In 1959, Burt Pugach met Linda Riss, and it was love at first sight. But when Linda discovered that Burt was already married and had children, she ended the relationship. In retaliation, Burt paid three assailants to toss lye in Linda’s face, which nearly blinded her for life. Burt served 14 years in prison for…
On this day in history, 35 years ago, the great John Elway took his Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl, only to lose to the Washington Redskins, 42-10. For many, such a blowout would have been devastating. But another January 31 would eventually come around, 11 years later, when Elway would redeem himself, leading the…
A friend suffered a recent relapse. “What do I do now?” he asked me. My simple answer was, “Do the next right thing.” Where we get off the rails in recovery is by making things too complicated. We don’t relapse because we don’t know what to do, but because we don’t do what we know. …
Every so often, it is wise to review our five primary triggers for acting out. You can remember them with the acronym B.L.A.S.T. We tend to be at greatest risk for relapse when we are: Bored Lonely Angry Stressed Tired Don’t let your triggers stop you. The temptations and roadblocks to recovery can seem overwhelming.…
It happened on this date in 1986. I remember it well. On January 28, 1986, the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Florida, killing all seven aboard, including a school teacher who had been selected as the first American civilian to travel in space. That was a devastating day for America,…
Underwater somersaulting is not yet an official Olympic sport. But that never stopped Marta Fernandez Perez from setting a world record in 2001, when she completed 28 backward somersaults underwater – on one breath. How did Marta come to be the queen of underwater somersaults? I’m not sure, but I’m going to guess that she…
I love these words, from Louis Armstrong’s famous song, What a Wonderful World. “I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, They’ll learn much more, Than I’ll ever know. And I think to myself, What a wonderful world.” The psalmist wrote, “What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with wisdom at your…
What role do rewards play in recovery? Dr. John F. Kelly addresses this in his article, Recovery from Addiction. He writes, “It is now well known that the repetition of rewarding behaviors produces changes in brain function and structure that facilitate habits and, for some, sustained compulsivity and addiction.” Dr. Kelly is saying that one…
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” – Jaws, 1975 Actor Rob Scheider played Brody in the movie. Citing the great shark, and contemplating what it would take to bring him in, he said, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” This famous movie line has become an appropriate metaphor for life. Many times, our biggest problem…
The Bible has a lot to say about anxiety. Jesus said, “Do not be anxious” (Matthew 6:25). Solomon said, “An anxious heart weighs a man down” (Proverbs 12:25). And Paul added, “Be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6). So what is the problem with anxiety? Why is it such a bad thing? Author Amelia Aldao writes,…