Alcoholics Anonymous

“Recovering,” “Recovered,” “Cured”: What’s the difference?

After you have a few meetings under your belt and you have listened to several different speakers, you will probably start to notice that some of them say they are “recovering,” others say they have “recovered,” and still others say they are completely “cured.” Is there a difference? To many in program, there actually is. It has been my …Continue reading →

Mar

Bad Sponsors

I hate to write the following, but it is a fact of 12-Step life. Despite your best efforts, more likely than not, at some point in your recovery, one of your sponsors is bound to let you down. Or worse. Once again, you must never lose sight of the fact that sponsors are people in …Continue reading →

Mar

“Hat-Blat”

One of the phrases you will hear if you go to a few AA meetings is “H.A.L.T.” It is a mental reminder designed to help alcoholics kill the urge to drink by asking themselves if they have let themselves become too Hungry, too Angry, too Lonely, or too Tired. I’ve added a couple of things to …Continue reading →

Mar

Be Prepared!

One of the best things you can do for yourself as you begin your new abstinent life is to make sure that your cupboards and your fridge are stocked with plenty of abstinent food. Following your food plan involves a lot more than just resisting you binge foods. It also requires that you be pro-active …Continue reading →

Mar

“That Still, Small Voice”

About a year ago, I started “hearing from God.” Doesn’t that sound so crazy? Like I think I am actually in communication with The Great Creator?! If someone had told me the same thing only a few short months ago, I would have been the first to say there was something wrong with them. After …Continue reading →

Mar

Stop “Measuring” Yourself!

One of the toughest things for food addicts to give-up is our impulse to measure ourselves, whether by getting on a scale, using a measuring tape, counting calories, monitoring our time at the gym, graphing our progress, projecting how long it will take us to lose a certain amount of weight, or marking the number …Continue reading →

Mar

What is a “food plan” and where can I get one?

A “food plan” is a written list of what you can and cannot eat. It is what you will use to decide if you are abstinent or not. Food plans can come from a doctor, a nutritionist, a book, a “diet club,” or from your food sponsor. Some sponsors will tell you that they will …Continue reading →

Mar

What goes on at a 12-Step meeting?

If you have never set-foot in a 12-Step meeting, the whole thing can seem a little intimidating. Following is a format that most anonymous meetings follow, more-or-less. It is my hope that if you know what to expect ahead of time, you will be more likely to stop-by and check one out. When you first arrive. …Continue reading →

Mar

What is “prayer?”

When I first started-out on my “spiritual quest,” I thought that prayer meant what I did when I got on my knees beside my bed and recited something I had memorized in CCD class but barely understood. Wrong! I have since learned that it is what I do any time that I talk to God …Continue reading →

Mar

Sponsors Are NOT Your Higher Power

One of the most difficult lessons for those new to 12 Step programs to learn is the fact that, sooner or later, their sponsors will let them down. Why? Two reasons: newcomers tend to put their sponsors on pedestals, and sponsors are only human. But rather than seeing this as a limitation, try to look at it as …Continue reading →

Mar

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