On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, we hosted Tim Walsh of Adventure Recovery (AR) for an in-person Pathway Session on how outdoor movement and skills can promote recovery. There was a good mix of recovery coaches and parents in attendance. For some time it has been recognized that the brain can be impacted by community, moving in the outdoors, and spending …
A warm and pleasantly unexpected wave of relief set in as I was ushered into the back seat of yet another police vehicle. While this type of counterintuitive neurobiological response was not foreign to me, it still surprised me every time. In moments like that you have clarity, something concrete is happening. No need to fear what may come. It …
Another great book on meditation that is especially helpful for those, like me, who struggle with their inner critic. Meditation teacher and author Mark Coleman provides many antidotes for negative thinking and self-talk to help us learn to be more compassionate towards ourselves. Chapters are short withpractical exercises included, mostly meditation based. Mark also describes the scientific foundation, orneuroplasticity, behind …
On Wednesday, March 13, 2024, we hosted Raquel Harrison, MD, a local Lifestyle Medicine and emergency physician, for an in-person Pathway Session on managing cortisol for health and recovery. Lifestyle Medicine is a relatively new medical specialty based on the vital role that lifestyle choices play in preventing and reversing chronic diseases. Thee are six pillars of lifestyle medicine: plant-forward …
Pleasure Unwoven is a 1-hour video and accompanying workbook about addiction, with a focus on the hedonic pleasure aspect of addiction. The author is a doctor in recovery who uses the beautiful Utah landscape to ask the question: does addiction fits the standard “disease model”? His answer is YES, because addiction is a stress-induced defect that causes dysregulation of the …
I grew up in an upper middle-class family in Bethany, CT. From the outside looking in, my family was an ordinary American family. My mom and dad were well-educated. My mom was an artist, and my dad ran the family recycling business. What most people didn’t see was that my mother suffered from severe manic depression and when I was …
On Wednesday, February 21, 2024, we hosted Ethan Hershman and Colleen Delaney, co-founders of the nonprofit group Move to Heal (MTH). It was an insightful session about a recovery approach that is growing rapidly from 1 outlet in 2021 to 24 locations by the end of the year. I first became aware of Move to Heal when Ian Parker, in …
A Burning Desire is a gift for those who struggle with the 12-Step programs because of the focus on theneed to surrender to a Higher Power. Kevin Griffin describes his view of a “Middle Way”, where theDharma (teachings of the Buddha) can be understood as a Higher Power. The author draws on hisexperience with addiction and recovery, and how meditation and …
On Wednesday, January 17, 2024, we hosted Jordan Davidson, Government Affairs Manager at Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a man in long-term recovery from THC addiction. I first became aware of Jordan because his mom who used to attend our parent support meetings when Jordan was in the early days of his recovery. He a recent graduate of American …
I remember the week that I stopped drinking in 1988. Early in that week, I remember praying. I prayed to a God that I wasn’t sure existed. I wasn’t thinking of recovery at this point, just trying to save myself from loneliness, anger, and resentment. I prayed for an alternative to my bleak future. During that week I had evacuated …
