One Man’s Share; Another Addict/Alcoholic’s Hope for Recovery

By Lisa Frederiksen |

The following is a guest post by Joel Christiansen, president of Joel Christiansen Speaking Services, a firm that specializes in speeches, workshops and retreats that empower people to get on the right side of their life and business, and the author of the books: Out of the Ashes the Resurrection of an Addict and Stop Whining and Start Winning: The Power of Life’s Choices.

No one’s life is spared a setback, disappointment or loss.  None of them should ever be used as an excuse to give up or become a permanent address.  Addiction is a tsunami of betrayal, mistrust, losses and wreckage that doesn’t act alone.  Sadly, it takes many innocent friends and loved ones hostage.  This insidious and passionate lover never tires or sleeps. It will hammer away at you and grip and shake your soul until you crave more and more of it.  When most of us reach the depth of our addiction, we are not wanted anymore, anytime, anywhere, by anyone. It is a terrible and lonely place.  Addiction confuses our thinking and takes those thoughts to such a scary place that makes death more appealing than to want to go through the pain of what it would take to climb out of the miserable pit of addiction.

My name is Joel and I am a drug addict and alcoholic.  I have been straight and sober since September 14, 1981, and have never experienced a relapse. To paraphrase an old Willie Nelson song about cowboys; addicts and alcoholics enjoy their own brand of misery.   The longer an addict/alcoholic resists getting and staying straight and sober, the more the misery will persist.  Addicts and alcoholics have a high tolerance for misery. Addiction far too often triumphs. But it doesn’t have to be that way.  The power of choice resides in each one of us.  Bad choice, bad outcome.  Good choice, good outcome.  Getting and staying straight and sober is a good choice.  Keep in mind that recovery and redemption take time, work and commitment.  The reward is a new birth, a new life and a new season.  You, your family and friends deserve nothing less.


Lisa Frederiksen

Lisa Frederiksen

Author | Speaker | Consultant | Founder at BreakingTheCycles.com
Lisa Frederiksen is the author of hundreds of articles and 12 books, including her latest, "10th Anniversary Edition If You Loved Me, You'd Stop! What you really need to know when your loved one drinks too much,” and "Loved One In Treatment? Now What!” She is a national keynote speaker with over 30 years speaking experience, consultant and founder of BreakingTheCycles.com. Lisa has spent the last 19+ years studying and simplifying breakthrough research on the brain, substance use and other mental health disorders, secondhand drinking, toxic stress, trauma/ACEs and related topics.
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Posted in Addiction | Substance Use Disorders | Treatment, Help for Families | Secondhand Drinking | Codependency and tagged

2 Comments

  1. Cathy | Treatment Talk on May 6, 2011 at 3:29 pm

    Thank you for sharing your story. It helps so many to hear a story of success and that recovery is truly possible. I agree with your statement about the power of choice. We all can make the choice about how we live our lives, and the outcome is a result of the decisions that we make.

    Reply
  2. Joel on May 7, 2011 at 9:58 am

    Cathy,
    Thank you for your affirming comments. They were very much appreciated. Our lives are the sum total of what we think, how we feel, who and what we attract, and the choices we make.
    Best wishes.
    Joel

    Reply

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