# Recovery

Confidence in Love

I am who I am today because of relying on a power greater than myself, attempting rigorous honesty, having sponsors, taking responsibility for my shit, and trying to be of service to others.

Interview with a 56-Year-Old Sober Person: Nadia Bolz-Weber

But of course calling oneself a monster can be a form of self-aggrandizement. The worst part of myself is my occasional feeling that I am a very, very special kind of monster. A dumb story I can get caught up in is this one: No one is as big a monster as me. The grandiosity of my self-loathing (and its attendant self-pity) could blot out the sun if... See more

Interview with a 57-Year-Old Sober Person: Claire Dederer

I felt sick in that house all the time because it’s a terrible feeling to be cast in the role of co-conspirator before you’re old enough to choose, or to have any say at all. It makes you feel meaningless and powerless and like you’re part of something secretive and ugly, even if you don’t fully understand what it is.

Against the Wall

If ever I felt that I was showing too much of my real self, I simply drank more. I became the girl I thought I had to be in order to be loved.

Kezia Calvert • Untangling the Web of Alcohol Abuse & ADHD

It takes time and patience and steady pressure to extract the weed, the negative traits, the damaging and self-destructive ways of thinking. That process, by itself, is a profound act of self-acceptance. The next profound act of self-acceptance is understanding that the job will never be completely done, some traits, some thinking patterns that... See more

T.B.D. • The Right Way to Pull a Weed

is a three-step process that takes you from making a mistake to moving beyond it.

Own your mistake. To do this, say to yourself, “I made a mistake. I’m human. I will take responsibility for it and I will work my way through this.” Then check your emotions. Name what you are feeling.

Show yourself compassion. Think through how this mistake happened.