Recovery (Sort Of) - The Podcast

What is willingness? The ability to be willing? Being willing? The readiness to do something? How do we actually practice willingness? Is there a tactic to be more willing? Can we possible make ourselves more willing that we are? Is the answer to just keep doing the wrong thing until we are ready to do the right one? Is willingness gained from taking a beating? Is willingness openmindedness in act...

We explore the world of judging. We hear early on not to judge others, or take other's inventory, but then we are told to stick with the winners? Well, how do we judge the winners? Judging is a slippery slope. On one hand, every thing we do is a judgment. We judge if we want to get out of bed in the morning. On the other hand, judging can leave us feeling pretty bad about ourselves and others. Do...

We welcome Idalia, the public outreach coordinator for Al-Anon in the Maryland and DC area, to help us explore the world of Al-Anon. We talk about what Al-Anon is, who might find it useful, what types of struggles Al-Anon helps people address, what you might find when you go to an Al-Anon meeting, and who might not find benefit from Al-Anon. Idalia shares parts of her story, what Al-Anon has helpe...

We explore the world of being in recovery from substance abuse and also having bipolar disorder. Erin joins us to help describe the world of bipolar. What's the overlap like? Are parts of recovery from one struggle also relevant to helping recover from the other? Are there any practices that we generally suggest to people in recovery that might not be the best for individuals that deal with bipola...

We talk about the safe use sites, also known as safe consumption sites, also known as harm reduction sites, also known as legal injection sites. We explore the 2 locations that have recently opened up in New York City, what they do, how they work, and if it seems to be helping. There has been much criticism of the idea of having safe use sites, even within the recovery community. The idea of safe...

On this episode, we explore the world of family members who are affected by problem gambling. We are joined by Christine, who shares her story of how problem gambling in her family led to her introduction to Gam-Anon. We talk about what the program of Gam-Anon has to offer, how it addresses the struggles of the "Anon" member of the family system, and how to start the journey of getting help. Gam-A...

Continuing our dive into spiritual principles, we focus this month on openmindedness. We explore the world of having an open mind. Are you openminded? How many people think they are closeminded? I bet very few people think they have a closed mind, and yet, we encounter so many people that are not open to new ideas outside of what they already think. Science has shown that the brain seeks out infor...

We have Jenny on to teach us about wise speech. Wise speech, or right speech, is one of the 5 precepts of ethical conduct in Buddhism. Jenny, with her exposure to the Recovery Dharma and Refuge Recovery programs, explains what wise speech is, and we try to learn how it applies in our daily life. We explore the universe of 12 step world to see if any of the principles taught in 12 step programs are...

What is drug court? We have on Ray, a drug court case manager to talk all about drug court. How does drug court work? Who qualifies for drug court? Is drug court mandatory? What is the point of drug court? What types of requirements are there once you get into drug court? How long is the program of drug court? Is drug court effective? While Ray can only speak for what he knows about the local drug...

Just get honest! Or is that always the best way to go about life? Is honesty a principle that we are meant to practice in all our endeavors? Or is honesty a virtue, where the goal isn't honesty 100% of the time, but to find a balance? We explore the concept of honesty, some of the theories about levels of honesty, what we believe the goal of honesty is, and if it's okay to be dishonest if the inte...

We talk with John about recovery houses. How effective is recovery housing? Are there certain practices that take place in some recovery houses that are useful to assisting recovery to take place? Are there things recovery houses are doing that aren't beneficial at all? What makes a "good" recovery house? What can house owners and managers do differently that might inspire recovery? Should recover...

We welcome back Pete to talk about his struggles and successes in dealing with chronic pain in his life. Pete talks about herniated discs in his back, which led to being prescribed pain killers by doctors. The more pain killers he used, the more pain he ultimately felt. The consequences that occurred in his life as a result of being on a ton of pain killers for an extended period of time. And even...

We sit down with David Poses, author of The Weight of Air , to talk about his book and the world of science as it applies to opioid addiction. David's, through the story of David's life and trying to find recovery from heroin and pill abuse, tackles many of the tough topics around medication assisted treatment and the many misperceptions our society has. We talk about harm reduction and how our pr...

Are you a perfectionist? Is perfectionism a way of life for you? Do you struggle with taking way too much time to do things because the result has to be perfect? Is this a bad habit, or a positive attribute to your personality? Do you find that perfectionism adds value to your life? Or do you find being a perfectionist to be a drain on your resources? Do you have a hard time being satisfied with t...

We explore nostalgia. From it's roots as a medical diagnosis, to a feeling of being homesick, to it's present, positively associated longing for simpler times, we take a look at what nostalgia really is, and if it's useful or not. We explore how nostalgia is not an actual memory, but a sanitized version of the past, with positive feelings attached to it. Our brains trick us into thinking that thin...

Tradition twelve: Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. We explore the ins and outs of what the Twelfth Tradition is all about. What is anonymity, and how is it used in this tradition? What is it to be the spiritual foundation? What does it mean to place principles before personalities, and how do we put it into pra...

We talk about things we used to believe. And not just believe, but things we would argue to the death were right, and now we don't even believe them anymore. We examine some of the things we have shared in meetings, with people in our network, with sponsees, that we not only don't believe anymore, but actually think is unhealthy or bad information. We examine ideas like: NA is right for everyone/t...

If you've been around a 12 step fellowship or program for any length of time, you've probably heard about a convention. Heck, you've probably been to a convention. It just seems like part of the package. But why do we have conventions? Why are they outside of the basic service structure of the program or fellowship, but instead are their own incorporated entities? Does Narcotics Anonymous have say...

We explore taking spiritual principles into the work world. This part 2 episode, follows episode 103: Working in Recovery to talk about how we can apply the spiritual principles, values and morals that we find are right for us, in the workplace setting. Do we have to do nonprofit work to be spiritually fit, or is there a way to take principles into any job? Is it okay to aspire to make money? What...

Tradition 11: Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films. We examine all the aspects of the 11th tradition. What does it mean to attract rather than promote? Does tradition eleven mean that we are not allowed to advertise? Our public relations groups have purchased billboard spots, pla...

Simplicity is a spiritual principle. We have Jenny on to talk about simplicity and how it impacts and effects our lives. Have you ever considered simplicity in your daily practice of spiritual principles? How do you practice simplicity? What does that actually look like? We tell people to "keep it simple" and take it "one day at a time," but is that the whole of practicing simplicity? How do we ke...

What is Polyvagal Theory? Polyvagal Theory, or PVT, is a a theory in the therapy world that our nervous system, through evolutionary adaptations, has 3 branches that inform our current state of being, and that these different nervous system states affect all areas of our life, without us ever knowing. Working the the dorsal, sympathetic and ventral branches of the nervous system, understanding our...

What is our responsibility, or commitment, in our recovery? Is it solely to the program or fellowship environment we belong to? We have spent most of our recoveries believing that showing up at a meeting to be of service to the newcomer arriving at that place is all we need. But is there more? Are there needs in the recovery/addiction community that go unmet when we only show up at our local meeti...

The 10th tradition, Narcotics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the NA name ought never be drawn into public controversy, is under discussion in this episode. What does it mean we have no opinions? About nothing? That seems impossible. Why would tradition ten guide us away from having opinions about anything? Don't we think we should have opinions about what treatment works if ther...

Where do we start when we are ready to enter the workforce? Do we look for a career, or start with just any old job? How do we stay motivated to keep looking for a job after we already have one? What about criminal background checks, how do we approach those on applications? And further, what about for those of us that have felonies? Are felonies completely limiting to what we can do, or is there...