-
Iboga Blog
recovery
31st December 2020 • Sticky Post
Personal Inventory: Taking Stock for the New Year
If you have any experience with recovery, you’re probably already familiar with the concept of a personal inventory. The Big Book used by Alcoholics Anonymous describes Step 4 as “a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” But even if you aren’t in a 12 Step Program, tackling a personal inventory should still be a component of your recovery program.
Everyone makes mistakes in life, and everyone is wronged by others. For most addicts, the severity and number of these transgressions are compounded by a lifestyle that’s almost certain to lead to trauma, stress, and dishonesty. A personal inventory is a great tool for examining the effects of the harm done and moving beyond it into a happy, healthy, and sober life.
Facing The Facts
The life of an addict can be a blur, and many people in recovery are just beginning to confront the reality of their own actions and behaviors. It is common to dwell on negative emotions, past trauma, and family dynamics to justify addiction and to minimize our own roles in poisoning relationships and creating problems in our lives and the lives of those around us. One of the most essential benefits those in recovery receive from a personal inventory is the ability to examine and evaluate their own actions without shifting blame, justifying past misdeeds, and becoming bogged down in negative emotions. Addicts and alcoholics necessarily spend years lying to themselves and those around them about the nature, depth, and symptoms of their condition. As you begin to scrupulously examine the facts of your life, you’ll find that the reality of your life and relationships are significantly different from the stories you’ve been telling yourself and those around you. This is a key reason why personal inventories are so essential to recovery.
Fears, Resentment, and Forgiveness
The Big Book suggests that when embarking on the fact-finding stage of the enterprise, you create four columns to list all relevant information on your resentments, fears, sexual conduct, and harm caused to other people. When reflecting on resentments, we should focus on ways to move past anger and forgive those who have caused hurt. By embracing forgiveness and giving others the benefit of the doubt, you can let go of negative emotions that push you towards destructive actions. The 12 Step model lists resentment as the most serious character flaw for alcoholics and addicts, and learning to view the actions of those around you with understanding and compassion is one of the secrets to living a happy life.
At Iboga Tree Healing House, we have found that Naikan Therapy is a powerful tool for moving past resentment and cultivating a sense of gratitude in life. Naikan therapy focuses on reflecting upon your relationships: what you’re offering to and taking from the people around you every day. It has helped our clients move beyond resentment and into a positive outlook on their relationships with loved ones. We’d recommend this treatment as a complement to your personal inventory.
As you progress into examining the harm that you have caused others, it’s important to get specific. You want to address the exact nature of your own wrongs, and the motivation which caused you to hurt those around you. When you’re tackling this part of the process, it’s important to be very careful not to justify or minimize any of your own actions. You should be reflecting on all of your relationships at this stage in the process, in order to create a full accounting of the damage your addiction has caused, and prepare you to begin healing and repairing that damage.
Fears are important because they can often lead us to damaging behavior. They also lead to secrecy, dishonesty, and feelings of inadequacy. Addressing them head-on is a necessary step towards dealing with your own character flaws and changing yourself for the better. While it’s unlikely that you’ll completely conquer every fear you have, learning to respond positively to the feeling of fear will be a great help on your recovery journey.
Let's get emotional
The process of undergoing a personal inventory will also lead you to explore your own emotional development and the ways in which addiction has stunted it. As you undergo the process and unearth painful memories, you’ll get to know which emotions you’re comfortable with experiencing, and which ones you tend to avoid feeling or expressing. Avoiding unpleasant emotions is one of the primary reasons why people turn to substances, and developing a level of comfort and familiarity with your feelings will help you to maintain sobriety.
One tip that many people familiar with personal inventory tend to offer is to begin by creating a list of people, businesses, ideas, principles, situations, and institutions that have played a meaningful role in your life. As you work through the list, think about your memories, and the thoughts and feelings you associate with each. As you examine your own reactions and the emotions which are triggered, you will quickly realize (based on the intensity of your reactions) what you’ll need to focus on as you create an inventory.
What you'll get out of your personal inventory
A well-run business regularly checks its inventory to see what it has. Is a supermarket dangerously low on milk? Does the pharmacy have medications that are about to expire? You’re looking to reach a similar goal within your own brain. What do you have inside yourself that is holding you back and causing you pain? What are your untapped resources and sources of strength? Are you carrying far too many negative emotions and memories into every situation you find yourself in? Do you have an urgent need for emotional support or self-esteem? What can you draw motivation and will-power from when you’re feeling low?
A personal inventory is an integral part of the recovery process because it leads you to discover the truth about yourself and your life. It can help you finally get rid of the false narratives, negative emotions, and counter-productive decision-making processes that trapped you in addiction. It will let you know what relationships need to be repaired and guide you into making amends with those you’ve hurt. It will help you grow. It will help you learn.
It's just worth doing.
30th November 2020
Making Amends: A Pathway To Healing
One fundamental aspect of addiction is the way it forces addicts to violate their principles, beliefs, and values. In every life, we are bound to cause harm to others, regardless of intent, and often without our knowledge. But for the addicted, these transgressions can sink to truly appalling depths. One of the most essential parts of recovery is coming to terms with the harm we have caused to the people close to us, and whenever possible, doing everything we can to relieve the pain we have dished out. Let’s take a closer look at the process of making amends.
What is " Making Amends"?
define making amends
A reductive definition would be “apologize sincerely to those you’ve hurt.” But experts at the Betty Ford Clinic have identified one of the key differences between apologies and amends. They rightly point out that amends are actions, whereas apologies are often just words. One of the keys to recovering from addiction is aligning your intentions and your actions. In the case of making amends, this can be defined as the difference between saying you’re sorry for having stolen from someone and creating a re-payment plan. By uniting your actions with your words, you can convince others that you’re committed to repairing wrongs and relationships. Compare this to the thousands of useless apologies you probably offered to those around you when you were using! Amends are so important because they are an actual, concrete manifestation of the changes that occurred within you when you moved from addiction into recovery.
Making Amends and The 12 Steps
If you’re familiar with the 12-Step model of recovery, you’ve probably already been thinking about Steps 8 and 9 as you read the last two paragraphs. For the uninitiated:
Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
These two steps are invaluable parts of the foundation to sober living. We need to deal with our pasts to move into a brighter future. We would recommend following through with these two steps even if you’re committed to a peer support program other than the AA/NA model.
