Search Results for: shame

by Juanita Ryan Children are some of our best teachers. They teach us, experientially, to open our hearts. To give of ourselves. To seek wisdom. To set limits. To embrace. To let go. Children never stop teaching us. But as with most of life, the greatest lessons often seem to come during the toughest times. The year our oldest son dropped out of high school and became … [Read more...] about What I Learned While Our Son Was Still Using Drugs

by Carmen Renee Berry "You've taken this recovery thing much too far," her angry words cut through me like a knife. "You used to be such a good Christian! Now you sound like some pop-psychologist. I'm afraid for you," my friend's eyes filled with frustrated tears. "You're being fooled by psychology and losing your Christian foundation." I sat stunned as my friend walked away. "Was she … [Read more...] about Trusting God

by Juanita Ryan This article is available as a video series HERE I am a survivor of childhood trauma. I am also a therapist who works with men and women who are survivors of childhood trauma of all kinds. So what I will share in this article comes out of my personal recovery journey and is enriched by the stories of others who have allowed me the honor of sharing some part of their … [Read more...] about Recovery from Childhood Trauma

by Dale and Juanita Ryan A few days after Steve first attended a support group for adult children of alcoholics, a powerful image came into his mind. "I saw myself in a large crowd of people. God was holding my hand. But suddenly, God's hand pulled away and I was lost in the crowd. I was separated from God, abandoned, completely alone." When Steve attempted to honestly face the needs in his … [Read more...] about Recovery from Spiritual Distress

by Dale Wolery Cleaning up the outside of the cup while leaving the inside a mess is not something Jesus recommended. He made his views on this matter perfectly clear: paying too much attention to how we appear and not enough attention to who we are is like trying to make a tomb seem more pleasant by giving it a coat of fresh paint! It doesn't clear the tomb of the dead bones. … [Read more...] about When My Life Was At It’s Worst, I Looked the Best

by Dale Wolery Jim Cramer, Wall Street guru and author of a memoir, Confessions of a Street Addict, summarizes what I have experienced as a recovering religious work addict. He says, "I'm proud of my performance but I'm not proud of the person I became." For me, being work addicted had its meaningful rewards while simultaneously creating immeasurable personal losses. I did a lot of wonderful … [Read more...] about Working for God

Sobriety is, of course, just the beginning. It makes it possible for us to feel again. But that's both the good news and the bad news. Feeling again is not always so fun. A lot of stuff floats to the surface in recovery. Some of it can be quite painful. But we are learning some new tools that can help us deal with this kind of thing. We hope you will find something here that will helpful in … [Read more...] about Resource Center on Emotional and Relational Health

by Dale Wolery Margot Kidder struggled bravely during her interview on "20/20" with Barbara Walters. "I'm not going to cry" she said, as tears leaked over their threshold. Margot continued to describe honestly and vulnerably her long battle with depression. Her particular brand of depression is called "manic depression". It is a severe depression characterized by desperate lows and equally … [Read more...] about Depression