Outside Issues: Belief, Faith, Spirituality, and Religion

It’s an old code of good manners to never talk about money, politics, or religion in public. There are plenty of people who can get away with following that code. But for alcoholics and addicts like us, we’re going to have to talk about it at some point. We can go ahead and steer clear […]

Staying in Gratitude

Just the fact that we’re here and reading this right now is reason enough to be grateful. Maybe you’re here because you’re new to recovery, or contemplating sobriety, or you’ve been in recovery awhile and you’re just struggling. Whatever brought you here doesn’t matter as much as acknowledging your gratitude for getting to be here. […]

How Can I Practice Self-Love?

Self-love is not a dismissable term, though at first glance it may seem like a vague, overused catchphrase. Self-love is akin to self-care, which essentially means taking care of ourselves and being as loving to ourselves as we are to the people around us. For alcoholics and addicts, we often have to begin journeying the […]

Learning How to Accept Help

People need people — there’s no getting around it. We’d all like to fancy ourselves as independent and self-sufficient, and we all are to varying degrees. But nobody can do it all by themselves. At some point in our lives, we will all need a little help. Sometimes we will need a lot of help, […]

Hope as a Foundation

Alcoholism and addiction are often accompanied by a multitude of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual issues. Where does hope come in? Hope is a concept, an idea, and a motivating feeling. But it is also a somewhat ambiguous principle, because what gives hope to one may not spark it in another.  Like alcoholism and addiction […]

Staying Current With 12-Step Work

Those of us who have experienced living with the disease of alcoholism and addiction remember how desperately we sought escape and freedom. We also remember the hope and relief that we felt we finally found the program of recovery. Maybe it didn’t look exactly how we imagined it, but we sure were happy to find […]

Aren’t Healthy Coping Mechanisms Enough?

“Healthy coping mechanisms” has become a common catchphrase in popular psychology today. It’s a catch-all term for self-care, emotional balance, rational reaction, and general mental and emotional well-being. Any number of healthy, clear-headed, and constructive tools and practices that allow us to process, deal with, and navigate life events are considered healthy coping mechanisms. They […]

Coping With Chaos

Whether you are an alcoholic, addict, or neither, turbulent times are inevitable in our lives. This is not something we should live in fear of. Still, it is an eventuality that we can prepare for — particularly those of us who are in recovery and may also have mental and emotional health issues to consider. […]

Establishing Treatment Methods as Habit

Jaywalker Lodge is proud to utilize many treatment methods for the men who stay with us. The particular methodologies we employ are chosen for good reason. It’s no mistake that we do things this way. We believe it is in everyone’s best interest for the most helpful, healing, educational, and effective treatments to be used […]

Applying the Principles in All Our Affairs

For those of us who are alcoholics or addicts and new to recovery, we may not be aware of the spiritual principles behind the 12-Steps. Hopefully, we have seen how effective the 12-Steps are for people just like us, and we know the life-saving value that they offer. For those of us who are familiar […]