“Solution Focused Care — Harm Reduction Saves Lives”
01/29/2026
There’s power in numbers. Power is the most dangerous “addiction” there is — far more destructive & corruptive than any substance. We’ve been bamboozled for many years now by they in the high seats of power, pitting us ordinary folks against each other with the classic tactic of ‘divide & conquer’. The center cannot hold. We’re witnessing it now. Organize, speak up, speak out, protest, take to the streets. But please don’t become what it is we need to suppress by using violence. That’s just what they want. Fasc1sm never lasts. The flame of hatred burns out. It’s okay to feel afraid right now. I do, too. Watch over your little corner of the world, and if you’re able, try to protect yourself & the most vulnerable amongst us — the immigrants, the elderly, the disabled, the children. Stay strong & stay safe and use that voice. Words have power.
01/29/2026
Greetings! What has helped you maintain better health in the past? It likely still “fits” if you’re trying to get healthy again. Somethings just fit. Some don’t. Many skills and strategies and coping mechanisms that fit you before — there’s a high likelihood that they’ll still fit now. If they don’t, try something new. But usually, our bodies & brains recognize that which benefited us in past times. Put some faith in those muscle memories! 😊
01/28/2026
When the solution becomes the problem.
01/28/2026
Looking outward reflects back at us that which most needs attention inside of us. Whatever we sink our claws into, we become. Like Bob Dylan’s famous line, “Don’t hate nuthin’ at all except hatred,” — what seems in the surface very Sage wisdom and helpful advice also cautions us to understand that in hating hatred, we are cultivating more hatred, and often with the best of intentions. What do they say the road to hell is paved with…? 😉
01/27/2026
Shake your bones 🦴! We dance at dawn! 😊
01/27/2026
Beyond your diagnosis, who are you? People are so inclined to identify themselves based on their problematic issues. If your diagnosis is the most important thing about you, congratulations: you’ve made it the most important thing about you. I can’t imagine that feels great. Guess what? You’re vast. And we’re very diagnosis happy in this culture. What about the rest of you? Where are you hiding those parts?
01/26/2026
I get it. I really do. The ordinary existence. The rat race. It leaves much to be desired in its hum-drum “every day feels the same” sort of feeling. Who wouldn’t want a magical escape from that, from time to time? A vacation from the stressors & the pressures? Drugs & alcohol provide a finite & temporary taste of something more extraordinary & magical. But don’t let’s forget: nothing in this life is free. What goes up must come down.
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I’ve worked with many clients over the years -- hundreds, at this point. When first sitting with an individual, I’ll often ask them about their interests in life -- things like hobbies, passions, and pursuits.
More often than not they reply, “I have no idea. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
This is a sad and a startling moment for the individual. People in life often say that they would like a chance to “start again”, to have a “clean slate”, a chance to “do it all over”. To this, I might offer, “be careful what you wish for”. Those at the beginning of their journey through recovery ARE starting over, with a clean slate, a do-over -- and it is always a frightening and confusing experience.
Addiction is much more than just a pleasure-seeking illness. It is a force that envelops all aspects of the user. It is not uncommon to see the culture of drugs and alcohol influencing the way that people dress & speak, the company they keep, the places they go, even the music and media that they consume. Addiction becomes an identity unto itself -- one that can further alienate the individual from others, and from more healthy and sustainable pursuits.
A client once told me, “Recovery isn’t about learning how to stop using. I know how to do that. I’ve done that a thousand times. Recovery is about learning how to live again. It’s about figuring out meaningful things I can do in this world. It’s about discovering who I really am.”
To combat alienation we exercise efforts toward connection -- with peers, professionals, spirituality, activities. Often, in pursuit of these efforts, we get to discover profound truths about ourselves, and our interests. If sustained recovery does anything, it’s that it opens up a bigger world to the individual.
Life in active addiction is all-too narrow:
wake up --> find a way to use --> use --> wash, rinse, repeat.
In the absence of a desperate search for substances, a day-in-the-life of the sober person becomes more open-ended. Though that can be daunting...all of those question marks of what lies ahead...it provides us with an abundance of possibilities, and the opportunity to design for ourselves a new & true identity of recovery.
