Addiction Recovery Articles

My name is Mimi Jones and I am the adult child of alcoholic parents.In my life, “keeping up with the Jones’,” means something entirely different.From the outside, it would seem that I had an idyllic childhood. I grew up in a middle-class family in Southern California. My parents both worked hard to provide us with opportunities to travel, experience the arts, and attend private schools.

I’m sure you’ve heard, over and over, that addiction is selfish. Well I’ve got news for you: so is recovery. In fact, recovery is the most selfish thing you can be involved in other than an addiction.But there’s a big difference. You’re not lacking consideration for others in recovery like you were in addiction.

My story isn’t special. My story isn’t unique. Unfortunately, my story is a common one. And today, I consider myself lucky to be able to share my story—to even have a story. You see, part of my story is my brother’s story, which is a story that is only told through mine because it ended with his death on April 22, 2012 from a prescription drug overdose.

The addiction and recovery landscape is, to say the very least, emotionally charged. Everyone has their own story and thus has the right to a unique alcohol recovery journey. And while we may take different paths in recovery, there are a few tenets that should be universal staples. Forgiveness is one of them.

It can be easy for us to lose sight of the little things when we get bogged down in the day-to-day. But if we take a few minutes to appreciate some of the good things that are happening in the world, we can adjust our perspective and have a happier outlook.

When the end of December and the holidays comes around, people start thinking about changes they want to make in the new year. For some, these changes include a New Year’s Resolution to quit drinking. A wise goal, it seems, but one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

As the days get shorter, alcohol consumption also goes up, as does binge drinking and drinking and driving. You can blame the crappy weather, but the holidays are the real culprit. While the media portrays them as the “most wonderful time of the year,” the winter season leads many people to feel anxious and alone. This can be especially true for the dependent drinker who is working on recovery.

No one turns around one day and is suddenly an alcoholic. Alcoholism is progressive, with the addiction becoming more destructive over time. The speed of progression is different for each individual, and some fall deeper into the addiction before deciding to get help.

Many individuals have an idea of the effects that long-term alcohol dependence has on the brain. Alcohol consumption, in most cases, does not cause permanent defects in reasoning, memory, or other forms of cognition.

Family members living with alcoholics often find themselves in a tough spot. They feel it is their responsibility to “make” their loved one stop drinking or they downplay how the alcoholic is affecting their lives. Sometimes, they even blame themselves for the alcoholic’s destructive behaviors.