Alternative Ways To Make Amends
While SMART Recovery and Practical Recovery don’t have a specific policy for making amends, they realize that the process is valuable for many in recovery, and they recommend acknowledging your role, apologizing, and making things right if it’s possible to do so.
You may have read our recent blog post on Naikan Therapy - a recent addition to the Iboga Tree Healing House recovery toolbox. In Naikan therapy, realization is the first step toward making amends. Naikan helps to develop a realization about one’s wrongs and one’s part in those wrongs. Naikan teaches that one needs realization in the beginning - which is the most complex part of the amends process.
Naikan therapy helps one reach realization, and how (even if) amends are actually made is a personal choice. Some people may pay back by helping others, cleaning the soul, serving elderly people, parents, etc. Some people do not make direct or indirect amends at all.
In the Naikan model, the psychotherapist can encourage amends to be made, but the amends process is by no means an essential part of one’s recovery.
For those seeking to make amends for past wrongs, let’s explore the process of making amends in a little more depth.
Direct Amends
Making Amends
The phrase essentially means that you try to establish face-to-face communication with the person you’ve wronged. If they’re unwilling to meet with you, or time and distance will not allow for a meeting, we recommend trying to communicate as directly as possible, via Facetime, phone, email, or letter. You should always be open by acknowledging the pain and hurt you have caused, and avoid finding fault or shifting blame. Demonstrate through your words and actions how you have changed. Offer them whatever you can to repair the damage you’ve done, and try to find ways to enable them to heal.
Injuring Others: How Not To Do It
If you think that the process of making amends would cause needless harm, stress, mental anguish, or any other type of pain to another person, there’s no need to burden them in order to unburden yourself. As Step 9 dictates, “except when to do so would injure them.” Bear in mind that your goal in this process should be helping them to deal with the wrongs you’ve inflicted, not seeking closure for yourself. If you have painful information they’re unaware of and have no need to receive, ask yourself if they would actually benefit from receiving it. If you suspect that the answer might be “no”, try to do something else to atone for your actions, like volunteering your time with the needy, making a donation to a worthy cause, or taking steps to help out someone else in your life. You can atone for your actions without making them suffer.
What if Someone Doesn't Want to Meet Me?
There might be someone in your life to whom you are desperate to make amends to who wants nothing to do with you. If someone who you’ve hurt doesn’t want to accept your apologies and amends, it’s best to accept that fact and find some other way to reach closure for yourself. Intentionally taking positive and benevolent action in another part of your life can allow you to move forward and accept their decision to wash their hands of you. We never recommend forcing the issue and putting someone you’ve already harmed in an uncomfortable situation.
Avoiding Dangerous Situations
If someone who you’ve harmed is still actively addicted and using substances regularly, you should be very careful about putting your fragile sobriety at risk. You can try to nudge them towards treatment or ensure that you meet them in a safe place without any triggers or stressors that could fuel a relapse. While making amends is very important, as the Betty Ford Clinic notes, “our primary responsibility is to safeguard our own health and recovery from substance abuse.”
Don't Do It Alone
It’s important to consult with mentors, counselors, peers, sponsors, and relevant guides such as AA’s Big Book. Making amends is a long and arduous process that can cause fresh stresses and problems. Those who have experience with it are a resource that can help you avoid pitfalls along the way and ensure that you emerge happier, healthier, and stronger. They can reassure you that you are doing the right thing, even if the people that you have wronged respond to your efforts to heal with hostility, dismissiveness, or contempt. We’re always stronger together!
Why Make Amends?
Making amends is so necessary because it will deepen your understanding of the pain and suffering that addiction has caused to those around you. It can offer the opportunity to rebuild broken connections with your family and loved ones. But it also has substantial benefits for your own mental health. As addictions expert and Professor of Family Medicine Chris Ebberwein states “making amends means taking ownership for causing hurt, and then doing something to correct or heal it. Making amends puts to rest the temptation to be stuck in self-blame or to blame others. It allows the recovering person to move ahead toward correcting mistakes that were made and healing old hurts.” At Iboga Tree Healing House we’ve seen firsthand the way attempting to right past wrongs can heal the scars of addiction and build self-esteem and happiness.
11th November 2020 • Sticky Post
Addiction: A Family Disease
Addiction doesn’t just affect the addict. It takes a horrible toll on husbands and wives, parents and children, and often extended families as well. It is frequently passed down through generations, creating a pattern of trauma that perpetuates itself time and again. Many researchers also feel that certain genetic factors make some families far more vulnerable to addiction than their peers. All of these statements are so widely believed that they are almost cliches at this point. Yet most conventional modalities for treating addiction focus purely on the individual addict and do little to heal families that have been torn apart and brutally traumatized. The time has come for treatment providers to focus more attention on the families of the addicted.
Healing Together
Addiction
We’ve written before about the strength that those in recovery can draw from group therapy and peer engagement. The benefits include strengthening bonds, imparting wisdom, and instilling confidence and hope. Group therapy works so well in part because surrogate families are created which allow the addict to draw necessary support from their peers. When actual families become involved in the process, these benefits increase exponentially.
Numerous studies have shown that involving families improves treatment outcomes. Addiction treatment coupled with family therapy has been shown to reduce relapse rates, improve medication adherence, reduce psychiatric symptoms, and lower overall stress levels. According to the US-based National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the benefits of family involvement include:
- Keeping the sufferer engaged and motivated during treatment
- Discovering more about addiction and its effects on the family as well as understanding how treatment is conducted and what is to be expected when it’s complete
- Enabling family members to make their voices heard, share feelings and concerns and ask important questions about a loved one’s addiction
- Offering the sufferer adequate and appropriate support after treatment
- Helping to ease feelings of fear, anger, stress, and confusion related to the addiction
- The chance for family members to develop skills and strategies to guide their loved one through the recovery process
- Improving the family’s communication and conflict resolution skills
- Offering the opportunity to address any mental health issues within the family, such as depression or anxiety, which could increase familial stress and contribute to relapse
Addiction and Family Trauma
Addiction and Family Trauma
Dr. Gabor Mate has written eloquently about childhood trauma as a precursor to, and cause of, addiction. He feels that pain from childhood suffering becomes internalized, and leads adults into destructive cycles of self-medication. As Mate states, “hurt is at the center of all addictive behaviors. It is present in the gambler, the Internet addict, the compulsive shopper and the workaholic. The wound may not be as deep and the ache not as excruciating, and it may even be entirely hidden — but it’s there.”
