I’ve written a lot on triggers lately. A friend who faithfully reads the Recovery Minute sent me an email, identifying a huge trigger which I have missed.
“Victory,” he said.
And he has a really good point. Through the years, I have noticed that a lot of relapse occurs on the heels of victory. A man celebrates a year of sobriety and then falls. A woman comes back from a powerful intensive and then slips.
Will Smith said, “Don’t let failures go to your heart, and don’t let success go to your head.”
And Solomon wrote, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2).
Recovery Step: Celebrate every victory. Value your sobriety chips and hold them tight. Rejoice over every temptation that does not defeat you. But be careful, don’t let up, and keep at it – on good days as well as bad.
Author: Mark Denison
Mark and Beth Denison, married for 36 years, launched There’s Still Hope as a national movement to call men and women into lives of sexual integrity. Their ministry offers 90-day recovery plans for addicts and one-on-one and group coaching for addicts and their spouses. TSH also produces resources for pastors and churches to confront the porn epidemic that is destroying so many lives.
Dr. Denison was a senior pastor for over 30 years, NBA chaplain, and board chairman at Houston Baptist University three times. With a Master’s Degree in Addiction Recovery, Mark is a certified PSAP and active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.
Mark has written four books on recovery: Porn in the Pew, 365 Days to Sexual Integrity, A 90-Day Recovery Guide, and 40 Days to Porn-Free Living. His latest book, Jesus on the 12 Steps, will be released later this year.
