The spring season brings up many images of renewal. Flowers are blooming, babies are born; the world wakes from its winter sleep. This idea of rebirth can be easily applied to the inner work we do when we embark on the path of recovery. We leave the old way (soil, womb, sleep) for a new one (above ground, alive in the world and awake). I have a professor, Dr. Michael Wapner, who talks about change and how scary and threatening it is for most of us. Dr. Wapner likens our journey of change to that of a hermit crab.
Synopsis:
The process of change can be threatening. Like a hermit crab finding a new shell to inhabit, we too must endure a time of exposure and vulnerability when growing psychologically and emotionally.
Many of us often have the idea that because it’s been years since we’ve been to treatment or started recovery or therapy, we shouldn’t have the “negative feelings” that we do. This can start us down the “shame spiral” or what some have referred to as “feeling bad about feeling bad”. 
“That’s just the way I am”. How many times have we heard ourselves or someone else justify behavior with this statement? A more accurate statement might be “I don’t know how to act any differently”. The first proclamation smacks of an acceptance of personal qualities or behavior no matter their efficacy or value. In contrast, the latter assumes responsibility, optimistically creating th 
I used to think so. If I gave up some of that responsibility and surrendered, I’d be shirking my responsibilities! And I'd be weak!
The other day I ran into a friend who is also in recovery. We started talking about the ever-elusive idea of a life in balance. We recognized our tendencies to go toward one extreme or the other, to see people and events as either all good or all bad. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as black and white thinking and many people who are in recovery struggle with it. In a way, this cognitive style can be useful. It may provide us with a sense of c 
What is recovery anyway? What’s the difference between sobriety and recovery? Both concepts may seem equally undesirable during the first phases of help-seeking for addiction, alcoholism or other behaviors that no longer serve us.
Brene Brown, a self-proclaimed “researcher/storyteller”, says that our ability to feel loved and accepted comes from having the belief that we are worthy of love and acceptance. Huh? Basically, we have to buy it. If we don’t allow it to be true, it won’t be. But how do we allow this to be true for us if we don’t feel it?
How many of us have thought that life would be so much easier if we only had someone else's? From the outside, Catherine Zeta Jones seems to be the epitome of perfection: beautiful, married to a successful man, gorgeous children. Even with her husband battling cancer, she seems to handle stress with grace and ease. 