A great deal of research seems to confirm the link between early trauma and addiction. A study in Atlanta found that participants who experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse as children and exhibited symptoms of PTSD were far more likely to suffer from substance abuse disorders. The study found that this increased risk of addiction was independent of any trauma suffered in adulthood. Of the subjects, lifetime substance dependency rates were 39% for alcohol, 34% for cocaine, 6.2% for opioids and 45% for marijuana. Another study looked at subjects who had been exposed to 0-10 types of adverse childhood experiences and found that subjects exposed to 5 or more were 7 to 10 times more likely to report illicit drug use problems. There are a number of other studies which appear to bear out Dr. Mate’s belief that addictions are rooted in childhood trauma.
We are inclined to accept Mate’s assertion that adverse childhood experience is a common factor in an overwhelming majority of addicts. We should also note that childhood trauma includes not just dramatic experiences like emotional loss, various types of abuse, and mental illness, but also more commonplace causes of harm such as depriving children of fundamental needs that must be met for healthy emotional and mental development. If an addicted family member claims that they suffer from childhood trauma, it’s important to remember that they aren’t necessarily accusing you of abuse or neglect, they’re simply sharing their pain.
Family's Part in the Recovery Journey
Family's Part in the Recovery Journey
Involving the family in treatment is invaluable, as it can allow the addict and their loved ones to make peace with the traumatic childhood experiences which lead to addiction. Forgiveness is an essential part of recovery, and opening up an honest and respectful dialogue with family members can lead to acceptance of the flaws and shortcomings which led to trauma, and offer the opportunity to start fresh. As the speaker in this powerful Ted Talk notes, forgiveness isn’t a shortcut to healing, but a path to freedom, which enables the person wronged to move on from painful memories and remove bitterness and negativity from their lives.
At Iboga Tree Healing House we are firm believers in utilizing the deep bonds created by love, shared experiences, and understanding which only a family can offer. Finding forgiveness can remove the addict from their isolated state, and free their families from an endless cycle of negativity and recriminations. Addicts need to make peace with their pasts, and involving the family in this process can allow them to explore the causes of their pain and build the skills necessary to deal with it in a healthy manner. By working with your loved one as they go through the recovery process you won’t just help them to heal, you’ll also heal yourself.
1st May 2020
COVID-19 and Addiction: Seeking Workable Solutions
The current model of addiction treatment works for some users who are desperate to change their lives. It also fails many of those most in need, for a variety of reasons. Whether the problems are a stubborn insistence on criminalizing drug use and prosecuting the unwell, profit-motivated providers promising the moon and delivering underwhelming treatments, or unscrupulous treatment centers exploiting their clients and playing a shell game with insurance companies, the rehab industry is plagued by a host of problems in countries around the globe. As the COVID-19 pandemic pushes health-care systems to the breaking point and exposes the addicted to horrifying risks, the time has finally come for societies to examine their current drug treatment models, and find solutions that work efficiently for those suffering from the affliction, and for health care systems groaning under the weight of the virus.
Reducing Harm
Reducing Harm
We are extremely proud to operate in Portugal, a nation with the wisdom and compassion to end the fruitless “war on drugs” and adopt a clear-eyed and compassionate approach to drug use. Portugal’s decision to wholeheartedly embrace the principles of harm reduction, decriminalize all personal drug use, and treat addicts as human beings suffering from a severe health disorder rather than dangerous criminals was certainly the right one, a fact that is continually reinforced as nations around the globe follow suit.
Harm Reduction has been proven not only to benefit addicts’ physical and mental health, and reduce the dangerous stigma surrounding addiction, but it also can save the public sector vast sums of money. By providing services such as needle exchanges and safe injection sites, governments can dramatically reduce the spread of disease and incidences of overdose, drastically reducing the financial burden which opioid and opiate use place on an overtaxed health-care sector. A refusal to embrace policies that save both taxpayer money and the lives of society’s most vulnerable members is both financially misguided and morally indefensible.
A Modern Understanding Of "Addiction"
The traditional narrative of addiction, where a weak person becomes enslaved by a “demon drug” has been eroded throughout the years as we gain more understanding of the psychological and neurological changes that occur within the addicted mind. The outdated notion of a thrill-seeking young person experimenting with a gateway drug and almost instantly getting hooked on heroin seems laughable now, but even as we've come to learn how deeply flawed this idea is, we are clinging to treatment modalities based on its cartoonishly simplified view of the affliction.
Thinkers like Gabor Mate, Johann Hari, and Maia Szalavitz have assembled vast quantities of research on what addiction is, and what it is not. They argue for a more complex method of treatment than traditional models such as the 12 Steps, or “cold turkey” would advocate, and for more research into treatments that are being neglected by the mainstream. The mechanisms of addiction are shaped by trauma and rooted in neurological processes that must be understood to be corrected. While there may be addicts out there who can (and do) turn their lives around through sheer force of will, the fact that a UN Report from 2019 estimated that the global total of deaths caused by drug use in 2017 was 585,000 is proof enough that much more needs to be done.
One of the most substantial hurdles that needs to be overcome is a prejudicial attitude towards alternative treatments and psychoactive substances that have shown immense promise in treating addiction. Iboga has shown a remarkable capacity for rewiring the addicted brain, correcting chemical and hormonal changes that create destructive patterns of behavior, and for allowing addicts to open their minds to the changes in attitude and lifestyle that they desperately need to make. Yet governments have been dragging their feet over pursuing the clinical trials that would clear it for therapeutic use in most countries.
Similar successes can be claimed by other medicinal plants that have been used since ancient times, including ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant from South America that D. Gabor Mate describes as “an antidote to Western psychological distress and alienation.” Psilocybin has also shown promise in treating addiction to nicotine and alcohol, as well as many of the underlying psychological issues that can lead to addiction. While research on the medicinal properties of these plants is slowly moving forward, any delays in the process will put the lives of habitual drug users at risk.
