You Can Observe a Lot Just By Watching.
You can observe a lot just by watching.
–Yogi Berra
When we watch others, we learn how to “act as if.” We watch a patient person and then we “act as if” we’re a patient person. The result? Over time, we’ll become a patient person. We watch how good listeners listen, and we “act as if” we know how to listen. Then one day, we realize we’re really listening! We watch people who have faith, and we “act as if” we have it. Then over time, we become spiritual people!
Prayer for the Day
Higher Power, help me find You in the people and events of my day.
Acti...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - August 17, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Higher Power Meditation Wisdom act as if patient person Source Type: blogs
Hypersexuality and Addicts
Hypersexuality among a Substance Abuse Population
(Hypersexuality = Excessively high sexual inclination, desire or activities. Not necessarily sex addiction.)
In a group of 211 patients seeking treatment for a substance abuse, 25% screened positive for hypersexual behavior.
This prevalence rate greatly exceeds the estimates of hypersexual behavior found to be roughly 3–6% among the general population.
Findings suggest that hypersexual behaviors may be more commonly observed in substance abuse populations.
Patients seeking treatment for a substance abuse should be systematically screened for hypersexual behavior wit...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - August 17, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Sex & Love Addicts Sex Addictions Sexuality Hypersexuality Source Type: blogs
Sober as Deviant
The Stigma of Sobriety and How Some “Stay Dry” on a “Wet” Campus
All alcoholics and their co-dependents have experienced stigma. Indeed one of the reasons for not attending Alcoholics anonymous or Al-anon is the fear of social stigma. The attached article explains how and why stigma is cast on non drinkers.
Social scientists have conducted numerous studies on binge drinking behavior. They have not, however, conducted any systematic studies of nondrinkers. Our study focuses on the everyday experiences of nondrinking who stay “dry” while living on “wet” campuses. We use the symbolic interactionist notions ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - August 12, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcohol Alcoholism Codependency experienced stigma Sober as Deviant Stigma of Sobriety Source Type: blogs
How Does AA Work?
This study is the first to investigate exactly how AA helps individuals recover by examining the independent effects of several mechanisms simultaneously.”
Kelly is an associate professor in the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry.
Studies have documented the short- and long-term benefits of AA participation, only recently have researchers investigated how those benefits are conferred. A broad range of factors associated with AA participation have been identified as contributing to recovery including changes in social networks, maintaining motivation, confidence in the ability to cope with the demands of re...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - August 6, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Higher Power Recovery members stay sober participation in Alcoholics Anonymous successful alcoholism recovery Source Type: blogs
Obituary – Someone Else?
“Someone Else” has passed on.
Our fellowship was saddened to learn recently of the death of one of our most valued members – ‘Someone Else’. Someone’s passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years Someone did more than a normal person’s share of the work.
When ever there was a job to do, a position to fill, or a meeting to attend or to open one name was on everyone’s mind. ‘Let Someone Else do it !’
When ever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results, “Someone El...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - August 4, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Wisdom Someone Else Source Type: blogs
Motivation
Higher Power or Self Motivation
Most of us fight the temptation to be lazy, to get by with doing the minimum instead of our best. When we were children, we had parents and teachers who urged us on to greater efforts. As adults, we have to depend more on internal motivation and less on the exhortations of others.
Working for strictly material goods is not enough to provide the impetus and enthusiasm we need. It is our Higher Power who gives us our talents and abilities, and it is His plan for their use, which we seek to follow.
Doing less than the best we can is short-changing ourselves. We miss the satisfaction that come...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - August 3, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Food Overeaters Anonymous Recovery Books Self Motivation temptation to be lazy Source Type: blogs
Dr Bobs Last Message
Dr Bob, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous address delivered at the first International Conference of AA at Cleveland, Ohio in I950
My good friends in AA and of AA.
I feel I would be very remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to welcome you here to Cleveland not only to this meeting but those that have already transpired. I hope very much that the presence of so many people and the words that you have heard will prove an inspiration to you – not only to you, but may you be able to impart that inspiration to the boys and girls back home who were not fortunate enough to be able to come. In other words, we hope t...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - August 2, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Dr Bob Source Type: blogs
De-Stress for Sobriety
De-Stress Your Environment
It’s usually easy to tune out the minor irritants our work and home environments throw our way. Most irritants aren’t major health risks. But, watch out. When minor environmental irritants turn toxic, your surroundings can make you more vulnerable to chronic stress.
