Tag Archives: recovery

Holistic Counseling for Transformation and Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

Given that much of our life is lived in a state of pretending, from the construct of ego, becoming present to that which is hidden, to who we are truly being in life, is absolutely necessary for transformation and recovery. It is in that which is primarily hidden from us that one will discover what is determining ones life, referred to here as ones self-limiting belief. The first component of the holistic process is for one to become present to the hidden thoughts and beliefs that have been limiting him in life and in particular to his self-limiting belief. It is in the being of the self-limiting belief that one will discover the primary constraint or barrier to his life, to him living a life that he loves and living it powerfully. We live life from who we think we are.  Who we think we are forms the background for our life.  Having the awareness or distinction of the self-limiting belief allows one the ability to not be it, to not have his life be merely the reply of the past. Without the distinction of the self-limiting belief one will continue to create his life from the backdrop of this ideational barrier and as a result life will appear much as it did in the past.

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The Nature of a Breakdown and Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

What are breakdowns exactly? Experientially breakdowns start to occur when an event or events happen that the individual believes should not happen or ought to happen differently than how they take place. As a result the individual starts to feel frustrated, angry, disappointed or even sad about what is happening in his life.  Given these types of emotions the person starts to become resentful, creating a story about the event and to which he or she will eventually begin to blame, be it other people, places, things, situations or circumstances for that which is appearing or happening.  A breakdown eventuates into a relapse when the individual believes that his experience is intolerable, feels inadequate with respect as to how to handle it and chooses to use drugs or alcohol to reduce the emotional component of that he is experiencing. In this case, a breakdown and ones inability to transform it leads directly to relapse.

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Knowing about Breakdowns is important for someone in Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

Knowing about breakdowns, what they are and how to manage them, is absolutely necessary for one to stay committed to his recovery plan. Breakdowns are what brought an individual into treatment and eventually created the space for him to begin his recovery. Breakdowns also happen while a person is in treatment and will continue to take place after he leaves. Even after successfully completing a treatment program, breakdowns are almost certain to happen as one returns to the community from which he came. In fact, both the client and his counselor should expect breakdowns to occur after treatment. It is for this reason that knowledge of the structure of breakdowns and how to transform them is very important if not crucial for the individual wanting recovery.

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Dealing with Breakdowns makes a difference in Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

Success in recovery, or rather, staying in recovery, is dependent upon a variety of factors. For example, it appears that attending daily NA or AA meetings and staying in communication with ones chosen sponsor will definitely assist an individual in successfully implementing his recovery plan. Getting and staying committed to working the 12 Step Program also appears to increase the probability of the person staying abstinent from drugs and alcohol. While the above-mentioned elements of a persons overall recovery plan are crucial to his recovery, another major factor that will greatly influence an individual’s continued abstinence is how he is able to handle the breakdowns that happen in life.

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Communication and Following Suggestions for Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

There are some “steps” necessary before someone can successfully complete the twelve step program of either AA or NA.  While someone can learn these as they start the process and in some cases will only be learn them by engaging in the step work, the “steps” before the steps are fundamentally necessary for completing them.   The ‘steps” to which I refer are about communicating with another human being and following suggestions.

The first has to do with communication.  No recovery or transformation takes place without communcating with another human being.  For those in recovery this will appear as communication with a sponsor or therapist or hopefully both.  Changing or transforming by oneself will eventually turn out to be very difficult if not impossible for most individuals.  We tend to repeat that which we have.  To get something new we have to look to another human being to assist us in our getting it, in our transformation.

The second “step” has to do with following suggestions.  Following suggestions is fundamental to transforming our life.  Many people early in recovery have a great deal of difficulty following suggestions and tend to believe that they know how to do recovery or want to do it their way, possibly the easier, softer way.  To do recovery the way it was meant to be done a person has to follow suggestions, especially from his or her sponsor or therapist.

In the process of recovery these two “steps” work together.  For one to do recovery the way it was meant to be done and to do it completely, he or she has to communicate with another human being and in that communication be able to follow the suggestions given.  If one does not connect with another he or she will not follow the suggestions of another human being further along in recovery and will have a tendency to generate the same as that which was done in the past.  The past will continue to repeat itself until we connect with another and take suggestions designed to transform our life.

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Final Four Principles of the Daily Homework for Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

Below are the final four principles of the Daily Homework for Recovery. Utilizing them in your life will assist you in transforming you and your life.

7. Acknowledge yourself and others daily. Acknowledge the miracles in your life. Practice affirming that every moment of your life is a miracle.