People Before Profits
The economic ramifications of COVID-19 are going to be absolutely massive, and restrictions on domestic and international travel are a massive hurdle for many treatment centers. While this will have a slew of negative consequences, it may also force many disreputable, fly-by-night providers into a new line of work. With horror stories emerging of American “piss farms” that exist solely to collect hefty payments from insurers, or “tough love” approaches taken around the world, where addicts in desperate need of treatment are belittled, mistreated, and forced to perform menial work, one consequence of COVID-19 might be a new focus on health which refuses to accept regressive, rapacious, and damaging methods of treatment. We at Iboga Tree Healing House have dedicated our lives to the cause of freeing individuals from addiction, and nothing offends us more deeply than treatment providers whose contempt for their patients manifests itself in substandard care.
We know firsthand how horrifying the effects of addiction can be. We also know that effective treatments, such as iboga, are out there, ready to be put to use to restore individuals to health, happiness, and their loved ones. We will be doing everything we can to push the cause of sane, safe, and compassionate treatment forward as COVID-19 rages around the globe, in the hopes that when the virus lets up, policy-makers are ready to prioritize the health-care needs of society’s most vulnerable citizens. If you’re interested in starting your fight against addiction today, get in touch with us!
25th March 2020 • Sticky Post
Recovery and Spirituality: Understanding the links
“Spirituality” is a difficult concept to pin down, and one that many people have a strong response to. Some might instantly conjure up images of the Bible, the Star of David, or another organized religion. Others might immediately think of new-age touchstones like healing crystals or meditation. And most people have strong, instinctive positive and negative responses to religious concepts and images. But spirituality isn’t some vague riddle or standard set of rules and morals. Spirituality is something that is woven into the fabric of your everyday life, and learning to access it, explore it, and draw strength from it can be an invaluable resource as you go through the process of recovery
Understanding "Spirituality"
Many people are put off by the religious overtones of the concept of spirituality, but at Iboga Tree Healing House we feel that spirituality is the search for meaning, purpose, and a sense of connection to the world around you. For many people, it involves a search for connections with something greater than oneself, such as God, the universe, humanity, or nature. But it doesn’t have to be anything more specific than exploring the meaning of your experiences. There isn’t a right or wrong way to be spiritual, and for most people perspectives on spirituality evolve as they go through life, encounter new ideas, and develop new perspectives.
What Spirituality Isn’t
Many people who consider themselves Atheists or Agnostics and others who have painful or traumatic memories connected with religion are justifiably leery of being compelled to join in religious practices and ceremonies. But spirituality shouldn’t be tied to any particular God, moral code, or set of practices. While closely connected to religious belief, spirituality is personal and can remain private. The search for meaning and purpose can be undertaken through prayer, yoga, and tai chi. But it can also be accomplished in ways that don’t carry any religious baggage such as mindfulness practice, keeping a journal, or spending time in nature. You can define your own spiritual beliefs and the path which will keep your soul in tune with them.
Why Is Spirituality Important In Recovery?
One of the greatest benefits of spiritual practice is the connection you’ll rebuild with yourself. One of the first things people lose in addiction is their connection to their own personal sense of morality. Spirituality will allow you to re-discover your sense of right and wrong. Knowing your own beliefs and principles will allow you to develop your own, personalized guide to living a good life, and pursuing your goals in a positive and constructive fashion. One incredibly important pillar of the recovery process is re-learning how to be honest and truthful in your dealings with yourself and others, and spiritual practice is immeasurably helpful in this regard.
Another moral lesson that spiritual exploration often imparts is the importance of respecting yourself and others. Addiction has a corrosive effect on self-esteem and creates a deep sense of shame among the addicted. The overwhelming desire to get more of what you need also forces the addict to take advantage of others, ignore their needs and desires, and behave with monstrous selfishness. If you grew up an in abusive situation, the need to learn respect for yourself and others is even more acute. The good news is that embarking on a spiritual journey is almost guaranteed to build a sense of respect. As cultural anthropologists have noted: “Respect is essential to all the world's religions and is universally seen as a building block to a more human and humane world.”
Spirituality is also a wonderful tool for gaining perspective on your problems. An understanding of the inter-connectedness of people, nature, and the universe can help you realize that seeking understanding and support from those around you isn’t a sign of weakness or failure. Learning to admit the existence of problems and ask for help in dealing with them can make all the difference when you’re attempting to heal yourself and rebuild your life, and the sense of fellowship that can be developed with spiritual practice makes it much easier to share your burdens with the people around you. Spirituality makes it much easier to let go of your pride, admit that you are flawed, and receive support from your peers, friends, and family. Exploring your humanity allows you to see that we all share human weaknesses and that by working together we can turn that weakness into a strength.
Spirituality is also beneficial for giving recovering addicts a sense of purpose and meaning in their new lives. One of the most attractive elements of addiction is that it boils down all of life’s myriad problems into a single, simple dilemma: how can I get more of the substance I need? When you enter recovery, you might feel overwhelmed by all of the new challenges that appear. Getting your finances in order, sorting out relationships that have been strained to the breaking point, re-building your professional life, and dealing with legal issues are a few common issues that spring up. If you don’t find a sense of purpose and meaning as you confront these thorny problems, relapse will seem like a tempting way of escape.
Spiritual exploration will also push you towards building a meaningful life, allowing you to discover your unique talents, abilities, and gifts, and illuminating the ways you can make use of them for the benefit of yourself and others. Most spiritual paths will help seekers realize the importance of using their wisdom, struggles, and experiences to help others. For those in recovery, this is a beautiful way to help yourself and rebuild your shattered self-esteem by helping others. Watching others follow the 12 Steps or another path towards sobriety will reinforce the lessons you’ve learned, and fill your heart with hope, love, and renewed conviction.
Iboga Tree Healing House and Spirituality
At Iboga Tree Healing House, we feel that nurturing spirituality is an integral part of the recovery process. Iboga therapy is a fundamental part of the Bwiti spiritual traditions of Africa, and one of its effects in addition to interrupting addiction is building connections to what Douglas Adams called “Life, the Universe and Everything.” We also attempt to create a sense of spirituality in our clients by offering a wide range of holistic therapies, including yoga, mindfulness and meditation. If you’re looking for a treatment center that fosters spirituality as it helps patients to recover, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
10th February 2020 • Sticky Post
5 Benefits of Kundalini Yoga For Recovering Addicts
Yoga is a wonderful way to strengthen both the body and the mind, and it can provide skills and tools essential for succeeding in recovery. At Iboga Tree Healing House, we have made Kundalini Yoga an essential plank in our treatment regimen, and we have seen firsthand its power to transform lives and promote spiritual and emotional growth. It is a form of yoga that was first brought to the West by Yogi Bhajan, who believed that modern societies needed to learn to engage with and control their sensory systems. Yogi Bhajan felt that yoga and spirituality were necessary correctives for a society that was turning to drugs to expand consciousness and build spiritual connections. Kundalini yoga has helped millions to embrace a meaningful, healing connection between mind, body, and soul, and we’re committed to spreading its phenomenal healing and strengthening properties to those in recovery. Today we’ll be taking a look at 5 incredible benefits that Kundalini yoga can offer addicts in recovery.
