Stages of Recovery

1. Abstinence - Just staying clean and sober.
2. Sobriety - Learning how to cope with life without using or drinking. We call it living life on life's terms.
3. Comfortable living - Getting used to a clean and sober life-style.
4. Productive living - Sharing recovery with others. An unhealthy old instinct was to use or drink to cope with life. Now, your instincts are to call your sponsor, call a healthy friend, go to a meeting, or any number of other healthy choices to cope with life. The thing is, at this stage of recovery you don't really have to think about the good choice much…you just do it.

"Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress."

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."

Esteem Building Ideas

• Ignore put downs from others.
• Stay clean and sober.
• Stop the critical self-talk. Focus on what you want to be, not what you should, ought, or must be.
• Concentrate on what's right about you. Build on your strengths.
• Give positive affirmations to others.
• Notice what triggers negative thoughts and emotions in you.
• Cultivate relationships with people who treat you with genuine respect.
• Learn to be assertive. This is not the same as being aggressive.
• Talk with your counselor about these ideas.

"We make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we give."

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting."