Celeste on Sobriety

Books! So Many Books!  I have way too many of them (although I often ask myself, how many is too many??) and my collection refuses to stop growing. As of last month, my bookshelf is organised by colour, and I can't tell you how happy it makes me.  We are warned about cross-addiction in recovery, and books are my drug of choice these days. One section of my book collection that I cherish the most is that of the 'Quit Lit' variety - that is, fiction and non-fiction centred around addiction and recovery. For years leading up to the start of my own recovery, I would devour Quit Lit, somehow hoping to find a solution to my problem somewhere within the pages, desperately reading between the lines for that magic moment of clarity. I turned to these books again and again (and still do) because I relate to the stories in them, and they made me feel that little bit less alone in my own addictions and ongoing recovery journey. The probably unsurprising news is that absorbing other p...

It will come as no surprise to you that many people with substance use disorders (SUDs)* have difficulty identifying and regulating their emotions. I would imagine that many of you (as well as myself) can struggle to not only cope with, but to even name our feelings. Don’t worry, you are most certainly not alone, and there is hope on the horizon. (*Note: I refer to substance abuse disorder (SUD), but any maladaptive behaviour (e.g., eating disorders, gambling, love and sex addiction) are interchangeable with this term) EMOTIONAL REGULATION: THE SCIENCE BIT Emotional regulation is central to our capacity to function suc cessfully in the world, and has been defined as: […] the process by which individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express their feelings. Emotional regulation can be automatic or controlled, conscious or unconscious, and may have effects at one or more points in the emotion producing process. - Gross, 1998 ...