Having Compassion for Your Past Self
As your mind clears in recovery, you might feel like a very different version of yourself. You may want to separate current you from the past you who was in active addiction; I know I did. That’s okay, but even as you distance yourself from past you, it’s important to save them some compassion. Guilt […]
Accountability Without Shame in Recovery
In recovery, it’s important to take responsibility for the ways you may have harmed others during active addiction. This isn’t to punish yourself for having an addiction. Taking accountability can also be part of your own healing. In my recovery, learning to face the harm I caused without shaming myself has been a long and […]
A Conversation About Shame and Self-Compassion With Neuroscientist Marc Lewis
I had the pleasure of speaking with Marc Lewis over Zoom about addiction, neuroscience, shame, and self-compassion. Lewis is a neuroscientist and professor emeritus in developmental psychology. He is the author or co-author of over 70 journal publications in psychology and neuroscience, and the author of two books. Lewis currently writes for the popular press, blogs, and […]
Showing Compassion for Yourself
Having compassion for yourself is a practical and powerful thing to do. Many of us in recovery have regrets about things we said or did during active addiction, or things we weren’t able to say or do. For me, this was particularly true in early recovery, though I still go back to these regrets on […]
Secrets Hinder Your Recovery
It’s common knowledge that secrecy and active addiction often co-exist; people tend to hide their substance use or the consequences of it. But those of us in recovery sometimes continue holding things in. If you’ve spent years hiding addiction, it can become a habit to lie—if not outright, then by omission. Why Do People Lie […]