Recovery Road Medical Center

Our staff holiday party was a little different this year but we made up for it with festive clothing and good cheer!

Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. - If you had bad experiences with religion in your youth, you might avoid any concept of God. - The important thing here is to look towards a higher power -- whether it be God or mother nature or the force, to help us in our struggles we are making it less about us. This works well because we know already that we can’t be trusted with sobriety when we keep it to ourselves. We tried that and it ...didn’t work, dozens of times. - Remember that this step is saying you are ready to acknowledge what is getting in your own way and be open to change. Make sure to speak with your sponsor about what you are afraid of too -- what do you think will happen? The benefits of being on the other side of this step are well worth the work. - Although group meetings at Recovery Road Medical Center are not centered on Alcoholics Anonymous material, we are supportive of our patients taking part in the program on their own time and going through the steps. - If you are ready to take the first step, we are too. Contact Recovery Road Medical Center at (805) 962-7800. - #alcoholicanonymous #alcoholicanonymousmeeting #alcoholicanonymoushereicome #sobriety #alcoholicanonymous #recovery #sober #onedayatatime #principlesbeforepersonalities #keepsober #keepgoing #recover #clean #attendmeetings #keepitsimple #alcoholismdoesnotdiscriminate #soberlife #alcoholism #sobermovement #aa #soberaf #soberliving #cleanandsober #addiction - Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash See more

Good article on the challenges we face during the pandemic but we are still here and available to help. https://apple.news/AcxfAD5X0S-GaX16UxTBHJg

One of the key things we’ve seen during the pandemic is that many alcoholics and addicts fear relapse as the stressors in our life are great. Without in-person 12-Step meetings, many of us could isolate and when we isolate, we could relapse. In our latest blog post, we review four ways to combat relapse. https://recoveryroadmc.com/666-2/

Twelve Step Tuesday - Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. - When we take the time to really look at ourselves closely through making an inventory, we see that we only have ourselves to blame for the problems in our lives and so much of it centered on our inability to stay away from alcohol. We submit that it’s really important at this point in your recovery to find safe spaces where you can talk about the past and ...who you are intending to be going forward. - Although group meetings at Recovery Road Medical Center are not centered on Alcoholics Anonymous material, we are supportive of our patients taking part in the program on their own time and going through the steps. - If you are ready to take the first step, we are too. Contact Recovery Road Medical Center at (805) 962-7800. - Photo by Prisclla Du Preez on Unsplash See more

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. -- Step 3 - When we are processing Step 3, people in the program aften talk about the bondage of self and how we are supposed to let go of our will to God or our higher power. When you are first starting out, these concepts are kind of hard to understand. - The bondage of self quite simply points to our own selfishness because as a practicing alcoholic or addict we aren’t used to ...thinking about others and their needs. What we find is that selflessness is not how we are wired. With sobriety though, we can see that taking a different perspective is the right thing to do - Although group meetings at Recovery Road Medical Center are not centered on Alcoholics Anonymous material, we are supportive of our patients taking part in the program on their own time and going through the steps. - If you are ready, we are too. Contact Recovery Road Medical Center at (805) 962-7800. - Photo by kevin turcios on Unsplash See more

Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. - Even with some sobriety under our belt, many of us tend to discount or minimize the pain and suffering we inflicted on others. When faced with accounting for our actions, we might even still say forget that!. - With this step, we are making a list of resentments we have but more importantly what our role was with the resentment, the anger, the upset or whatever caused the problem. Rather than obsessing ...over what the other person did to us, we start seeing that maybe we could have looked at it or done something differently. Making an inventory can bring humility to our journey to sobriety and allows us to see a path forward. - Although group meetings at Recovery Road Medical Center are not centered on Alcoholics Anonymous material, we are supportive of our patients taking part in the program on their own time and going through the steps. - If you are ready, we are too. Contact Recovery Road Medical Center at (805) 962-7800. - Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash - #recovery #outpatientrecovery #alcoholism #addiction #rehab #santabarbara #goleta #montecito #805 #12StepTuesday #onedayatatime #soberlife #addiction

