Self-acceptance. This has been one of the most challenging, albeit powerful, achievements in my life to date: learning to accept and love myself as I am, period! All of my life I had been plagued with feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, fear, inferiority and worthlessness. From the age of seven or so, I felt aContinue reading “Self Acceptance – Let Us Love You Until You Can Love Yourself May 2014 By Tony A.”
Category Archives: Isolation
Perception – Any Way You Slice It – Grapevine Article January 2024 By Claire S.
When I was about 6 years old, I distinctly remember placing my sandwich order with my mom and specifically asking for the jelly to be on the bottom and peanut butter on the top. While I closely supervised her preparation, I was horrified to see she hadn’t followed my directions, not even a little, andContinue reading “Perception – Any Way You Slice It – Grapevine Article January 2024 By Claire S.”
What Is Toxic Shame – Healing The Shame That Binds You By John Bradshaw
John Bradshaw was one of the most influential writers on emotional health in the twentieth century as selected by his fellow mental health professionals. He was also an alcoholic in recovery. His areas of expertise include addiction, co-dependency , trauma, emotional instability , and abuse. This extract is the preface to the original edition ofContinue reading “What Is Toxic Shame – Healing The Shame That Binds You By John Bradshaw”
Ending Lifelong Exile With Rigorous Honesty – Mary Karr
Mary Karr is an award-winning poet and best-selling memoirist who has written extensively about her alcoholism and recovery. She was interviewed with 24 years of sobriety and this article was extracted from that interview. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed and New York Time’s best-selling memoirs The Liars’ Club, Cherry, and Lit, as well as the Art of Memoir,Continue reading “Ending Lifelong Exile With Rigorous Honesty – Mary Karr”
Inside Out – Grapevine Article June 1995 By Fred H
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character If Alcoholics Anonymous were a self-help program, Step Six might read something like this: “Became determined in our minds to overcome all our character defects.” Mercifully, this is not what we are asked to do in AA. In fact, no action at allContinue reading “Inside Out – Grapevine Article June 1995 By Fred H”
Who Do You Think You Are? – Grapevine Article July 1962 By L.C.
Through practicing the Steps we learn that our ego-image is not fixed or static I WILL never forget Karl. A buddy of mine, Mac, and I had received a call through a physician friend of AA. We were put on the trail of this character who, we were told, wanted to sign himself into aContinue reading “Who Do You Think You Are? – Grapevine Article July 1962 By L.C.”
Where’s My Reward ? – Grapevine Article September 2005 By Christine P.
Sober twelve years, an AA wonders when she’ll get the big pay-off This coming October will mark my twelfth year of sobriety, but even with the passage of time, the inner demons of the alcoholic mind don’t roll over and die that easily. As my AA birthday draws near, a lot of old stuff hasContinue reading “Where’s My Reward ? – Grapevine Article September 2005 By Christine P.”
Shame, Fear And The Problem With Faking It – Broken Open (Extract From Chapter 11)- By William Moyers
William Moyers wrote a bestselling book called Broken in 2006 which chronicled his journey in sobriety from alcohol and crack cocaine addiction. In 2014 after years of sober living, he found himself addicted to painkillers prescribed after dental surgery. He had made (and continues to make) his living as the Public Relations Director for theContinue reading “Shame, Fear And The Problem With Faking It – Broken Open (Extract From Chapter 11)- By William Moyers”
Let Go Of Who You Think You’re Supposed To Be And Embrace Who You Are – Brene Brown
This article uses extracts from the first and last chapter of Brene Brown’s book ‘The Gift of Imperfection’. Her focus on worthiness is very consistent with how we move from toxic shame to healthy guilt. We’ll begin with a quote I love from Brene that I think helps put this short article in perspective. –Continue reading “Let Go Of Who You Think You’re Supposed To Be And Embrace Who You Are – Brene Brown”
The “Felt Sense” Prayer – Author Unknown
This prayer/poem describes the many ways in which we attempt to avoid all sorts of physical and emotional pain. It also highlights how recognizing our pain and accepting it can increase self-knowledge and improve self-care. It further suggests how our response ability and relationship with pain has impacted our addiction, our recovery, and our livesContinue reading “The “Felt Sense” Prayer – Author Unknown”