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Articles from Peggy Ferguson | Selfgrowth.com
- Guide to Eliminating Deception and Dishonesty - How to Get Real in Addiction Recovery - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2009 from Peggy FergusonMany people, while active in addiction, engage in deceptive, dishonest behavior, and diversionary tactics. These are part and parcel of addiction and the need to keep the extent of their problem hidden. It is difficult to juggle all the demands of being addicted with all the "normal" demands of ...
Views: 7065(2 votes) - Addiction and Recovery: Cross Addiction and Relapse: 5 Cross Addiction Relapse Prevent Tips - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2009 from Peggy FergusonAlthough definitions of "Addiction" seem to be continuing to evolve, addiction is still "a primary, chronic, progressive, and relapsing disease". The last decade of research has led to a refined definition of addiction as a "brain disease which is manifested by compulsive behavior". Cross ...
Views: 3675(1 vote) - Cross Addiction and Relapse - Examples and Relationships - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2009 from Peggy FergusonCross addiction is one of the leading causes of relapse in early recovery. Cross-addiction involves being addicted to all mood altering drugs. The following are illustrations of cross addiction. 1. Some people become cross-addicted in their efforts to camouflage their addiction. ...
Views: 4657(2 votes) - Addiction and Recovery: Understanding The Nature of Addiction to Understand Cross Addiction - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2009 from Peggy FergusonEarly addiction recovery is a fragile thing. One of the most frequent contributing factors in relapse is something we call "cross-addiction". Essentially what cross-addiction means, is that if you are alcoholic or addicted to other mood altering drugs, you a potentially addicted to all mood ...
Views: 2672(1 vote) - Addiction and Recovery: Ten Common Myths about Alcohol and Drug Addiction - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonPeople who don't know much about alcohol and other drug addiction, often buy into common myths and stereotypes about addiction and addicts. It is important to replace mistaken assumptions and judgments about addiction, so that you can approach those afflicted with the illness, with compassion ...
Views: 3980(1 vote) - Addiction and Recovery: Do You Really Have to Hit Bottom to Recover? - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonThere is a generally misguided notion that you have to "hit bottom" to be able to get sober and stay sober. "Hitting bottom" is usually seen as the loss of the things that you value in your life. It is an individually defined event and the concept has probably hindered the recovery efforts of a ...
Views: 2587(1 vote) - A Relapse Prevention Tool - Emotional Cues for Cravings in Relapse Worksheet - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonWe experience sensory, emotional/psychological, cognitive, environmental, and physical cues on a daily basis in early recovery. These cues or triggers, if left unchecked can turn into powerful cravings for the chemical. Cravings can lead to relapse. In order to avoid relapse it is crucial that ...
Views: 13876(2 votes) - Addiction and Recovery: The Social and Environmental Triggers Worksheet - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonAssociations between particular feelings, people, places, and events becomes intertwined with the alcoholic or addicts drinking and drugging behavior. When alcoholics and addicts find their way to recovery, the old associations between the drinking and drugging and the old feeling, people, ...
Views: 10425(2 votes) - Family Dynamics of Addiction And Recovery - Deciding What to do about an Adult Child's Addiction - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonWhen an adult child with addiction problems lives with his parents, those parents are faced with hard choices. The addict believes that he is only harming himself, yet the truth is that the addiction is hurting everyone and is typically tearing the family apart. Parents and significant others ...
Views: 1706(2 votes) - Family Members Know You are Going to Relapse in Your Addiction Before You Do - Listen Up - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonThe family dynamics of recovery is rarely smooth sailing. Relapse, which is a process, has a tremendously negative effect on significant others. Family members who have labored and struggled to remain with the addict through all the active years of addiction, to assist them in finding their way ...
Views: 4597(1 vote) - Working Through Feelings in Addiction Recovery - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonOne of the most important tasks necessary for maintaining abstinence and growing in recovery is learning how to appropriately work through feelings. Many people use alcohol and other drugs in place of dealing with or managing emotions. Alcoholism/drug addiction often involves skill deficits. ...
Views: 8000(1 vote) - First Sober Fourth of July: Surviving the Holiday Without Addiction Relapse - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonThe fourth of July is significant for alcoholics and addicts in several ways. The Declaration of Independence was a statement of separation from a tyrannical ruler. With separating from the past they embarked on a new way of life. Many people come into treatment just after the Fourth of July, ...
