The Essential Addiction Recovery Companion E-Book

Jr. Singer

• Herausgeber: Loving Healing Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 125

Beschreibung

The Essential Addiction Recovery Companion builds on Richard Singer's most recently acclaimed book, 101 Tips for Recovery from Addictions. The companion is a thorough and innovative guide that offers practical applications paired with in depth questions to help the reader discover a new life away from the hell of addiction. The book is holistic in its approach, covering the psychological, physical and spiritual aspects of recovery. The writing is simple and empathic, which makes it feel as if readers have a therapist right by their side as they dive into the depths of their being and prepare to transform their lives.
The Essential Addiction Recovery Companion will help the reader:

• Discover the hidden potential that has been clouded by addiction
• Create an unimaginable life filled with infinite possibilities
• Build stronger intimate relationships with family and friends
• Learn to live a life filled with mindfulness and get the most out of each unique moment
• Learn how to conquer the devious denial system that keeps addiction alive
• Access the genuine peace and joy that exists within one's being

The Essential Addiction Recovery Companion is perfect for addiction professionals, recovering individuals, family members and anyone interested in truly living life free from any addiction.
Richard Singer's insightful book will help those learning how to proceed through addiction recovery. If you enjoy processing your thoughts as you tackle areas such as: "How to ask for help," "When to join a group," "Checking cravings" and "Relapsing," then this workbook is for you!
-- Barbara Sinor, Ph.D., author, Tales of Addiction and Inspirational Musings
Richard Singer is writing from the heart and provides us with so many helpful strategies and coping skills. This book is a fantastic one to have in your hands.
-- Erica Spiegalman, best selling author of Rewired: A Bold New Approach to Addiction and Recovery
... A thoughtful, inspirational, must have for anyone in the addiction field or going through addiction themselves.
-- Mari Sweeting, Recovery Coach and DUI Instructor, Sonoma County, California
This book is full of great ideas for recovery! But, most of all, the book offers comfort.
About the Author
Richard Singer personally and professionally knows the destruction that addiction can cause in a human being's life. Mr. Singer has treated thousands of patients suffering from all forms of addiction and has been involved in recovery for over 20 years. He has written several books focused on helping people escape suffering in life, and embrace the peace and joy that is available within all of us.
Richard's books have been featured and reviewed by many major publications and review outlets, including Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Leseprobe

The Essential Addiction Recovery Companion: A Guidebook for the Mind, Body, and Soul

Copyright © 2018 by Richard A. Singer, Jr. All Rights Reserved

For more information, please visit www.RickSingerBooks.com

ISBN 978-1-61599-402-1 paperback

ISBN 978-1-61599-403-8 eBook

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Singer, Richard A., author.

Title: The essential addiction recovery companion : a guidebook for the mind, body, and soul / by Richard A. Singer, Jr., MA; foreword by Jon Harcharek.

Description: Ann Arbor, MI : Loving Healing Press, [2018].

Identifiers: LCCN 2018034344 (print) | LCCN 2018036014 (ebook) | ISBN 9781615994038 (Kindle, ePub, pdf) | ISBN 9781615994021 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Addicts--Rehabilitation. | Substance abuse--Treatment.

Classification: LCC HV4998 (ebook) | LCC HV4998 .S5626 2018 (print) | DDC 613.8--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018034344

Published by

Loving Healing Press

5145 Pontiac Trail

Ann Arbor, MI 48105

www.LHPress.com

[email protected]

Tollfree 888-761-6268 (USA/CAN)

Fax [phone]

Distributed by Ingram Book Group (USA/CAN/AU), Bertram’s Books (UK/EU)

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all human beings suffering in life.

May you find peace and joy one day at a time.

Author’s Note

This guidebook is not a substitute for the treatment of addiction by a medical professional. Prior to beginning a program of recovery from addiction, it is often necessary to be treated medically for detoxification and initial stabilization, especially in the case of chemical substances and alcohol. Withdrawal from substances can be life threatening. If you have been drinking alcohol heavily or using drugs such as benzodiazepines, opiates, or stimulants, it is vital to consult with a medical professional before discontinuing the use of substances. Recovery is much more likely if you are medically detoxed and attend a rehabilitation program with the level of care necessary for your unique circumstances.

If you are currently experiencing a crisis, call 911.

Here are other specific numbers you can contact for help:

Treatment Hotline: [phone]

Suicide Hotline: [phone]

Contents

Foreword by Jon Harcharek

Acknowledgements

Introduction

How to Use This Guidebook

101 Tips for Recovery

Tip #1: Have Hope No Matter What!

Tip #2: Find a Support Group Specifically for You

Tip #3: Begin to Trust

Tip #4: Take It Easy

Tip #5: No Cravings?

Tip #6: Cravings Come and Go

Tip #7: Is It Worth It?

Tip #8: Ask for Help!

Tip #9: Do Some Research

Tip #10: Goodbye Letter

Tip #11: Welcome Letter

Tip #12: Relapse is not a Requirement

Tip #13: Unbreakable

Tip #14: D-E-N-I-A-L

Tip #15: Surrender to Win

Tip #16: Daily Plan

Tip #17: Daily Inventory

Tip #18: You are NOT Your Mind

Tip #19: Our Wonderful Forgetter

Tip #20: You are Not a Victim!

