Free Online Sobriety Support During Covid-19

/
Free Online Sobriety Support During Covid-19

Tensions are high and uncertainty looms. I believe we are all collectively feeling the fear and anxiety that Covid-19 has unexpectedly brought into our lives. We see devastating photos and videos on the news and social media, and we hear scary numbers, and we worry. For those of us who have committed to being alcohol-free or those of you who may have just started your journey, times are tough. I’ve been receiving messages and have seen posts that say with rising anxiety, many people want to, or have thought about, drinking.

Read More

Why Addiction Recovery and CrossFit Are Basically The Same Thing

/
Why Addiction Recovery and CrossFit Are Basically The Same Thing

Most of you know that I'm into fitness. I'm a lifelong soccer player and after getting sober, I started doing CrossFit. I wasn't sure CrossFit would be something I would stick with and after letting it go last year when I hurt my knee I never thought I'd pick it back up. A girl I play soccer with encouraged me to go to her CrossFit facility and give it a shot after I started playing again, following my sixth knee surgery. I was bored with the regular gym, feeling heavy and out of shape, and just could never get a hard enough workout in. I decided to give CrossFit another shot and I'm so glad I did! Now I try to go at least 4-5 times a week and it's the best workout I've ever had apart from preseason soccer in college.

Read More

13th Step Jokes Aren't Funny

/
13th Step Jokes Aren't Funny

I hate to be a buzzkill, but 13th step jokes aren't funny. The whole 13th step concept is weird, shameful, and tragic. I've always been the person who doesn't think racist jokes are funny, or rape jokes, or any type of sensitive subject that is used as the butt of someone's humor.

Growing up I was the one always telling my peers not to say the "n" word when referring to people of color, or the "f" word to describe gay people. I used to get a lot of weird looks and eye rolls. In college a few friends of mine were on an intramural flag football team they cleverly named, "SDIA" which spelled AIDS backwards. Yes, like the syndrome that is caused by the HIV virus. Why did they pick this name? They were going to "infect" everyone in the league and win all their games. I can't make this shit up folks. I remember when I heard their reasoning and saw their t-shirts I was so angry I cried. How could people be so cruel? Did they not know that AIDS is a deadly disease that has killed millions including someone important in my own family? Obviously not.

Read More

Serenity Interrupted: When an Addict Comes to a Meeting High

/
Serenity Interrupted: When an Addict Comes to a Meeting High

This post is kind of a bummer. There have been two times in the past few months where drunk men came into our women's AA meeting that I attend during the week. Each time it was handled with calmness and grace. It was clear that even as a women's meeting, we would never turn away an alcoholic in need of a meeting. Both times I felt a bit awkward, but not uncomfortable and overall I felt that the men enjoyed the meetings. One of them even wrote us a letter that a member read out loud the following week. He thanked us for our kindness and he said he was getting help. No harm, no foul.

Read More