Put Recovery to the Test? No Thanks!

Some people ask me - "how did you manage to cope and be a success in your career?" or "how did you manage to carry on with your work while your drinking was out of control and a cause of suffering in your life?" [...]

Practical Wisdom – The Path to Recovery

When I stepped into semi-retirement, I wanted to do something useful and with purpose. I said to somebody that I wanted to stop being an academic. I’ve been a (semi-) academic all of my life. [...]

Meditation and Addiction Recovery

In an earlier blog from last year, called Be Still – Mindfulness in Lockdown, we talked about how lockdown was an opportunity to stop racing around and burdening ourselves with often self-imposed pressure to stay busy. Alcoholics and others suffering from addiction are not very comfortable sitting still. [...]

You Can’t Do It On Your Own

Addiction is a contentious area. The causes and the treatments are subject to much debate. But there are two basic truths about recovery to which I subscribe. Others may choose to agree or disagree. The first is that there needs to be proper self-acknowledgement of a problem and a desire [...]

When Were You Really Happy?

Is an alcoholic ever really happy? When I went into psychotherapy, I was asked at some stage, "When you were younger, when were you really happy?" Interestingly, at least to me, I answered quick as a flash. I didn't even need to give it much consideration. I replied "When I [...]

Motivation, Discipline and Reward

Alcoholics and drug users find it tough to stick to a treatment programme. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is something different. It’s a planned, concentrated effort, sustained over time. It involves practise and the build-up of good habits. Staying sober requires discipline. [...]

Giving and Receiving in Recovery

Alcoholics and other sufferers from addictive disorders have a hard time accepting help let alone reaching out to others in a similar situation. In the early stages, this is part of self-denial. If you will not acknowledge to yourself that you have a problem, then you are hardly likely to [...]

Confession and Memory – Write it Down

I’m an alcoholic in recovery. There, I’ve just said it. It wasn’t that difficult. But I’ve been saying it for many years, so I’ve got used to it. Taking the first step in self-acknowledgement of a problem and confessing it to others is not easy. It’s a major hurdle to [...]

What Does “Rock Bottom” Mean?

Alcoholics in recovery often talk about the need to hit “rock bottom” before a commitment to treatment will have any possibility of success. Some treatment practitioners don’t really like this idea because they believe, understandably, that intervention should be possible before reaching this stage. What this dispute might show, however, [...]

Some People Just Don’t Get It

Paul Merson is a famous ex-football player who still features as a popular TV pundit on Saturday afternoons. He is equally famous for his struggles with addictions. In his book titled ‘How Not To Be a Professional Footballer’, he recounts one story of what happened when he returned from rehab. [...]

The Inspiration of Skid Row Marathon

Running helps to keep me sober. That is because it helps both my physical and spiritual health. If I go several days without running then I start to feel sluggish and less able to cope. I’ve long known this to be the case but watching Skid Row Marathon inspired me [...]

Why Do You Do It? – The Divided Mind

I'd been dry for five years. It had taken intensive psychotherapy and three years to overcome excruciating panic attacks. I'd gone through a lot of suffering. But then I’d started all over again and repeated the entire cycle. Here I was, sat back in front of my GP hoping for [...]

The Courage To Be

The title of this blog is taken from a book published by Paul Tillich in 1952. At its broadest level, it's saying that we need courage to become. This immediately poses the question - the courage to become what? The implication is that we need courage to become someone or [...]

It Takes One to Know One

One of the ancient Greek sayings much beloved by philosophers is “know thyself”. With this in mind, I recall being asked at an addiction conference, “who told you that you're an alcoholic”? The question partly betrayed the fact that many addiction specialists don't like the term “alcoholic”. Instead, the terminology [...]

Living Between Now and Not Yet

Sometimes you press the send button and instantly regret it. You’ve reacted to something said about you. Or maybe you’re upset about work. Electronic communication is now at our fingertips. We don’t need to wait until we meet somebody face-to-face. This has its advantages but it also means that we [...]

The Long and the Short of Alcoholism in Financial Markets

When I was young, I used to spend hours looking at all of the football results and the league tables. I would analyse them endlessly. Actually, I still do. I look at current form, home and away performance, goal scorers, attendances – the whole thing. In fact, I do it [...]

Alcohol and Spirituality – The Family

Attention to spiritual health on the path to recovery in alcohol treatment is about encouraging openness. It’s about letting go of inward obsession with a false sense of self-identity and turning outward. Spiritual health is about finding our place in the world. It’s about finding meaning, purpose and truth in [...]