Tip #21: Crossing the Line

Tip #22: The Placebo Effect

Tip #23: Allow People to Help You

Tip #24: Express Yourself

Tip #25: Recovery is for People Who Want It Bad

Tip #26: Narcissism-Beware!

Tip #27: Put Yourself Out There

Tip #28: Diverse Brain Chemistry

Tip #29: PAWS – Post -Acute Withdrawal Syndrome

Tip #30: Impatience is Not a Virtue

Tip #31: Start Your Day Over at Any Time or Sit in Your Shit?

Tip #32: Embrace the Mystery

Tip #33: Feel Your Feelings and Move Forward

Tip #34: Do the Next Right Thing

Tip #35: Perception is Everything

Tip #36: Journaling from the Soul

Tip #37: Rationalizing is Our Game

Tip #38: Always Help Others, No Matter What

Tip #39: Sleep is Vital

Tip #40: Repair the Past

Tip #41: Therapy is Terrific

Tip #42: You Must Have Fun

Tip #43: Everything Must Change a Little at a Time

Tip #44: Sex Can Be Dangerous

Tip #45: Give Yourself a Break, Please!

Tip #46: Meditation is Helpful

Tip #47: Prayer or Communication with the Universe

Tip #48: Do the Opposite

Tip #49: Just 24 Hours

Tip #50: Exercise is Good for the Brain

Tip #51: Co-Occurring Disorders

Tip #52: What’s Your Purpose?

Tip #53: Put One Foot Forward

Tip #54: Acceptance is the Answer

Tip #55: Suffering-Use It!

Tip #56: HOW-Honesty, Open-mindedness, and Willingness!

Tip #57: Daily Reflections

Tip #58: Laugh at Yourself

Tip #59: Your Positive Attributes

Tip #60: Personal Relapse Contract

Tip #61: New Day, New Life

Tip #62: Spontaneity

Tip #63: Grieving

Tip #64: Stop Believing the Lies

Tip #65: Humility is Vital

Tip #66: Obstacles as Opportunities

Tip #67: HALT-Are You Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired?

Tip #68: Living in Balance-The Middle Way

Tip #69: Cognitive Strategies

Tip #70: There is No Comparison

Tip #71: Act as If

Tip #72: Beginner’s Mind

Tip #73: Cross-Addiction is Real

Tip #74: Disease or Not?

Tip #75: Integrate Altruism into Your Life

Tip #76: Share Your Story

Tip #77: Act Without Thinking

Tip #78: Just Don’t Pick Up

Tip #79: Become a Student

Tip #80: Investigate Spirituality

Tip #81: Be Grateful

Tip #82: Mindfulness Matters

Tip #83: FEAR! What Will You Choose?

Tip #84: Willpower? No!

Tip #85: Remember the Consequences in Detail

Tip #86: Pride Comes Before the Fall

Tip #87: Stigma is Ignorant Bullshit

Tip #88: Your Personal Vision Statement

Tip #89: Nutrition is Important

Tip #90: We are as Sick as our Secrets!

Tip #91: Slow the Hell Down!

Tip #92: Guilt is a Healthy Feeling, but….

Tip #93: Watch for High Risk Behavior

Tip #94: Freedom of Choice

Tip #95: Your Personal Bottom

Tip #96: Music is Powerful

Tip #97: Eat Lots of Chocolate

Tip #98: Change Your Story

Tip #99: Let Go of the Little Dramas

Tip #100: Never, Never, Never Give Up!

Tip #101: Feed Your Recovering Self

Author’s Final Note

Index

Foreword – A True story

I check myself into rehab, ready to tackle this thing once and for all. I’m studying the AA Big Book, memorizing all 12 Steps. I’m impatiently cramming for some “recovery exam,” eager to prove I’ve been cured. And then I found a copy of Eastern Wisdom, Western Soul.

Was that the missing piece? Meditation? Being right here, right now? I ask my newly assigned therapist if it could be part of my treatment. Noticing my dog-eared paperback, he asks if I’d learned anything yet. “Yes,” I answer breathlessly, “about taking things slowly.”

“We’ll work on slowing down together,” he smiled. “I’m fairly familiar with that book anyway. I wrote it.”

And that’s Richard Singer for you. Wise. Helpful. Humble. With a special talent for simplifying life’s challenges into positive lessons. His newest book—The Essential Addiction Recovery Companion—does exactly that, breaking down time-tested principles into achievable tips. You’ll find something helpful on every page. With guidebook questions that hardly feel like work, they’re more like discussions you should be having with yourself. There are inspiring quotes. Thoughts for the day. All in an easygoing voice reassuring you it’s “ok.”

So, congratulations. If you’ve read this far, you’re clearly motivated to move forward. Take your time to learn from this book and this wise man. Even I did!

