by A Counselor's Story | Dec 1, 2022 | A Counselor
Journal entry December 25, 2011: “I’m not sure I would have had children if I knew I would have to endure a day like today.” Can you relate to this? There was a time when I would have been too ashamed to share that with you. Since...
by PAL | Nov 1, 2022 | A Counselor
Herein lies an irony: the person who is trying to manipulate you views you as having greater strength or power than he or she does. — George H. Green and Carolyn Cotter, Stop Being Manipulated George Green and Carolyn Cotter...
by A Counselor | Sep 1, 2022 | A Counselor
I read in a book by Earnie Larsen* that there is scant difference between an abstaining chemically dependent person and a co-dependent person. Both have living problems, intimacy problems and issues with self-esteem. All these...
by A Counselor | Jul 1, 2022 | A Counselor
At a recent PAL meeting a distressed mother said, “I’ve cut financial strings, my son no longer lives with me and I’m limiting how many phone calls I take because he only calls when he wants money or is in a crisis, so I guess there is nothing else I can do?” This...
by A Counselor | Jun 1, 2022 | A Counselor
In PAL meetings we often talk about delayed emotional growth as well as delayed gratification. Our loved ones who are battling substance use disorder have tremendous difficulty with both of these behaviors. In the case of many of them, they began using substances...
by A Counselor | May 1, 2022 | A Counselor
Don’t quit five minutes before the miracle. When parents attend their first meeting at PAL or any other support group, they often come in with a range of feelings and mindsets (denial, guilt, anger, etc.), but what all parents have in common when they reach out for...