On top of that if we are in recovery from alcoholism, addiction or co-dependency the environment we live and work in can disturb our sobriety – if we let it.
Take a minute now to look around the room you are sitting in. Use all your senses to detect any of these common environmental stressors:
Clutter
Too much noise
U...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - July 30, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Healthy Sobriety Chronic stress De-Stress Environmental stress Source Type: blogs
Narcotics Anonymous 2013
Conclusions: NA offers support for long-term abstinence from diverse misuse of drugs among users of different backgrounds.
(Marc Galanter, Helen Dermatis, Stephen Post, Courtney Santucci; J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 74, 349–352, 2013)
:Doctors in AAWhat Are Drug Users Looking For?Alcoholics Anonymous with Narcotics Anonymous success in…AA Membership Survey 2007Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy (Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com)
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - July 29, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Cocaine Drugs Heroin Marijuana Narcotics Anonymous Recovery Abstinence From Drugs abstinence-based fellowship Source Type: blogs
Where There is Charity and Wisdom
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor annoyance.
Where there is love and joy, there is neither greed nor selfishness.
Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.
—- St. Francis of Assisi (paraphrased)
You are reading from the book: The 12 Step Prayer Book by Bill P. and Lisa D.
The 12 Step Prayer Book: A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings
Subscribe to Recovery Is Sexy by Email:Sought Through Prayer and MeditationPassionSister Ignatia – The Drunk...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - July 26, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Meditation Wisdom 12 Step Prayer Book Charity and Wisdom Source Type: blogs
AA – First Five years
Lois W, wife of Alcoholics Anonymous’ Co-founder, Bill W, recalls the time in AA when there were few members and no Big Book
In the early days of AA things were really different. For five years there was no Big Book. The only way to communicate with people was to go tell them, so that was what we did of course, all the meetings were held in peoples homes, the homes of those people lucky enough to have them.
Anybody who had one made it wide open to whoever the boys brought in. Our houses, Dr. Bob’s in Akron and ours in Brooklyn were just filled up with drunks, either drinking or stopped temporarily; or well on the way ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - July 24, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Adult Children of Alcoholics Al-anon Alateen Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Women big book co-founder Lois W Source Type: blogs
A VIP Member
When I attended my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, a grandfatherly man acting as chairperson looked at me and said, “You’re the most important person here tonight.”
Well, that statement was just what I liked to hear, because I thrived on attention. I went home from the meeting that night and thought long and hard. Two nights later, at the next meeting, I went in feeling very sure that I was still the most important person there. As a matter of fact, for the first thirty days or so, I felt I was doing the rest of the group a favour just by coming to their meetings!
We have a fairly small group and don’t see new...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - July 23, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism most important person Source Type: blogs
Review of the book ’Alcoholics Anonymous’
How more than 100 men have recovered from alcoholism
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: The story of how more than one hundred men have recovered from alcoholism. 400 pp. New York Works Publishing Co., 1939, $3.50.
The psychological aspect of alcoholism taxes the entire skill and intuition of the therapist, and the authors of this book claim that in the long run the ex-alcoholic patient who is properly trained in psychological method is an extremely effective person to bring about the cure of the neurotic alcoholic individual.
The first part of the book discusses methods, with particular stress on twelve steps in the recovery program. ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - July 23, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcohol Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Victorious Alcoholism Faith Psychological Illness Sobriety Spirituality 12 steps god therapist Source Type: blogs
Me a Sponsor
Last night, a new member of our Alcoholics Anonymous group asked me to be her sponsor.. Yes, me!
Although it was after only a few skipped beats that I gave her my reply, it seemed like an eternity, because a lot of questions immediately surfaced in my mind.
“Am I qualified to be a sponsor? How will I be able to say the right words to her at the right time? Is the quality of my sobriety sound enough to inspire her? What if I do irreparable damage by a faulty response to an important question? I am not a very profound person and am still finding my own way, so how can I have all the answers for her? Some of the Steps are ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - July 21, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Sponsorship Women Me a Sponsor Source Type: blogs
