To Remember or To Forget

Do you ever feel confused about whether recovery is a journey about forgetting or remembering? In the months following my husband’s big disclosure, the theme of “Remembering” came up over and over.  In fact, my husband wrote a list at this point of his goals for recovery.  It looked like this: Attend weekly Recovery meetings.…

Details

How Do I Share Triggers with My Wife or Significant Other?

This question has come up quite a bit, both for me personally as an addict working my own recovery, through the contact form here at SALifeline.org, and in meetings I’ve been a part of. “How do I safely share triggers with my wife or significant other?” Have you ever had this question? What’s the “right…

Details

Have you seen this TED Talk about Addiction?

When I heard this TED Talk, “Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong,” Johann Hari’s approach to this sensitive topic brought tears to my eyes. Johann mixes research with personal experience to shed light on the misinformation that almost monopolizes popular opinion on addiction. His insights rang true to the addict in my life…

Details

VIDEO: What is the Opposite of Addiction?

What is the opposite of addiction? How did I become addicted to pornography and all the other crap that comes with it? Why have I struggled for nearly my entire life to truly connect with other people and feel safe? Have you ever ask yourself these questions? They’re important questions for me to ask myself. The…

Details

Why Progressive Victory Over Lust is Essential to True Recovery

“What is progressive victory over lust?” “Why do I need this for true recovery from sexual addiction?” “‘Progressive victory over lust…’ – is that even possible?” These are questions that came to my mind when I first heard the phrase “progressive victory over lust.” How would you answer these questions today? Do you believe the statement…

Details

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

A few weeks ago, I heard a speech about the difference between knowledge and wisdom – something I’ve never thought about before. That speech, in conjunction with a forest analogy my wife heard on YouTube by Eckhart Tolle, made me think about a trip I took to the Redwoods in Northern California a few months earlier.…

Details

What does One Day At A Time mean?

One of the most common 12-Step slogans is “One Day At A Time.” This has become one of my most oft-quoted mantras in recovery.  But what does it really mean?  What about this slogan can help me gain perspective and hope in recovery? Living in the present moment has become a huge paradigm-shift and a…

Details

Why Can an Addict Help an Addict Recover Best?

Why do you think that it takes an addict to help an addict? Or do you? Can a parent help a son who struggles with pornography addiction? Can an ecclesiastical leader share with the addict a “plan of attack” that will get them clean and sober? What about the spouse of an addict – can…

Details

This is HOW the program works

As I was studying in Working the S-Anon Program this week, I came across some great material about the HOW of the program. HOW is an acronym that stands for: HONESTY OPEN-MINDEDNESS WILLINGNESS These 3 attitudes are the essentials of recovery.  But what do they really mean?  Here are some insights from Working the S-Anon…

Details