Recovery Road

Feelings are what make us human. Written originally for young people, Earl Hipp's book, Feed Your Head: Some Excellent Stuff on Being Yourself, is a timely reminder, in these anxiety-producing days of coronavirus pandemic, about healthy expression of anger.

Having tried all kinds of unhelpful responses to feelings that seem overwhelming, those of us in recovery have practices to help us navigate negativity, and we're usually looking for more. Kevin Roberts recommends the depression-defying gift of gratitude in his book, Cyber Junkie: Escaping the Gaming and Internet Trap.

Authors Ronald and Patricia Potter-Efron describe shame as, "A painful belief in one's basic defectiveness as a human being." In their book Letting Go of Shame: Understanding How Shame Affects Your Life, the Potter-Efrons help us consider our shame as a messenger or teacher, with a role to play in our lives.

In this time of uncertainty, let's turn our attention to one of the only things we can control: our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, by working through two exercises from the new guided journal by Barbara Theodosiou, Living Without Shame: A Support Book for Mothers with Addicted Children. Although this support book is designed for mothers, these exercises can be helpful for anyone who feels a little (or a lot) overwhelmed right now.

Maintaining a healthy recovery during a worldwide pandemic can be hard work. In addition to keeping connected to our support systems and staying away from opportunities to use, we also need to continue the work of self-evaluation. In this excerpt from his book, 12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery, Dr. Allen Berger shows how confusing self-concern for selfishness prevents us from acting on our own behalf. Learning to honor and care for ourselves is a hallmark of recovery.

There are fewer options than usual for finding a natural high while we're both in recovery and in the pandemic. Luckily, Jodie Gould's High: Six Principles for Guilt-Free Pleasure and Escape tells us we can restore ourselves with sleep and massage.

If you've ever asked for advice in calming your anxiety, someone has probably suggested that you meditate. In her book The Recovering Body: Physical and Spiritual Fitness for Living Clean and Sober, author Jennifer Matesa introduces us to somebody who greatly improved her own meditation practice: a dog named Flo.

For those of us who walk in the worlds of both mental illness and addiction, it's important to think about what Step Three's release of control means to us, especially with the coronavirus pandemic in our midst. In her book Sane, Marya Hornbacher talks about the illusion of self-control and the concept of surrender.

Too much stress puts us at risk of relapse and can harm our health, but how can we avoid stress at a time like this? In her book A Kinder Voice: Releasing Your Inner Critics with Mindfulness Slogans, Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart offers this paradox: meditation will work much better for us when we stop trying so hard.

Many of us are running ourselves ragged these days, as parents or caregivers. But, as author Rosemary O'Connor explains in A Sober Mom's Guide to Recovery, it's not only beneficial to show yourself some compassion, it's necessary.