1) Stress Control
Many of the techniques for controlling stress that you’ve been taught throughout your life actually originated with yoga. Controlled breathing, stretching, creating mental imagery, and focused physical movements are all techniques that have been used by yogis for over 5000 years. Multiple studies have found that yoga significantly reduces levels of cortisol in the body, a hormone associated with stress which is released when your “fight or flight” instinct takes over. Over time, elevated cortisol levels increase the risk of many significant health problems, including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and dementia. Kundalini yoga can help you learn to regulate stress, and will lead to a sense of relaxation and better sleeping patterns. Because stress is often a powerful trigger for relapse, learning to manage it and lower your overall stress levels will greatly improve your chances of avoiding relapse when life gets tough.
2) Emotion Management
Addiction conditions the addict to respond to difficult emotions with self-medication. Odds are, when dealing with anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment or any other troubling emotion, your conditioned response will be to turn to a substance that will make your feelings go away. If you want to succeed in building a sober and healthy life for yourself, learning how to weather emotional storms and live with unpleasant emotions is a skill you must develop. Scientific studies have shown that yoga practice improves emotional regulation and self-compassion.
Many mental health practitioners liken our emotional states to the weather. They will shift from day to day and month to month. They can affect our interpersonal relationships, professional performance, and overall happiness. And our emotions manifest physically as well as mentally. Feeling your heart race, your stomach contort with butterflies, a blush rise on your cheeks, or your jaw clench are all physical manifestations of your emotional state.
One of the most important things that yoga teaches us is to balance, with both the body and the mind. Through its teachings, we learn to notice the sensations occurring in our bodies, and adjust our muscle actions to maintain a pose. This teaching is consciously and unconsciously applied to our mental state as well, as we learn to listen to our bodies and minds, and when we notice problems (such as tension, frustration, or exhaustion) make adjustments that keep us from toppling over onto the floor or experiencing emotional meltdowns.
3) Strengthening the Will
Many addicts cite a lack of willpower as one of the biggest obstacles to maintaining recovery. The good news is, yoga has been proven to make the “willpower systems” of the brain bigger, more efficient, and better-connected, according to Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist and yoga instructor who authored the book “The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It.” McGonigal states that “Yoga’s combination of slow, focused breathing, moderate physical effort and heart rate, and balanced autonomic nervous system, shifting the brain and body into this 'willpower' state. Yoga teaches you how to embody willpower.” While very few addicts can rely on willpower alone to overcome their struggles, it is inarguable that developing the ability to resist cravings and temptations will dramatically improve your chances of a successful recovery.
4) Reconnecting Body and Mind
If you’ve experienced years of addiction, you’ve likely been neglecting your physical health. Kundalini yoga will have a massive positive impact on your physical health, while also making you aware of the ways in which your physical deterioration has led to negative patterns of thought and a sense of hopelessness. Physical benefits regularly practicing yoga include releasing toxins from the lungs, expanding lung capacity, increasing physical endurance, boosting the immune system, and increasing the flow of oxygen to the brain (allowing for greater mental awareness and focus). When lost in addiction, it’s difficult to imagine waking up in the morning clear-headed, energized, and excited for the challenges of a new day. Yoga can make this your new reality!
Kundalini yoga is also based on connecting the pituitary gland, which regulates glands throughout the body, with the pineal gland, an organ associated with the mind and spirituality. Yogi Bhajan felt that the root of addiction was a pituitary gland which lost connection with the pineal, and began looking for stimulation from sources outside of the individual. He brought the teachings of Kundalini to the West with the aim of repairing that rift and allowing people to reconnect their minds, bodies, and souls.
5) Building Spirituality
While not everyone is looking for spirituality, it can be an immensely powerful force for breaking the cycle of addiction, and a “higher power” has helped millions of people through the recovery process. Kundalini yoga is a wonderful way to develop a connection to spiritual practice in your life, whether it be from a wholehearted embrace of Yogi Bhajan’s teachings, a peaceful time of meditation each day, or even just a greater sense of mindfulness in your day to day life. Gratitude, prayer, and a connection to the universe can be potential benefits of yoga practice, but even for those skeptical of spirituality, taking some time to tune out the outside world and listen to your body and mind is a worthwhile endeavour.
At Iboga Tree Healing House, we feel that Kundalini yoga is a wonderful complement to iboga therapy, giving people the tools to create positive and healthy lives during a period when they’re free from withdrawal symptoms and cravings. One wonderful resource for using yoga to improve body/mind connections is Tommy Rosen’s Recovery 2.0 program. Mr. Rosen has devoted his energy to exploring how yoga, holistic perspectives on health and diet, and elements of 12 Step programs can work in harmony to create a new and more complete recovery program. He has gleaned some fantastic insights into regaining health and happiness, and you can explore Recovery 2.0’s programs here. If you have any questions you’d like to ask us about putting the powerful combination of iboga and yoga to work in battling your addiction, don't hesitate to get in touch!
18th September 2019 • Sticky Post
10 Ways to Overcome Addiction
It’s not easy to overcome addiction. For those afflicted, it can be almost impossible to visualize. At times it will seem incredibly difficult to accomplish. But you can do it. You probably became addicted because of pain or trauma. It may be that a chemical imbalance or genetic predisposition was a factor. You might have stumbled into dependence on powerful prescription painkillers. But in order to beat your addiction, one of the first steps you must take is coming to terms with its root causes.
Almost no one conquers addiction alone. The first step you should take is finding health-care professionals you trust, who take an approach that meets your individual needs. There isn’t one formula that works for everyone, and you’ll find a wide variety of approaches and strategies for creating and maintaining sobriety. Before choosing a treatment provider, you should determine what therapies and circumstances you think will work for you. With that in mind, let’s examine the steps on your path towards a healthy, addiction-free life.