Views: 2782(1 vote) - Family Dynamics of Addiction and Recovery - How Can I Tell If My Partner Is Serious about Recovery? - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonMost spouses of alcoholics or addicts have been down this road before. Something has happened. Some crisis has gotten the attention of the alcoholic/addict and now he is motivated to get clean and sober. This time he is going to AA/NA and going to counseling. Promises made by the addict to stop ...
Views: 1268(1 vote) - Don't Let Myths Keep You From Getting Sober - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonI keep hearing the same old myths over and over again. And I can't help but think that others hearing these myths either believe them and give up or use them for excuses to avoid taking action on getting clean and sober. One of the myths that I hear daily is that you can't get sober for ...
Views: 1785(1 vote) - Addiction and Recovery - What is Detox? - by Submitted on Jul 23, 2009 from Peggy Ferguson"Detox" is the beginning of the process of recovery. Most people need some kind of help getting through detox. Some people need medical help or additional structure and support. The kinds of difficulties that an alcoholic or addict will have with detox depend on a number of variables, including, ...
Views: 1338(1 vote) - Commumication In Recovery: Guidelines for Setting the Stage for Effective Talks with Your Loved Ones - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Peggy FergusonWhen you want to solve some important relationship or logistics issue, you help assist help ensure your effectiveness by appropriately setting the stage for communication. Remember these guidelines while trying to solve a problem in your relationship. 1. Think about what you want to say ...
Views: 915(1 vote) - Communication in Recovery - Ten Steps to Fair Fighting - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Peggy FergusonUse the following ten steps to replace old, ineffective arguments with an effective fair fighting session: 1. Fight to resolve an issue or solve a problem. 2. Identify the problem to be solved. 3. Take turns stating your case, using I messages. 4. Practice active listening. 5. Generate ...
Views: 3039(1 vote) - Addiction Recovery Tools: Why You Want to Learn to Forgive in Recovery - by Submitted on Jul 23, 2009 from Peggy FergusonAlthough forgiveness is an important part of working through feelings, and thus, a tool of recovery and the healing process, it is an often neglected topic. People often erroneously equate forgiveness with forgetting. The best definition that I ever heard for forgiveness is simply "giving up ...
Views: 3588(2 votes) - Family Dynamics of Addiction and Recovery: 14 Enabling Behaviors to Quit Now - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Peggy FergusonFamily members, in their attempts to solve the problem of a loved one's addiction, try every thing they can think of, to turn the addict's life back around. They usually identify the problem incorrectly for a long time before it becomes obvious to them that addiction is the real problem. ...
Views: 4342(2 votes) - Family Dynamics of Addiction and Recovery: How to Let Go and Regain Your Peace of Mind - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Peggy FergusonWhat are you afraid of? Fear and anxiety are part and parcel of daily life with familial addiction. Fear is a paintbrush that colors almost all aspects of family life. Some fears are easily recognizable in an addicted family: "What if he gets arrested?" "When am I going to get the call in the ...
Views: 1567(1 vote) - Family Dynamics of Addiction: Family Systems Can Work for or Against Your Recovery - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Peggy FergusonAlcoholics/addicts do not normally live in a circle made up exclusively of alcoholics and addicts. Most people suffering from addictions have a multitude of people in their lives who are affected by the addiction. Even alcoholics and addicts that are estranged from their significant others, ...
Views: 5395 - Quitting Pot: 16 Steps to Help You Quit and Stay Quit - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2009 from Peggy FergusonOk, so you have decided that your life needs a little help and to accomplish this, you have decided to quit smoking pot. You have flushed or given away your stash. You have gotten rid of the paraphernalia. It has been a couple of days since you smoked pot and you're feeling cranky. You are not ...
Views: 8120(3 votes) - Family Dynamics of Addiction and Recovery - How Can I Tell If My Partner Is Serious About Recovery? - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Peggy FergusonMost spouses of alcoholics or addicts have been down this road before. Something has happened. Some crisis has gotten the attention of the alcoholic/addict and now he is motivated to get clean and sober. This time he is going to AA/NA and going to counseling. Promises made by the addict to stop ...
