As the year draws to a close and the holiday season rapidly approaches, it's easy to feel like time has slipped through our fingers. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were welcoming September?
Now, everywhere we turn, we're reminded of the joy and warmth that the holiday season is supposed to bring. Advertisements paint a picture of perfect families, generous giving, and festive cheer. But the reality is often far from this idealized image.
This year, like the last, and the one before, has been … [Read more...] about Navigating Addiction
During the Festive Season
loving an addict
Navigating Addiction
How Can “Enabling” Ever Be a Loving Act?
Many loved ones of addicts who are still choosing to be in active addiction know that they have been contributing to that choice by enabling them. They want to stop and practice healthier behaviours with the addicts they love, but they often don’t know how to begin to do that. If that is your situation, please reach out for help – you don’t have to make these important changes all alone. … [Read more...] about How Can “Enabling” Ever Be a Loving Act?
Have you reached a bottom with your own enabling behaviours?
Just like an addict needs to reach some kind of bottom to finally make the choice to change, it is the same for loved ones of addicts. If enabling the addict you love is not bringing the results you want to see, then you may want to ask yourself if you’re ready to make a different choice. … [Read more...] about Have you reached a bottom with your own enabling behaviours?
Enabling an Addict is Never a Loving Act
When we put the desires of the addict we love ahead of our own needs on a consistent basis, we are not actually helping the addict. They need to learn how to take care of themselves and develop their own resiliency and self-respect. If we continually rescue them from dealing with the realities of life, they will have absolutely no incentive to choose recovery from addiction. We need to love them enough to do what’s right for them – no more enabling! – even if that’s hard for us. … [Read more...] about Enabling an Addict is Never a Loving Act
The Changing Face of Self-Care
For those of us who grew up in dysfunctional families, practicing holistic self-care and putting our own needs first was fleeting at best. That’s because, as children, so much of our time had to be spent on staying “safe” – and this often meant that we had to focus on making others feel good. As adults, we can shift that today. When we become aware of needing to caretake someone else, we can change direction and begin to focus on ourselves so that WE can feel good. … [Read more...] about The Changing Face of Self-Care
