Do you get angry? More importantly, maybe, how do you deal with your anger? Has recovery helped you be less angry or to let it out more gently? This week, Spencer and Pat talk about anger. We are guided in our discussion by these questions. Don't we almost all get angry at some time or another?...

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Do you overcomplicate your life? How can we “Keep it Simple”? Let’s look at the section of How Al-Anon Works about the slogan “Keep it Simple”. How would you relate each of these sentences to your life? When coping with the baffling and often overwhelming effects of alcoholism, the simpler and more straightforward the approach,...

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How are you thankful? Can you be thankful even when life isn’t going well? How can being thankful improve your situation? As I approach the US Thanksgiving holiday, my thoughts naturally turn to thankfulness.In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, we find this bit of conversation between Hamlet and Rosencrantz. Hamlet has just remarked that Denmark is a...

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Say what you mean, mean what you say, and don't be mean when you say it. Many of us have formed patterns of communication that linger even though they may have outlived their usefulness. How did I keep quiet or agree to unreasonable requests in order to avoid conflict? Do I continue to do that...

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This “retro” episode was originally published as Episode 103. Have you ever set an ultimatum? What did you do when it wasn’t honored? How do you deal with unacceptable behavior from your loved ones? Spencer and Maria talk about boundaries. Last week, we read an email from a listener who asked these questions: Do any...

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Start where you are. When change comes, as it always does, it helps to know who you are. Why is it important to know “who I am”? What does it mean to know “who I am”? How have the Steps helped me in knowing myself? (Step 4 is the obvious one, but what about the others?)...

The post Knowing myself – Episode 177 appeared first on The Recovery Show.

What is your story? What brought you to recovery? What challenges have you faced? What have you found here? We had a conversation with Laura about recovery where the local language is not her native tongue. We were guided by these questions. What brought you to Al-Anon? How did you hear about or find the Al-Anon...

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What does it mean that this is a program of “rigorous honesty”? How have you been dishonest to others and to yourself? What have you learned about honesty in recovery? This workshop on honesty was presented by Michele R (AA) and Kim G (Al-Anon) at the 2013 Journey to Serenity Festival (Saskatchewan Al-Anon Adult Children Festival), October...

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What does it mean to forgive? Why do we talk of “finding” forgiveness? And who really gains from forgiveness? What does forgiveness mean? Dictionary Merriam Webster has this simple definition of the word forgive: “to stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone)” And also this: “to give...

The post Forgiveness is critical to recovery – Episode 174 appeared first on The Recovery Show.

Start where you are. Bring your angry self. Bring your despairing self. Bring your resentful and frustrated self. Bring your confused self. And we will meet you there. Sometimes I think I need to be “ready” before I can do something, before I can make a change. But that’s not true of our program. I...

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