Views: 2516(3 votes) - Addiction and Recovery: Preventing Relapse After Surgery - by Submitted on May 19, 2009 from Peggy FergusonYou are ultimately responsible for your own addiction recovery. When you know that you have to have surgery, it is important to keep everyone treating you informed about your recovery and addiction history, including the names of the drugs, the amounts, the lengths of time that you took them, ...
Views: 4371(1 vote) - Your Spouse's Infidelity Revealed: Getting Over The Shock and Getting To Recovery: Part 2Submitted on May 18, 2009 from Peggy FergusonMarital infidelity can be revealed in a whole host of different ways. Regardless of how the infidelity is revealed, the revelation of the infidelity creates a crisis within the marital relationship and within the faithful spouse. The shock of discovering the infidelity leads to compulsive ...
Views: 2693 - Your Spouse's Infidelity Revealed: Of Course You Are Angry and Scared: Part 1 - by Submitted on May 18, 2009 from Peggy FergusonInfidelity can be a component of sexual addiction or relational event(s). It is generally enshrouded in secrecy and dishonesty, with great amounts of time and effort spent to keep it hidden. Spouses find out about the infidelity or sexual addiction in a wide variety of ways. Several are ...
Views: 2360 - Help for the Sex Addict's Spouse - Part 5 - by Submitted on May 10, 2009 from Peggy FergusonCan the spouse of a sex addict find help individually for the effects of the sexual addiction on their lives? Sure. Much of the time, however, it is the crisis of discovery of the acting out, or some other related crisis that brings the sex addict and spouse into treatment. They usually seek ...
Views: 3227 - Are You Suffering from Someone Else's Sexual Addiction? - Part 4 - by Submitted on Jul 23, 2009 from Peggy FergusonAre you angry, depressed, confused, and constantly trying to figure out what your spouse is up to? If you are spinning your wheels, trying to strategize and find solutions for your spouse and your relationship before you have actually identified the problem, keep reading. Family members can ...
Views: 1897 - Help For the Sex Addict - Part 3 - by Submitted on May 10, 2009 from Peggy FergusonTreatment for sexual addiction can occur in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Like treatment for alcohol and other drug (AOD) addiction, treatment for sexual addiction is usually made up of individual and group counseling, education about addiction, and self-help participation. When choosing ...
Views: 1245 - The Naked Truth About Sexual Addiction - by Submitted on May 08, 2009 from Peggy FergusonThere is nothing sexy about sex addiction. Compulsive sexual behavior is not a pastime or hobby. Sexually addicted people use all kinds of excuses and defense mechanisms to deny the truth to themselves. The naked truth about addiction is that once it is addiction, the addict is spiritually and ...
Views: 2113 - How Do You Know if Infidelity is a Symptom of Sexual Addiction: 10 Indicators - by Submitted on May 08, 2009 from Peggy FergusonYou have just discovered or been informed of your partner's infidelity. You are in shock. You are confused, angry, immobilized, depressed, and thinking you will absolutely go crazy. In the midst of all this, you keep hearing about "sexual addiction" in the media and you wonder if it is sexual ...
Views: 3802 - Sexual Addiction: Are You a Sex Addict? Part 2 - by Submitted on Apr 27, 2009 from Peggy FergusonSexual addiction is a dysfunctional pattern of compulsive sexual behavior that continues even after the addict knows that it is causing major problems in their life. The sex addicts has a compulsion to engage in the problem behavior despite the fact that it has become emotionally dissatisfying ...
Views: 1930(1 vote) - Sexual Addiction: A Brief Description, Part 1 - by Submitted on Apr 27, 2009 from Peggy FergusonIf you see yourself in this brief description of sexual addiction, it can be the beginning of achieving recovery and getting your life back. The hope is that there is recovery, that it is possible. "The journey of a thousand miles begins by taking the initial step". The good news is that you ...
Views: 2624(1 vote) - Sexual Addiction: Defining Recovery From Sexual Addiction - by Submitted on Apr 27, 2009 from Peggy FergusonRecovery from sexual addiction is slightly different than recovery from alcohol and other (AOD) addiction. With chemical dependency recovery, the goal is to abstain from all mood altering drugs. The primary goal from sexual addiction is not abstinence from sex, but the development of the ability ...
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