Jon Harcharek

Award-winning author & artist

Still working at being in the moment

Acknowledgements

It is difficult to acknowledge everyone that made this project possible because every human being I encountered helped me in some way. There’s always those specific people who help directly in a positive way and those even more importantly who help you realize the person you DO NOT desire to be. I am a strong believer in the fact that our enemies are our greatest spiritual teachers thus, I must thank all those people in my life that show me the wrong way to live and truly motivate me to live in a genuine and humble manner. Thank you!

Specifically, I must thank my mother, father, sister, brother, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Wayne and my twin boys because if it wasn’t for their presence and love I would have never made it out of my last relapse alive. They gave me a reason to fight and never give up while I was battling in the trenches of active addiction.

In addition, each and every one of the clients I worked with in the addiction field have inspired the completion of this guidebook and keep me going in the often very challenging field of addiction treatment. They may not realize it but each one of them teach me and help me much more than I could ever begin to help them.

Finally, there are two specific individuals that helped directly with this guidebook. I cannot thank them enough. Jon Harcharek was so kind to do a thorough edit and write the foreword. Victor Volkman continues to have faith in my work and does an amazing job as a publisher. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I must not forget to thank my loving and all powerful higher power, whatever and wherever you are. I am humbled, amazed and often confused by this mysterious power that I give all credit to because for some reason the words in this book bombarded my consciousness and continued to bombard my being until they were written. All my books were created in this way so I don’t take much credit for anything I write. Thank you and I hope to continue and strengthen my relationship with YOU.

Rick Singer

Plains, Pennsylvania

Introduction

This guidebook is based on a previous book that I wrote titled, 101 Tips for Recovering from Addictions. I wrote that book shortly after surviving a torturous 3-year relapse following 15 years of continuous recovery. It contains a detailed account of my personal story and the 101 strategies contained in this more in-depth guidebook.

When I survived that almost fatal experience I genuinely felt that I had to do something to help the human beings that continue to struggle with addiction out there on the battlefield. If you are an addict you know that it truly is a battlefield!

I’ve struggled with addiction in many forms since I was probably around 12 years old. Addiction has destroyed my entire life several times and has also given me a better life than I could imagine. I know this illness intimately and have extensive knowledge of the addictive mind and body. I’ve been in the trenches directly as an addict and as a treatment professional. My experience demonstrates that addiction will take you to the gates of insanity and death but more importantly that recovery is possible. I am a simple human being that has been devastated by addiction and given two distinct chances at life after being forced to my knees by this powerful illness.

This guidebook is a compilation of the most effective strategies I have used personally and professionally to transcend addiction. There are millions of human beings just like you and I that also use a combination of these strategies to live a better life free of the insanity of addiction. Please move forward and give yourself a break. As you probably know by now, addiction is a losing battle. I beg you to begin right this moment to make a decision and take action in order to experience the life that you and your loved ones deserve. May you transcend addiction and live a peaceful and joyous life one moment at a time.

How to Use This Guidebook

All the strategies and related questions compiled in this guidebook for recovery have been used and tested throughout years of successful recovery, relapse, and getting back into recovery again after three torturous years of addictive hell. Many of them have scientific evidence supporting them and have also been used by many of my patients in therapy over a twenty-year period. They are effective and I am positive that they will help you to create a new life, continue your recovery or help another human being transform their life. They simply just need to be applied with sincerity, persistence, willingness and an open mind.

How you use this book and the information within it is your choice. Perhaps perusing through it to read all the pages would be useful in the beginning and then maybe you can work on a page a day to work on growth in recovery. Or you may pick your favorites and start completing them immediately. Another way is to leave it up to chance, flip through the book and randomly stop when you feel it’s right. If you are helping others, you may find it useful to assign a specific page you believe would help the most. Again, it is all your personal choice. I just hope that you will find this book helpful in some way. If it helps one human being suffering from addiction, then I’ve done my job.

Finally, no matter how you choose to use the book, please enjoy it and remain hopeful that there is a new life out there to be lived by you. One day at a time you will continue to grow and eventually pass it on to other human beings suffering the torment of their addictive illness.

I would love to talk to you about any comments, suggestions, or simply to have a conversation about life. I am always here so please reach out to me via my personal email - [email protected]. Please visit www.RickSinger.org for up to date information.

Never, Never, Never give up on recovery!

Tip #1: Have Hope No Matter What!

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

First and foremost, you must realize that there is hope for your recovery and a completely new life beyond your imagination. Millions of suffering addicts who were once considered hopeless and awaiting death enjoy a new life free from the agony and anguish of addiction. You are no different from these transformed individuals. If you have breath in your body you possess hope. Now is the time to fight for what you deeply desire. There can be no waiting. For many of us, there will be no tomorrow if we don’t enter recovery today. Recovery and your new life want you exactly the way you are. So, let’s get started on creating this miraculous new life.

Questions for Further Growth

Do you truly have hope inside you that you can change your life? Explain.

Do you believe that you deserve a better life and are worth it? Elaborate.

What makes you different from the millions of human beings that have gone from hopeless to living incredible lives?

Today is the day that you transform hope into action and begin transforming your life 24-hours at a time.

Tip #2: Find a Support Group Specifically for You

“Don’t be shy about asking for help.

It doesn’t mean you’re weak, it only means you’re wise.”

Anonymous