struggle. Old friends fall away (or they are pushed away) because the similar interests (drinking or drugging together) are gone. Suddenly there is a question about the how and the why of making new friends. This article helps to give a bit of perspective around friendship formation and maintenance.
On it’s Way (Or Already Here): Hash Oil
Next up this week is a brief post on the Recovery SI blog about hash oil. No matter how you might intend to use it, I find the potency of this drug alarming. It also has some highly explosive properties which makes it dangerous to your health on several levels.
Are Substance Problems Among Older Americans a Coming Crisis?
Finally, Chelsea Carmona has a very informative article at substance.com about substance use and abuse in the aging population. She identifies clearly that this population has unique assessment and treatment needs, none of which are currently being addressing in the general substance abuse treatment field. The health care system is also scrutinized, and she notes that in general, the needs of seniors are not being met in this system either. The good news is, she feels that baby boomers may be up to attacking the issue of stigma.
That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend!
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or codependency issues, Contact me today to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation to talk about how we can work together or find the right person for you.
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