When we are in shame, we don’t see the big picture; we don’t accurately think about our strengths and limitations. We just feel alone, exposed and deeply flawed. ~ Brené Brown Do you tend to feel more guilt or shame when you feel you have done something wrong? Brené Brown’s book, I Thought It Was Just Me talks about shame and how it affects our lives. I found her section about addiction particularly interesting. We all feel shame at some point in our lives. As individuals we have a tendency to respond with either shame or guilt in any given situation. It makes us feel humiliated and uncomfortable because of something we did wrong. We lose our self-respect. We may feel mortified and embarrassed and we may want to pull back and just be alone. Addiction and shame go hand in hand. It is hard to understand where one starts and the  [...]

Child loss is a loss like no other. One often misunderstood by many. If you love a bereaved parent or know someone who does, remember that even his or her “good” days are harder than you could ever imagine. Compassion and love, not advice, are what’s needed. If you’d like an inside look into why the loss of a child is a grief that lasts a lifetime, here is what I’ve learned in my seven years of trekking through the unimaginable. 1). Love never dies. There will never come a day, hour, minute or second I stop loving or thinking about my son. Just as parents of living children unconditionally love their children always and forever, so do bereaved parents. I want to say and hear his name just the same as non-bereaved parents do. I want to speak about my deceased child as normally and naturally as you speak [...]

I am not your child, or spouse, or friend. I’ve changed. I don’t belong to you any more. I don’t care about you. Not in the way you want me too. I care about getting high. I WANT to get high. I will do ANYTHING to get high. I LOVE getting high. I NEED to get high.. and I will step over you to do it. When I look at you, I don’t see YOU. I see a means to an end. You have money. I want it. End of story. I don’t care if you can’t pay the rent. I don’t care if you need groceries. I don’t care if you promised you wouldn’t give me money again. I don’t care if you lie to Dad. I don’t care if you’re broke. Sell your rings, take a loan, sell your electronics, max out your credit cards, borrow the money [...]