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 […]

Why Do I Keep Slipping?

For many alcoholics and addicts, finding recovery is a desperately needed relief. Yet even for those of us who are desperate, sticking with recovery isn’t always a linear journey. Like everything in life, there will be ups and downs, good times, and rough times. Some days will be easier than others. These are the natural […]

Maintaining Friendships in Recovery

Entering recovery can be an exciting time, as we finally find help for our deadly disease and begin to feel hope again. It can also be a time of overwhelming change. So much of our previous lives that were lived in the disease will begin to fall away, and we will likely want to distance […]