1) Therapy and Counseling
Individual therapy is highly effective because it allows addicts to examine their unique traumas and triggers. The wonderful feature of group therapy is that it allows sharing and fellowship between recovering addicts who benefit greatly from friendship and support, and it lets participants share strategies and insights on their affliction. Most comprehensive treatment programs will offer patients a mixture of group and individual therapy, and both have been clinically proven to dramatically improve outcomes.
2) Support Groups
These programs are immensely valuable because they allow former addicts to guide those struggling with addiction through the recovery journey. They also allow those rebuilding their lives access to a wide network of peers who can offer support and friendship at a time when it might be unwise to spend time with problematic friends and family members. There’s no teacher like experience, and the advice of those who’ve gone through the harrowing experience of addiction and come out the other side is immeasurably useful. While the “Anonymous” family of groups put a religious slant on peer support, other options like SMART Recovery and Iboga Tree Healing House’s online aftercare program may fit better with your experiences and values.
3) Detox and Clinical Therapy
Detoxification can be a horrific ordeal with substances like opioids or heroin, but it doesn’t have to be. Finding the right treatment to get you through this phase of recovery can remove one of the biggest obstacles standing between your addicted self and a new life. Medical supervision and anti-craving drugs can help you through, getting all traces of methamphetamine, benzos, or whatever substance you’re dependent on out of your system, so you can focus on dealing with the behavioral and psychological aspects of rebuilding yourself.
4) Alternative Detox Options
A number of powerful psychedelic and entheogenic substances have shown immense promise in treating addiction and deserve to be considered by those entering treatment. Many addictions experts, like Dr. Gabor Mate, have embraced treatments which allow the addicted to explore the roots of trauma and learn to live with themselves. Iboga has been shown to offer the same benefits in terms of exploring past trauma, as well as re-wiring key neural functions to a pre-addicted state. Iboga has also been proven to dramatically reduce withdrawal symptoms for opiate and opioid addiction, and to reduce cravings for a period of approximately 6 months. Other psychoactive substances that have shown promise in treating addiction, including psilocybin and MDMA, have helped some addicts through their recovery, but at this stage, the evidence supporting their use is mostly anecdotal.
5) Dual Diagnosis
When patients have a condition that leads to or exacerbates addiction, such as a mental health disorder, addiction treatment becomes more complex. Not every treatment center is equipped to provide integrated treatment that addresses both afflictions at once. If you suffer from dual diagnosis, it’s imperative that you find treatment centers and professionals who are capable of providing simultaneous treatments for both of your disorders. Some treatments which may be effective for one of your conditions might worsen the other. You need to find responsible and experienced practitioners who can find the right treatment options for you.
6) Family Involvement
Addiction often has its roots in family dynamics. If your parents are alcoholics or addicts, you are far more likely than the average person to share their addiction. There is no consensus among treatment providers on how best to deal with familial issues. Some centers opt to seclude the addict to work on themselves without possibly toxic interactions. Others include the family, in order to correct the issues that could harm their loved one’s recovery while leveraging their love and support. We would recommend involving families in treatment, as studies have shown family support can predict positive outcomes, but some may benefit in their effort to overcome addiction without subjecting themselves to negative or toxic relatives.
7) Treatment Centers
Inpatient and outpatient treatments each come with a set of benefits and drawbacks, it’s up to you to determine which will give you the greatest chance to overcome addiction. Inpatient treatment offers supervised detox, and the opportunity to undergo an intensive program of individual and group therapy. It can also offer a luxury experience which allows the user to relax and recover in an idyllic setting. On the other hand, outpatient treatment can allow those in recovery to attend daily meetings and have their withdrawal and recovery monitored by a caregiver. Outpatient treatment allows recovering addicts to receive therapy without putting their lives on hold for 30-90 days and lets them adjust to their sober lives incrementally.
8) Aftercare
Aftercare is an essential component of any effort to overcome addiction. When you finish treatment, your recovery journey has just begun. It’s time to develop strategies for fighting off craving and dealing with triggers. Peer support groups are highly recommended, as are holistic therapies such as mindfulness training, yoga, and breathwork. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a treatment that has helped many addicts break free from negative automatic thinking and deal with their cravings in a positive manner.
Another essential component of aftercare is building the foundation for a healthy life. It can be helpful to start by outlining your value system, with a focus on honesty, trust, and forgiveness. Addiction has taken you far away from your best self, and outlining and committing to values you may have abandoned will help you rebuild connections with your community, your family, and yourself. It can also be very helpful to build a reward system for accomplishing goals both large and small. You have the opportunity to enjoy a world of things and places at this stage of recovery, and rewarding yourself with something as small as an ice cream or as big as an international vacation can return positive motivation to your life.
9) Connecting
Virtually nobody can overcome addiction alone. One of the most beautiful parts of the recovery journey is finding support from the people around you as you reclaim your life. As we’ve already mentioned, peer-based support groups and re-building family connections can greatly improve your chances for success. As you go through treatment, remember that the therapists, peers, psychologists, sponsors, and caretakers you encounter are an invaluable resource. Take advantage of their experience, and the love and support offered by family members and true friends. And before you choose a treatment provider, make sure that they can offer you the resources you’ll need after discharge!
10) Set Your Goals
It’s easy to say you’re ready to overcome addiction, but triumphing over it is the work of a lifetime. And the decision to break free is yours and yours alone. It begins with admitting to yourself that a substance or behavior has taken over your life and that it’s time to regain control. It’s helpful to start by reflecting honestly on all the harmful effects your addiction has had on you and your loved ones. Think about all of the changes addiction has made in you, and reflect on the person you were, the person you’ve become, and the person you’d like to be in the future. It won’t be easy to become that person, but at Iboga Tree Healing House we have seen our clients emerge from the wreckage of addiction and build happy and productive lives. If you’re ready, contact us today!
10th September 2019 • Sticky Post
Ayahuasca and Iboga: Choosing Your Treatment Path
Iboga and Ayahuasca have both shown tremendous promise in treating addiction, as well as a variety of other psychological ailments. Both plants have helped countless individuals experience healing, recovery, spiritual development, and personal growth. But although they are often lumped together, they offer fundamentally different experiences and benefits for those battling addiction. Today we’ll share our guide for choosing the right treatment for you.
