Recovery Enthusiast/ Recovery for Women

  Change is inevitable. Look at your hobbies, friends, clothes, taste in music, TV shows, family, and career. Many of those things have changed. The people around you have changed. The political climate has changed. There’s change everywhere.   Change can bring fear, doubt, and uncertainty. However, it’s not helpful to view change negatively. In order to survive, it’s necessary to adapt to change.   There are new experiences and understandings to be gained as a result of the changes in your life. If you never changed, you’d still be playing in the sandbox at the playground and eating dirt.   If you’re finding it difficult to embrace changes in your life, using these strategies can help:   1. Understand that life is always changing. Life is about change. Life is always evolving. It’s the very nature of life. Think about how much you’ve changed since you were an infant. Your body and view of the world have changed considerably over the years. Change is a natural part

  We all experience stress, but it can be detrimental to our recovery to reduce the overwhelming stress. Here are several ways you can reduce stress in your life. 1.       Practice meditation . All you need is 5 minutes a day to start with your meditation practice. It's all about consistency. It's kind of like going to the gym. It is more beneficial to go to the gym several times a week and work out for half an hour than going once a week and working out for two hours. Meditation practice consists of anything from self-guided meditation to listening to music or listening to Mother Nature. It helps to focus on your breathing and allow yourself just to be. It is perfectly normal for your mind to wander. When it does, just gently and nonjudgmentally bring it back to your breath. That is the exercise. Meditation is the practice of your mind wandering, and you bringing it back to the present moment. When your mind is at ease, it is less likely to be stressed. If you practice medit

  Forgiveness Definition of forgiveness: interpersonal forgiveness is a willingness to abandon one's right to resentment, negative judgment, and indifferent behavior toward one who unjustly injured us while fostering the undeserved qualities of compassion, generosity, and even love toward him or her.   Other people will inevitably get you upset, disappoint you, and at times hurt or offend you.  However, the fact is, if you are always looking for reasons to be offended or hurt, you will find them. Instead, try to look for the good in others the same way that you would want them to focus on the good and you. Forgiveness , ultimately, is for you, not for them. I've had people say to me I will not give them the satisfaction of forgiving them; I will not let them off the hook that easily. But that is the meaning of the saying drinking poison and expecting my enemies to die .  Forgiveness is freedom for you. Of course, this is easier said than done. It is tough to apologize

  I acknowledge that the only person I have complete control over is me! I cannot control the thoughts, opinions, or actions of others. However, I can control my reactions to whatever life throws my way.   I let go of my desire to control situations, and I refuse to allow frustration to cloud my mind. Instead, I choose to focus on what I can do in any given situation.   Even though I cannot control everything, I am not powerless over everything! I still have tools that help me direct my life toward achieving my goals, regardless of life’s distractions. I can choose to change or let go.   My time management skills keep me focused and organized. I allow time in my schedule for dealing with distractions without losing my focus on my priorities. We have control over where we put our priorities, but life will do it for us if we don’t prioritize.   Affirmations are another tool that helps guide my life to where I want to go. Regardless of what life throws at me, I can replace any