Today's group episode looks at three more signs they would place at the entrance of a recovery house to plant seeds in new inductees into the program. The quotes are about: 1) it's not easy but it's worth it, 2) recovery must come first and 3) why would anyone want to return to the hell of addiction? I'm sure all of my listeners will be encouraged by the words of my friend on recovery from Australia, South Africa and the United States.

In this group session, our guys in recovery chose one of three quotes that they would put up as signs on the wall if they opened a new sober living house. Here's what the quotes are about: 1) it's okay to go slow, 2) learn to love yourself and 3) recovery opened the gates of hell and let me out. I hope you enjoy their ideas.

Do you remember when Mom would kiss your boo boo and make the pain go away? Why did that work? How did you handle pain when you were too old to get your boo boos kissed? How did you feel when Mom no longer provided the comfort you needed? Could this be a seed that fueled your search to self medicate to numb your pain? Maybe you learned that no one cared anymore so you just began to repress your poison and emotions. If this is you, now is the time to tell someone how you feel!

When you drive a car are you focused on the rest view mirror or do you look in front of you through the windshield? Obviously we all look in front and only glance back! So why do we tend to keep looking in the rear view mirror of our life? Why do we focus on our past mistakes to the point that we limit our ability to move forward? This episode reminds us to start a lifestyle of letting go just as the trees let go of their leaves every year.

Pink Cloud Syndrome is the sense of euphoria that many recovering addicts experience early in recovery. It typically includes a feeling of overconfidence and is referred to as the "honeymoon phase." In today's episode we look at the characteristics of the Pink Cloud Syndrome and how they can negatively affect our walk if we begin seeing the world through rose colored glasses and all of the clouds look pink!

What obstacles do you have in your life or recovery? How are they keeping you from reaching your goals? How can you learn to view these obstacles like hurdles to jump over or puzzles to solve? In this episode we look at those questions and see that obstacles are normal in life. Even if they seem unfair, we have choices on how we handle them. Remember, break through your obstacles before they break you!

They say the things we escape start pursuing us and this pursuit can become relentless! So we need to begin to push back so our pursuer gives up. In today's episode our group of guys in recovery discuss the thing that pursued them the most and how they pushed it away.

Today's episode is a group session with our guys in recovery. The question they respond to is "Think about the following quote and tell me what you would say to someone caught in this cycle." Here's the anonymous quote "When you can stop, you don't want to. And when you want to stop, you can't. That's addiction."

Were you raised by a Critical Parent? Today's episode looks at signs of the wounds of childhood criticism that we carry into our adult life. We look at how these wounds have affected our self image, our relationships and our socialization. I utilize the 16 signs as outlined by Dr. Seth J. Gillihan from this article on Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/202212/16-signs-you-were-raised-highly-critical-parent#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16706755119482&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fus%2Fblog%2Fthink-act-be%2F202212%2F16-signs-you-were-raised-highly-critical-parent

In this group session episode of guys in recovery share their thoughts on being tempted by the idea of something to take the edge off their feelings of guilt. The truth is we can either get bitter or better! Do you have a support community to turn to when you feel guilty? Do you have repressed guilt because you've never found the person to talk to who made you feel safe enough to share? If this is you, please reach out and contact me.