The Journey
The average Iboga experience lasts for a period of 12-18 hours. It is generally described as a very intense journey through past memories and visions. Very few people who have used Ibogaine would describe their experience as pleasurable. Many liken it to having themselves shattered into thousands of pieces and then rebuilt as a stronger, healthier person. As one user describes it “I am perplexed by the state of clarity I am in while seeing the most profound stream of visual phenomena. I am also filled with a sense of awe at the potential for a life free of heroin. Emotional memories force me to deal with some of the deep subconscious guilt I have repressed for years.” Iboga has been described as a “masculine” substance, or a stern father which bluntly illustrates sources of past pain, trauma, and guilt.
Ayahuasca, on the other hand, affects the user for just 4-6 hours. It is generally described as a gentler, more pleasurable experience, even when one takes into account the fact that many users experience a dramatic bout of purging. Rather than prompting users to have a deeply personal inward journey, Ayahuasca often sends the mind outward, and many users report experiencing new perceptions of reality and experiencing connections with the natural world and even other dimensions. Ayahuasca has therefore been described as a “feminine” substance which builds connections between the user and those around them.
What Are The Benefits?
Many addicts have used these remarkable plants to overcome their affliction, but governments have been reluctant to embrace their potential to combat addiction. There is a lot more anecdotal evidence out there than there are clinical studies, but the chorus of thousands of voices shouldn’t be ignored. Both Iboga and Ayahuasca are clearly beneficial for those battling substance dependencies.
From the studies of Iboga that have been conducted, we know that it interacts with addiction in a few ways. The patient can experience visions and periods of profound introspection. Many users claim that this experience allows them to address traumatic experiences in their past, and pushes them to explore and understand their addiction while motivating them to pursue changes in their life.
Iboga also releases small proteins in the brain called “neurotrophic factors.” These proteins, according to Dr. Ignacio Carrera, “are substances that promote survival, repair and protection processes in the brain tissue.” They can change the brain’s circuitry and have been shown to restore dopamine levels and other crucial brain functions to “pre-addicted” levels. They also dramatically lessen the symptoms of withdrawal for opioids and opiates, and cravings for substances in general.
Ayahuasca, on the other hand, is generally viewed as a way to improve mood, make patients receptive to change, and deal with their emotional wounds. The influential Canadian Dr. Gabor Mate recommends Ayahuasca as an addiction treatment, noting that it can re-connect the addicted to ”inner qualities long been missing in action, such as wholeness, trust, love and a sense of possibility. People quite literally remember themselves”.A recent Psychology Today article lists the benefits of Ayahuasca as helping individuals overcome roadblocks, find personal and spiritual motivation, and acting as “a shortcut to talking therapy.”
What Are The Risks?
Iboga use is not without risks. There have been fatalities associated with its use, the majority of which have been related to adverse interactions with drugs already in the system of those undergoing treatment, or pre-existing heart conditions. In high doses, Iboga can also cause seizures. At Iboga Tree Healing House, we believe that every Iboga-related death was preventable, but we feel any responsible provider will subject patients to a rigorous screening process and have a detailed plan in place to respond to medical emergencies. We DO NOT recommend self-administration or choosing a treatment center that doesn’t perform blood, heart, and toxicology tests to ensure that your safety isn’t subjected to needless risks.
Ayahuasca has also been associated with fatalities. It should also be avoided if you suffer from certain heart conditions, have other substances in your system (including nicotine) or suffer from some mental illnesses. In high doses, it may increase the risk of seizures and respiratory distress, and a potentially fatal condition called “serotonin syndrome,” where extremely high levels of serotonin cause dizziness, disorientation, headache, high blood pressure, and agitation.
Continuing The Journey
Ayahuasca has shown great potential for increasing the receptivity of patients to treatment, counseling and taking on the challenge of making major changes in behavior and lifestyle. Both treatments have the ability to profoundly alter relationships between addicts and the substances they’ve become dependent on, and re-connect individuals with their true selves. But Iboga has the added benefit of dramatically reducing the symptoms of withdrawal for opiate and opioid users, as well as its effects on the central nervous system which repair and re-set the brain to its pre-addicted state.
Both of these plant teachers can be extremely beneficial to those suffering from addiction, and this is borne out by studies showing that 60-80% of Iboga users are classified are abstinent 6 months after receiving iboga addiction treatment. However, neither should be termed a “miracle cure,” and prospective patients should be wary of centers touting either substance as a sure-fire remedy for addiction. The road to recovery is long and winding, but both of these powerful natural medicines can help you on your way.
6th August 2019
Honesty in Recovery: why it matters
Every major religion, spiritual teacher, elementary school teacher, and parent tells us not to lie. Honesty is a respected trait in every culture, and for good reason: building and maintaining trust is a fundamental cornerstone of healthy relationships and societies. It is especially important for those in recovery who are trying to build healthy lives from the rubble of addiction. Let’s take a look at why honesty is so important to the recovery process, and how to make honesty a part of your life today!
The BIG truth
Entering into recovery is an act of breathtaking honesty. After years of excuses, omissions and outright lies told to family members, bosses, and friends, you’re admitting that substance abuse has taken over your life. It is incredibly painful to admit that your choices and decisions have led you to powerlessness and loss of control when it comes to your addiction. But it is also profoundly freeing. You’re letting go of a dark and shameful secret and working to ensure that it never harms you again. “You’re only as sick as your secrets” is a fundamental tenet in 12 Step programs. It’s also a truth that can set you free. A commitment to sobriety goes hand in hand with a commitment to honesty!
Dishonesty: a lifestyle
Most addicts and alcoholics spend years lying to themselves, along with everyone else in their lives. Researchers have noted that lying is extremely common among people with addiction. Why? Lying, like the substance they’re dependent on, offers an escape from pain, unpleasantness, and reality itself. But like opioids or alcohol, the short bursts of relief they provide come with a terrible long-term cost. They trap the liar in a self-perpetuating cycle, where revealing the truth becomes riskier and scarier as time passes.
John Bradshaw, best-selling author of “Healing the Shame That Binds You” wrote that “I used to drink to solve the problems caused by drinking. The more I drank to relieve my shame-based loneliness and hurt, the more I felt ashamed.” Bradshaw felt that shame was a primary cause of addiction. The sense of shame that leads addicts to use also makes lying a way of life. And lies, shame, and substance abuse feed off of each other, trapping the addict in a downward spiral. When you enter recovery, it’s necessary to be mindful of the fact that you need to free yourself from dependence on dishonesty as well as dependence on a substance.
