We want to break the family inheritance chain: our parents were narcissists, alcoholics, or emotionally abusive and we want the problems connected to that to Stop. With. Us. We live our lives alongside the mantra. ‘Not going to marry an addict’ or ‘Not going to become an addict.’ No one wants to repeat mistakes, particularly [...]
The New York Times ran a video series last year, “Lives Restored,” portraits of survivors of mental health battles and their coping strategies. They produced a few videos that featured the people struggling and talking about how they cope. I hope you’ll watch at least one of these short (too short) videos. I especially like [...]
It is for Bill Clegg. I’m just finishing reading his latest sobriety memoir, “Ninety Days.” It reads like lightning and provides some of the best descriptions of shame, addiction, hiding, lying…that I’ve ever read. Here’s his book, Ninety Days: A Memoir of Recovery . Here’s a quick clip of Bill:
You might think that “abuse” means just physically-abusive situations, that crazy couple in the neighborhood who fight so loud everyone can hear it, kids screaming and crying, too, and they nearly burn their house down…but before it gets to that, the cops show up and shove an angry man into the back of a squad car… Sure. [...]
Hesitant when asked to do something? Always want to know what’s going to happen–when, where, how long, and who’s going to be there? Cautious? Wary? Unable to wholly trust others? Yes, and of course. With all the chaos around us as children, caution and being slow-to-trust makes complete and utter, not-your-fault, 100% sense. In his [...]
