Reflections of a Relapser, Now Two Years Sober (Again) ~Sara Suman, LMSW, SMART Recovery Volunteer My second two year anniversary (I do like to passively count sober time) came and went last week. This isn’t my first rodeo either. This is my second time achieving two years sober, and my third time achieving one year+. [...]
Posts Tagged ‘coping skills’
April 23rd, 2013
Dealing With Negative Emotions
No Complaining by Mary Russell, M.S. When you hear the word “complaining” you probably have some sort of negative reaction. It probably conjures up images of people in your life who whine or routinely throw themselves pity parties but don’t do anything to improve their circumstances. What you may be less likely to think of [...]
February 5th, 2013
Tackle Your Demand for Instant Gratification
I Want It, and I Want It Now! by Alina Boie, M.S. We live in a world full of instant self-gratification and we have little patience to wait or delay access to our “treats”. Almost everything nowadays is at a click of a button – literally! It is so difficult to say no to those [...]
Posted in Coping With Urges, Managing Thoughts 
Tags: addiction recovery, coping skills, discomfort, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, REBT 
Comments OffJanuary 29th, 2013
Self-Control
You Can Learn to Resist Urges “Self-control is what you build up, develop, create and learn by controlling your behavior repeatedly. ~Hank Robb Self-control is a skill. It’s not something you’re born with, it is something that requires work and practice. Have you ever said to yourself “I just don’t seem to have any self-control [...]
November 27th, 2012
Power of Perspective
Back Seat Driver! by Leonard Citron, M.A. A little perspective goes a long way toward reducing frustration Holidays are supposed to be fun, right? To get away from everything, to explore some place new is said to broaden our mind. But gettng away from it all, can have a downside. For example, when you get [...]
Posted in Managing Thoughts Tags: addiction recovery, coping skills, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, REBT Comments OffOctober 16th, 2012
Don’t Believe Everything You Think
Managing Thoughts in Addiction Recovery by Hank Robb, PhD,ABPP Thoughts and beliefs Make yourself have this thought: “I am a banana.” My guess is that even though you may have had the thought, you weren’t believing that thought. We can have lots of thoughts such as, “I must have my favorite food and if I [...]
August 21st, 2012
Addiction and Co-occurring Disorders from a SMART Recovery Perspective
A Manual for Group Therapists Bob Keim, SMART Recovery Facilitator When I saw this manual announced by SMART Recovery, I thought that it would be very appropriate for my use so I agreed to review it. I have used it for six months so now is an appropriate time to rate it. Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment [...]
April 10th, 2012
5 Ways to Deal With Urges and Cravings
By Randy Lindel, Facilitator, SMART Recovery® Boston Read on for five (5) practical ideas on how to cope with urges and cravings after you have decided to abstain from drugs and alcohol. Cravings are normal Everyone who’s engaged in addictive behavior will experience uncomfortable cravings (“I want it badly”) and urges (“I have to do [...]
Posted in Coping With Urges, Support SMART Tags: addiction recovery, coping skills, Randy Lindel, urges 3 Comments »March 13th, 2012
ABCs With JvB
Use Logic and Reason to Change Addictive Behavior Jonathan von Breton, LCMHC, LCDP There is a very helpful addiction recovery tool that can change the way that you think about drugs and alcohol. It is called the ABC Tool and it is used in SMART Recovery®. The underlying assumption of the ABC Tool is that [...]
Posted in Coping With Urges Tags: addiction recovery, coping skills, Jonathan von Breton, REBT Comments OffJanuary 24th, 2012
Navigating The Road To Recovery
How can you prevent relapse? Henry Steinberger, Ph.D. Relapse prevention is essential in recovery from chemical and behavioral addictions. Why? Because addiction has been found to reoccur more often when steps are not taken to cope with the cravings, urges, peer pressures, situational cues, bodily discomforts, neuro-biological changes, and other factors which pave the way [...]
