Recovery Begins When We Let Go of Perfection (Pt 1)

Addiction, Perfectionism, Recovery, Twelve Steps

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5   “No one would ever see a drunk, passed out in the gutter, and say, ‘There lies a perfectionist!’ But that’s exactly what I was! If I couldn’t do life perfectly, then I wouldn’t...

Celebrating Abstinence

abstinence, Addiction, Recovery, Tools

Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer. (D&C 59:14)   Fasting is not meant to be a negative experience. It is more than just refraining from eating. Fasting is as much about attitude as about action. It refocuses our...

Abstinence Increases as We Share Our Experience, Strength and Hope with Others

abstinence, Addiction, Keep Coming Back, Recovery, writing

My abstinence has changed a lot over the years. What and how and when I eat now is nothing compared to what and how and when I ate 25 years ago. If I had met my current self then, I would have been so impressed with me. The kind of abstinence I have now would have...

How to Be Productive and Happy

Addiction, Perfectionism

In He Did Deliver Me from Bondage, we find the phrase: “who appeared to be as productive and happy as the Latter-day Saints” (p. 1) Productive and happy. Those are the words that jumped out at me. I can be productive, but I’m not happy while I’m...

We Are the Addicts

Addiction

Some people have acclimated so well to this world, to this lower, telestial glory that is based on practical, physical performances and possessions. Unfortunately, this glory that is sufficient for so many people’s needs, leaves other souls nearly undone with...

I Will Not Leave You Comfortless

Addiction, Christ, Recovery

Addictions. We resort to them for comfort, but the comfort the addiction brings is actually numbness. Addictions fog the mind, weaken your ability to cope, sap your energy. They give the comfort of forgetting and hiding. Addictions tell you, “You poor thing. There,...