Some Keys to Successful Recovery
Here’s just a short list of fundamental but essential elements for a balanced recovery program:
Therapy. Take a look at the issues that are still troubling you and take steps to resolve them.
Step work. Review the steps every day or every couple of days and take a look at “the work that is given me to do.”
Meditation. Like is says in Step Eleven, “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact.”
Sleep and Diet. Basic stuff but often ignored. Don’t try and get through the day on nicotine and caffeine and then do the fast food thing for dinner. Feed your body a healthy balanced diet that includes plenty of good “brain food” and SLEEP!! Get as much sleep as your body asks for as it try’s to repair itself.
Vitamins and Supplements. Take a high quality vitamin mineral supplement daily or as directed by your health care professional.
Acupuncture can be very helpful for people in all forms of recovery. It can aid the body in repairing itself, help you sleep, aid in digestion, and alleviate pain. If you have not tried acupuncture and are struggling with your recovery, it’s worth a try, I think you will be surprised at how effective it is.
Meetings and Sponsorship. Regular attendance at meetings is essential for almost everybody in recovery. Some people find it a good place to start, others make it a regular part of their week. While you’re there, speak up and ask for a sponsor. Plenty of people are willing to help get you started and are very supportive of the newcomer.
Balance. Question yourself to see if you have proper balance in your life. An addicted life is acutely out of balance and a life in recovery often becomes overwhelming. Try and maintain healthy boundaries and know when to say “no.”
Love. Find the time and the space for love. Your partner, your pet, your garden, your Self. Take time to love.
Questions? Send me an email etohtx@aol.com
Kurt Swensen
Certified Addictions Specialist
Hello Kurt,
I liked your article. Just listened to the online radio show, and it was so helpful. I have been sober since Feb. 12, and I am going to meetings every day. People are very anxious to help like you said, and I am appreciative. However, I’m curious to know why the Big Book doesn’t have more detailed step work written in it? Why do I have to have a sponsor to show me? It’s hard enough being so honest about all your shortcomings and downfalls. Self examination is so difficult! I’m sure you’ve heard all this before. I guess what I mean to ask you is, Why can’t I work the 12 steps by myself? I feel like I learn better that way. Are there alternatives to the steps? I realize that the Big Book and all that is supposed to be the only proven way to work, and I accept it. I just wish I could be a better student. I don’t want to be the naughty one challenging years upon years of proven success. Just wondering if there is anything else out there in our “modern society” that might work a little better for me. Also, is it true that when you are done with your 12 steps and you become a sponsor that you have to start over and do the steps over and over again for the rest of your life? I heard that at a meeting and though “what a drag…I can’t do all this again!”.
Thanks for your time.
I’m so glad to have found this on twitter. Very imformative and easier for me then meetings. Face-to-face can be a little intimidating for some of us. Thanks again.
-Eva from Dallas
Hey Eva,
Thank you listening and thank you for your comments and support. The big book was written a long time ago and serves as a guide. For more specifics, working with a sponsor or therapist is always a good idea, but not required. You can work the steps by yourself and yes, there are alternatives but none that I know of are as effective.
I have a gift I would like to send you that I think will be helpful. Send me an email at etohtx@aol.com and I will shoot it right back to you.
Thanks again for being one of the ORS family.
Kurt
Love your radio show!
Love your radio show! Bravo! Loving forward to listening to all
Thank you Mary Ann. You can listen to all the shows, free, through Itunes or here at ORS. Glad to have you with us. Kurt
Is this website entirely 12-Step related?
Hey, Colleen, no, we welcome everyone. Thanks for visiting.
Kurt
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