8. Practice patience! Remember that you are doing the best you can. At the moment that we do we do the best we can. When you know more, you will do things differently. Do this in regards to others too.

9. Share with others what you are getting out of your recovery.

10. STAY HUNGRY FOR YOUR RECOVERY!

For transformation and recovery to take place, it is important for us to get it that we are responsible for our life, that such responsibility is generated from our thoughts and word, that life can be transformed through the creation of possibilities, that it is important for us to become intentional about our creating, that we can support such a creative action through structure and repetition, that it is important to acknowledge ourselves through the process while being patient with the journey, that it is vital to the very nature of our transformation for us to share our possibilities with others through enrollment and for us to remain hungry for transformation.

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Three more Principles of the Daily Homework.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw
Three more principles of the Daily Homework are about your intention, recovery plan and a daily action plan.  The work of the Daily Homework continues with these principles.
4. What is your Intention? Plan your Intention each morning upon awakening and stay present to it throughout the day. What are you committed to today? What are you committed to now? What is it that you want to create in your life? What is it that you want to create now?
5. Develop your RECOVERY PLAN. Plan your work. Your RECOVERY PLAN is about your life. Your RECOVERY PLAN is about your Integrity. Integrity is the bottom line. Are you in integrity with your RECOVERY PLAN. Are you in Integrity with your life?
6. Develop your DAILY ACTION PLAN. Work your plan. Do it everyday! Your DAILY ACTION PLAN is about your commitment and integrity with respect to your RECOVERY PLAN. Your DAILY ACTION PLAN is about fulfilling on your intention and commitments. Your DAILY ACTION PLAN is about keeping your RECOVERY PLAN in existence!

Daily Homework for Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

We learn much of what we learn initially through repetitious exposure. It is by becoming present to something repeatedly that space is created for us to learn anew. It is by taking that which we are exposed to and bringing it forth into our life, committing it to action, that we begin to change or transform our life in some way. This is especially true with respect to the possibilities made available through transformation. The DAILY HOMEWORK is about the creation of possibilities for transformation.

The DAILY HOMEWORK is not a replacement or alternative to a personís work in recovery. The DAILY HOMEWORK is not a replacement or alternative for the 12 Step Program. What the DAILY HOMEWORK does is support a personís integrity and commitment with respect to recovery. The principles of the DAILY HOMEWORK are designed to a person to stay present to every day and to practice bringing forth into his life. The promise of the DAILY HOMEWORK is that the space for recovery to happen will be created if the principles are learned and lived.

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Two ways to deal with Breakdowns in Recovery.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw

One way to effectively deal with a breakdown or upset, especially if it is creating the urge to drink or do drugs, is to talk with another human being.  Keeping an upset to yourself or keeping it up in your head is a receipt for disaster.  Something negative will probably happen to your if you do not share what is going on with you.  This is why it is important to create a support network of people you can call, sponsor, therapist or friends in recovery.

The second way to begin to effectively deal with an upset or breakdown is to take a look at what you are not accepting about the situation, people, places or things.  Most if not all upsets and breakdowns are about having something happen that we believe should not have happened even though it did.  Our work, and it is work, is to accept what happened, to eventually get it that everything happens in the way it is supposed to happen.  Our work is to take that on as a possibility and in the work to accept fully what we did not once accept.

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Recovery involves being able to deal with Breakdowns.

Posted on by Dr Harry Henshaw
Success in recovery, or rather, staying in recovery, is dependent upon a variety of factors.   For example, it appears that attending daily NA or AA meetings and staying in communication with ones chosen sponsor will definitely assist an individual in successfully implementing his recovery plan.  Getting and staying committed to working the 12 Step Program also appears to increase the probability of the person staying abstinent from drugs and alcohol.  While the above-mentioned elements of a persons overall recovery plan are crucial to his recovery, another major factor that will greatly influence an individual’s continued abstinence is how he is able to handle the breakdowns that happen in life.
Knowing about breakdowns, what they are and how to manage them, is absolutely necessary for one to stay committed to his recovery plan.  Breakdowns are what brought an individual into treatment and eventually created the space for him to begin his recovery.  Breakdowns also happen while a person is in treatment and will continue to take place after he leaves.  Even after successfully completing a treatment program, breakdowns are almost certain to happen as one returns to the community from which he came.  In fact, both the client and his counselor should expect breakdowns to occur after treatment.  It is for this reason that knowledge of the structure of breakdowns and how to transform them is very important if not crucial for the individual wanting recovery.