Stateline Retreat in Primm, NV – December 11th 2009
If a person in recovery is utilizing a 12-Step program, sooner or later, they will be tasked with choosing a sponsor. A sponsor is someone who has worked the steps, has a sponsor, and is in recovery for at least one year. A sponsor can utilize their experience to support and guide a person who is newer to recovery. Many people are not sure, however, what else to look for in a sponsor.
Becoming a sponsor has many benefits. Sponsoring helps not only the individual being sponsored but also the sponsor as well. This is due in part to the fact that sponsors keep themselves and others accountable. Research shows that recovering addicts who have sponsors are significantly less likely to relapse in the year following.
Tonight, we talk about Sponsors and Sponsees.
Stateline Retreat in Primm, NV – December 11th 2009
Journaling, or keeping a regular record of experiences and feelings, especially as they relate to your recovery, can be a helpful tool to advance your healing process. For example, a journal can be used to record your recovery-related struggles and accomplishments or to identify – and work through – difficult emotions. It also helps to hold you accountable for your decisions and actions and helps you invest in your own self-discovery.
Journaling is a type of expressive writing, where your main goal is not to produce a “product” like a story, or an article, or an essay, but instead to simply use the process of putting thoughts and feelings down on paper to help you understand and cope with these thoughts and emotions.
Tonight, we talk about Writing and Journaling in Recovery.
Stateline Retreat in Primm, NV – December 11th 2009
Using books, literature, and other texts as part of a recovery program and are a known intervention for both substance abuse and depression. You may have experienced a moment where you identified with the main character in a story and empathetically experienced their joy when they conquered their obstacle. Or maybe you read a poem and thought to yourself that you could have written the words yourself—that’s how much they meant to you.
When struggling with addiction, it can also be helpful to read the stories of those who’ve already embarked on their recovery journeys. Following their path into sobriety can be cathartic, and can bring a newfound sense of hope about the future. Narratives told by peers can be especially helpful here, because they show that recovery is possible, and for many, that’s the first step in imagining what their own recovery might look like.
Tonight, we talk about Recovery Literature.
James M. from Slidell, LA speaking on the History of AA at the Robbers Roost AA Group’s Back to Basics men’s retreat in Cuyamaca State Park in San Diego, CA
In our program, it’s our responsibility to make plans. Making plans help us to achieve goals. Goals to improve our well being. Goals to help us be happy, joyous, and free. We are told, it is okay to plan, just that we should be careful not to plan the outcomes. We can make a plan, we should just be careful that our plan doesn’t turn into an expectation. An expectation that is unreasonably high can turn into a premeditated resentment. And resentments are dangerous for us alcoholics.
Tonight, we talk about Making Recovery Goals.
James M. from Slidell, LA speaking on the History of AA at the Robbers Roost AA Group’s Back to Basics men’s retreat in Cuyamaca State Park in San Diego, CA
The title ‘A New Pair of Glasses’ refers to the new perspective on life Chuck C gained through practicing the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous.