Breaking the cycle
By entering recovery, you’ve taken a stand. You’ve looked into the mirror and admitted to yourself that drugs or alcohol have been destroying your physical and mental health and that you’re ready to begin a new life. But along with dealing with withdrawal and cravings, it’s imperative that you develop the habit of honesty in every area of your life as well.
If we are being honest as treatment providers, we must admit that relapse is common for people in recovery from addiction. But a steadfast commitment to truthfulness can sharply reduce the risk of using again. A recent article in the “Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine” on preventing relapse identifies three stages common in those who begin using again: Emotional Relapse, Mental Relapse, and Physical Relapse.
In the first two stages of relapse, stages which occur before the addict begins using again, it is common to isolate oneself, avoid sharing in meetings (and going to meetings at all), minimize the consequences of past use, concoct schemes to better control future use, and start lying. The researchers at Yale have noted that many addicts are “reluctant to even mention thoughts of using because they are so embarrassed by them.” A commitment to honesty can help guide the addict through these turbulent times.
The Yale researchers concluded that thoughts of using while in recovery are completely normal. While treatments like iboga can dramatically reduce cravings, it is extremely unlikely that any addict will never think of using again throughout their lifetime. This is why it is essential that those in recovery talk to their therapists, their sponsors, and their peers fearlessly and honestly. Millions of people have normalized and developed coping skills for, their occasional cravings. These strategies allow them to acknowledge, deal with, and let go of these toxic thoughts and feelings quickly. Keeping them secret or denying their existence will only give them more control over you.
The path of honesty
The first step in developing honest habits is to admit that you have had a problem with lying. Next, we recommend that you find someone you can be completely honest with about every aspect of your addiction and recovery. This person could be a counselor, a sponsor, or a friend. Then, start keeping a journal. A journal will offer you the chance to reflect on all of your actions. If you tell a lie, reflect in the journal on why you did it. Think of how you could have behaved differently, and develop strategies for dealing with similar situations in a truthful manner. Through this, you can become aware of automatic and habituated thoughts and patterns of behavior that are leading you away from the truth. You can also explore the consequences of the lies you’ve told. Reflecting on the consequences of the trust you’ve broken can help you to reconcile with those you’ve hurt, and begin to repair your relationships. At Iboga Tree Healing House we have also seen the power of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to overcome the behaviours that keep one mired in addiction and replace these behaviours with new, better ones which increase the quality of one’s life
There is power to be found in revealing one’s true self, living in truth, and forgiving oneself for the dishonest behaviours of the past. This is the foundation upon which a true healing process can begin. Returning to the lying and dishonest behaviours of addiction is a sure way to begin the downward spiral leading to relapse that anyone working to overcome an addiction should be seeking to avoid at all costs.
Realizing the painful consequences of past dishonesty can strengthen your commitment to your new way of life. By developing honest habits and learning to deal with shame, anxiety and awkward situations in positive, healthy ways, you’ll become a stronger and happier person. It’s not just the best policy, it’s the only policy for those looking to heal.
15th July 2019
Freedom in forgiveness: why forgiving yourself and others is essential
During our years of working in recovery, we’ve noticed a simple step in the process of becoming healthy and whole once again. At Iboga Tree Healing House, we’ve seen the power of forgiveness transform lives and free countless individuals from the pain and bitterness of the past. Today we’ll take a deeper look at a wonderful word that has brought light into the lives of those who are strong enough to put the past behind them.
When we think of forgiveness, we usually think of ourselves forgiving others. We let someone’s bad behavior slide, or accept the flaws of a loved one. Forgiveness can mean a lot more than that. It is one of life’s true blessings. Holding onto and nursing all of the wrongs done to us can have a toxic effect on our physical and mental health. Think of your friends, family, and acquaintances. Now think of the person you know who holds grudges the longest, or the person with the largest list of grievances. Ask yourself, is that the person I would like to be?
“When you forgive, you in no way change the past- but you sure do change the future!”
-Radio Host Brad Meltzer
Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting all of your past traumas, and all of the transgressions committed against you. It doesn’t mean that the hurt you have suffered will disappear, leaving you whole and unblemished. As Sarah Montana notes in this powerful Ted Talk, which recounts her journey toward forgiving the man who killed her mother and brother, forgiveness isn’t a shortcut to healing. It’s a path to freedom. It means that you stop telling yourself the same painful story over and over again. You assess the damage done to you (not to others) and let it go. Many people think that withholding forgiveness is a way to punish those who have transgressed against them, but in reality, they are punishing themselves: refusing to move on from a painful memory, and wallowing in it rather than climbing out of the muck.
If you have lived with addiction, embracing forgiveness is a necessary step for moving on with your life. It will help to set you free from the anguish and trauma that caused you to lean so heavily on drugs and alcohol. But more importantly, it will help you learn to live with yourself. In recovery, it’s time to admit that you have not been your best self for the past months, years or even decades. You haven’t been the person you want to see when you look in the mirror and examine the choices you’ve made. What’s truly important now is not who you have been, but who you will become.
We would strongly recommend that you examine your choices and actions before and during addiction. Identify the people you’ve wronged, the pain you’ve caused, and the things that cause you shame and regret. If it’s possible, find a way to make amends to the people you’ve hurt, and do so, without conditions, justifications, or expectations. Ask them to forgive you, don’t try to persuade them.
If it isn’t possible to make personal amends, deal with your desire for forgiveness in another way. Pour your guilt and repentance into a letter you can’t send, make a pledge to do no more harm, donate to a charity the aggrieved person would care about, or perform a random act of kindness. The intention behind the act will help you to move on.
In forgiving, we recognize a sense of inherent worth in others that exists whether or not it is always reflected in behavior. You need to acknowledge your own inherent worth, or risk sliding into self-loathing, a mental prison which is often accompanied by the self-destructive behavior you are attempting to break free of. Self-compassion is a necessary component of recovery and a cornerstone of good mental health.
“Forgiveness is like this: a room can be dank because you have closed the windows, you’ve closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart.”
-Archbishop Desmond Tutu
In order to forgive, it’s necessary to cultivate the mental strength to open that window. This wonderful article by Robert Enright outlines some key elements for building the mental muscles that will make forgiveness possible in his book, “8 Keys to Forgiveness.”
Forgiveness is the embodiment of empathy, compassion, tolerance, and hope. We recommend becoming fit for forgiveness to anyone trapped in the dark, dank room of addiction.