We admitted we were powerless over alcoholthat our lives had become unmanageable. -- Step One. For everyone around us that sees what we are doing and aren’t alcoholic, this step seems rather obvious. From the perspective of a spouse, friend or family member who sees wreckage in an alcoholic‘s wake -- they know we are powerless over alcohol. We are often the last to really get this fact deep down in our gut. We are too often in denial. For us alcoholics, admitting we have... a problem is really hard as we are so wrapped up in getting our fix that it becomes next to impossible to gain any sort of perspective. For most alcoholics, we have to hit rock bottom to see what alcohol is doing to us and the people around us. AA’s Big Book talks about this rock bottom as incomprehensible demoralization. We have nowhere to turn and nowhere to go. The only choice at this point might include going to AA meetings or coupling it with an outpatient program like we provide at Recovery Road Medical Center. Although group meetings at Recovery Road Medical Center are not centered on Alcoholics Anonymous material, we are supportive of our patients taking part in the program on their own time and going through the steps. If you are ready, we are too. Contact Recovery Road Medical Center at (805) 962-7800. #alcoholicanonymous #alcoholicanonymousmeeting #alcoholicanonymoushereicome #sobriety #recovery #sober #onedayatatime #principlesbeforepersonalities #keepsober #keepgoing #recover #clean #attendmeetings #keepitsimple #alcoholismdoesnotdiscriminate #soberlife #alcoholism #sobermovement #aa #soberaf #soberliving #cleanandsober #addiction

We are quickly getting towards the holidays and know from experience that this is one of the hardest series of weeks of the year to remain sober. Add on top of that with the elections and what is going on in the world, and we can see that it is more important than ever to have a plan when it comes to your journey to sobriety. No matter where you are on that journey to sobriety, there are a few useful tips you can use going into the holiday season:... Find a Sober Buddy: going out to celebrate where there might be drinking? Go with someone who is also committed to sobriety or who can at least act as a designated driver if your good intentions don’t come to pass. Be Accountable: let people know if you are committed to being sober, it does wonders for keeping yourself honest. Agree on an Exit Strategy: there’s often a point at a party where you can tell a switch has turned on and it becomes more about drinking than celebrating for the majority of people in the room. Know your limits. Maybe you know that you should only stay an hour or two and then leave. Forcing yourself to stay until midnight at a party where you could relapse isn’t worth it. For the next twelve Tuesdays, we will be running our #twelvesteptuesday campaign which will borrow from the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. We will take a step every week and urge you to ask questions or help others if you’ve been sober for awhile. If you are ready for more help than that, we are here for you. Contact Recovery Road Medical Center at (805) 962-7800. - Photo by Vlad Bagacian on Unsplash

National Recovery Month is a national observance held every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy and rewarding lives. Now in its 31st year, Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those living in recovery. This year's theme of "Celebrating Connections" embraces the adversity we've faced in 2020 and acknowledges inclusion and diversity in our ranks.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Studies indicate that helping someone at risk create a network of resources and individuals for support and safety can help them take positive action and reduce feelings of hopelessness. #BeThe1ToHelp

Individuals are more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful by after speaking to someone who listens without judgment. It's Suicide Prevention Month, #BeThe1TobeThere

This month is Suicide Prevention Month. Research shows people who are having thoughts of suicide feel relief when someone asks after them in a caring way. Findings suggest acknowledging and talking about suicide may reduce rather than increase suicidal ideation.

All of us at Recovery Road wish you a Happy 4th of July in observance of Independence Day. Have a great weekend!

Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. HALT is used to remind us to stop and acknowledge the issues at hand when they arise instead of ignoring them as we once did in active addiction. It's a great reminder for any of us in recovery to stop and take care of our needs before our addictive self gets into trouble.

Many of us miss handshakes, hugs, and high fives. The World Health Organization shows us some alternatives during the pandemic. https://www.facebook.com/WHO/videos/877427746083738/

This theme of quarantine drinking has continued over the last few weeks in the media. We are open for business and able to help if you have questions! https://www.npr.org//drinking-has-surged-during-the-pandem

Don’t compare your life to others and don’t judge them, you have no idea what their journey is all about.

Time heals almost everything. Give it time.

Make peace with your past so it won’t disturb your present.