Clear Thinking Therapy - Grief & Addiction

05/09/2025

This is the difficult thing about addiction, we think there's a cure, like Mendon a broken leg or getting over flu. But addiction isn't a virus our a broken bone, it's a lifelong condition that needs to be managed.

But, once you have good foundations in recovery, connection with other addicts and an understanding of the condition, it does get easier and life becomes fun again. One day at a time.

25/08/2025

T R U T H 💣

22/08/2025

Back in the 1940s, the founders of AA already knew the power of gratitude, even if the science wasn’t there yet. Today we know that daily gratitude can calm the mind, ease stress, strengthen connection with others, and help us see life with a gentler perspective.

There's a helpful app you can download called 12 Step Toolkit and it can help you, alongside going to meetings and getting a sponsor, to turn your life around.

Change is possible. One day at a time.

Actually

18/08/2025

13/08/2025

Addiction, no matter what, ruins lives not just for the addict, but the people around them. The family and friends.

It can be difficult to know how best to support someone in active addiction but there is help available. Adfam is a wonderful service that offers support for families and friends and can be such an important part of recovery.

"Adfam is the national charity working to improve life for families affected by drugs and alcohol. We want anyone affected by someone else's drug or alcohol use to have the chance to benefit from healthy relationships, be part of a loving and supportive family and enjoy mental and physical wellbeing. "

https://adfam.org.uk/

08/04/2025

Beating addiction isn't about getting off the substance. It's about understanding why we needed the substance in the first place. So be curious about what need's are being met by that addiction. Recovery comes with awareness.

04/04/2025

Friends can be guardian angels, an extra pair of eyes to help you stay on track. There's an understanding, if an addict is happy with you, you're probably enabling them.... If they're angry, you're probably trying to save their life. How do you feel shoot your friends?

Be mindful of who you allow into your life, especially when you're in recovery. Surround yourself with people who encourage and support you.

Here's a couple of links.

https://smartrecovery.org.uk/online-meetings/

https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/find-a-meeting/

Community is so important when in recovery. Find your people.

Relapse & Relapse Prevention.

03/04/2025

Recovery is about learning to sit with the uncomfortable. The more you sit with the uncomfortable, in time, the easier it becomes. You realise that you can survive without the addiction holding you.
It won't shift into normality quickly though. Think about how long you've self medicated. You've programmed yourself to need your addiction, whatever your substance, behavior or crutch may be.
Get support. Talk about your feelings. Keep track of your journey. Things can change. You need to be brave and learn to be uncomfortable. Its worth the pain. Addiction isn't.

22/03/2025

“Put a rat in a cage and give it 2 water bottles. One is just water and one is water laced with he**in or co***ne. The rat will almost always prefer the drugged water and almost always kill itself in a couple of weeks. That is our theory of addiction.
Bruce comes along in the ’70s and said, “Well, hang on. We’re putting the rat in an empty cage. It has nothing to do. Let’s try this a bit differently.” So he built Rat Park, and Rat Park is like heaven for rats. Everything a rat could want is in Rat Park. Lovely food. Lots of s*x. Other rats to befriend. Colored balls. Plus both water bottles, one with water and one with drugged water. But here’s what's fascinating: In Rat Park, they don’t like the drugged water. They hardly use it.
None of them overdose. None of them use in a way that looks like compulsion or addiction. What Bruce did shows that both the right-wing and left-wing theories of addiction are wrong. The right-wing theory is that it’s a moral failing, you’re a hedonist, you party too hard. The left-wing theory is that it takes you over, your brain is hijacked. Bruce says it’s not your morality, it’s not your brain; it’s your cage. Addiction is largely an adaptation to your environment.
Now, we created a society where significant numbers of us can't bear to be present in our lives without being on something, drink, drugs, s*x, shopping... We’ve created a hyper consumerist, hyper individualist, isolated world that is, for many of us, more like the first cage than the bonded, connected cages we need.
The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. And our whole society, the engine of it, is geared toward making us connect with things not people. You are not a good consumer citizen if you spend your time bonding with the people around you and not stuff. In fact, we are trained from a young age to focus our hopes, dreams, and ambitions on things to buy and consume. Drug addiction is a subset of that."
Credit: Johann Hari