The Law Of Sobriety

Thinking Yourself Sober

sherrygaba — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:53:07 +0000

Sherry Gaba LCSW, Psychotherapist, Life & Recovery Coach is featured Celebrity Rehab on VH1. Sherry is the author of The Law of Sobriety which uses the law of attraction to recover from any addiction. Please download your Free EBooks from Sherry™s Enrich Your Life Series. Contact Sherry at sherry@sgabatherapy.com for webinars, teleseminars, coaching packages and speaking engagements. Listen to Sherry on A Moment of Change with Sherry Gaba on CBS.

Getting sober and staying sober starts with the desire to make a change in your life. For some people this is the so called “hitting bottom” when they do something or allow something to happen that they can no longer ignore, rationalize or blame someone else for. For some people it is a lost relationship, a tragic accident or the disapproval of friends and family that triggers the realization of the need for change. The tough part is figuring out just how to start that journey and stay on the path to recovery and sobriety.

While it may seem too simple, the key component to a successful recovery from addiction is to be able to think and see yourself in the positive alternate reality. If you cannot see yourself as a happy, healthy and productive sober person then you really can’t get there. Knowing both the destination as well as the route to take means that you can think each part of the route, making effective, insightfully and meaningful decisions to help in your own recovery. In my book “The Law of Sobriety” I dedicate time and effort to one simple thought. This though is
that “you create your own reality and the situation you find yourself in is a direct result of your own belief system”.

So, if you see yourself making bad choices, not being successful as a sober member of society or never being able to find friends that can support you in your new lifestyle then that is exactly what you will find. If, however, you are able to think of yourself as a person of value, worth and with the ability to chart your own course you will be amazed at the progress that you make. Each decision, each move, each relationship you develop will embrace your new belief system about yourself, drawing in positive energy, positive experiences and positive people to continue on with your journey in recovery.

Crossing The Line From Enjoyment To Food Addiction

sherrygaba — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:17:31 +0000

Increasing research into brain science has lead to some fascinating understandings of how different foods can contribute to a variety of physical and emotional changes in the body. Emotions, at their basic level, are a series of chemical reactions that occur in the brain. These chemical messages can be altered based on a variety of metabolic factors including blood glucose levels, hormonal levels and even core body temperature. The chemical messages can create pleasant or painful responses, or, in the case of food addictions, they can lead to an initial feeling of pleasure followed immediately by feelings of guilt, embarrassment, frustration or failure.

Food, unlike alcohol or drug addictions, is not something that can simply be taken out of our daily routines. Withdrawal symptoms from food addictions can be as dramatic for some people as those seen with drug addictions. Having a way to approach the food addiction from a holistic perspective that includes heart, mind and body is essential. Changing the thinking around eating is the key to breaking the psychological addiction while making healthier choices in foods is the key to ending the physical addiction that is often present.

That all sounds so simple, yet how can one person change their thinking about eating? The Law of Attraction holds to key to altering the negative views that the food addict has about his or her interaction with food. Seeking positive experiences in the world around you changes the focus from food as the comfort in life to looking for ways to find comfort without the association with food. Food will always be important as a way to sustain the body but it shouldn’t be the way to sustain the spirit, mind and heart. Finding new ways to engage in the world around you will allow the building of new, positive relationships and experiences that can replace the dependence on food with much healthier, life sustaining activities and interactions.

Texting Addiction: R U JOKG?

sherrygaba — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:25:04 +0000

Texting has become a way of life for most people from adults through to the young teens that own a cell phone. It is a simple and effective way to share information in very short, concise messages that saves the need for those sometimes time consuming personal phone calls. The idea behind texting is wonderful, but there may be a darker side to this communication method for adults and teens alike. Texting can become an addiction, with some people reporting that they feel anxious, depressed or isolated if they are not able to send or receive texts on a regular basis.

It is estimated that the average teen sends just under 3400 texts per month. This equates roughly to 100 or so texts a day or about 10 texts an hour for the time that kids are actually awake. Take out class time, eating and other non-text compatible activities and you are probably looking at closer to 20 texts per hour or one text every 3 minutes. Adults tend to text at lower amounts, but still into the thousands of texts per month when it reaches the level of addiction.

Not surprisingly there is science behind the increasing number of people that are finding that text messaging has become an addiction. Researchers studying the effects of texting have found that receiving messages actually changes the level of dopamine, which is a naturally occurring mood enhancing chemical in the brain. This is the same chemical that linked to developing other types of addictions, including drug addictions. The brain craves the feelings of pleasure that the flood of dopamine produces so each text is like a bit of instant gratification with both physiological and psychological reinforcement.

All texting is not addictive. However, when texting becomes the major focus for a person; they are stressed when they cannot text, or they choose texting over personal interactions there is a problem. Addressing this behavior as an addiction instead of as a bad habit gives the significance to the addiction that it deserves. Treating a texting addiction is not as simple as just trying to cut down, it requires addiction recovery, behavior changes and a healthy alternative to produce those feel good chemicals in the brain.

Guest Post From Sexy And Sober Founder Shannon Shea Stoveken

sherrygaba — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:42:38 +0000

What are you focused on?

I recently started to become aware of what I was paying attention to and how it was affecting my life. A few months ago, I would wake up, turn on the Today show, scan the latest headlines on Yahoo and log on to Facebook. I was always willing to hear the latest news or pass on a juicy piece of gossip. At night it was Dateline, Forensic Files and Snapped. Even better if my neighbors were having another fight – Get the popcorn!

Somehow in all that, I was balancing it out by reading wonderful inspirational books before bedtime. One of which suggested I stop watching the news and see how I felt. The book promised that I would be better off emotionally and that I would never miss it. I found that hard to believe, but I was willing to try it. And you know what? I really didn’t miss it! I enjoyed being news free so much that I even stopped watching my “reality” shows as I began to see how they were focused solely on creating drama (and not in a good way). I’m SO much better for it.

There is a saying that you get more of what you focus on. I had been focusing on the worst of humanity – 5 o’clock news anyone? So once I started shifting my focus away from bad news, gossip and fear, the consequences were amazing. New, positive people started arriving in my life. My level of joy and appreciation got much higher. I’m rode the pink cloud of sobriety longer every day. The days seemed lighter, people seemed friendlier and everything got more delicious. I found true serenity and it was as easy as changing the channel!

Shannon Shea Stoveken
Sexy and Sober, CEO
949-878-2072 Phone
www.sexyandsober.com
www.sexyandsobersingles.com

Special Announcement From Foundations Recovery Network!

sherrygaba — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:54:03 +0000

The former U.S. Army Officer and Dancing with the Stars Champ Joins American Hero and Medal of Honor Recipient for Foundations Recovery Network conference to focus on the treatment of service men, women, and their families

Foundations Recovery Network announced popular servicemen J.R. Martinez and Dakota Meyer as special guest speakers at the Freedom & Recovery conference in San Diego, CA held April 23-26, 2012. The conference brings together leading experts specializing in the treatment of service men, women, and their families. The event focuses on the unique challenges that these individuals face as well as treatment strategies that prepare them for a return to work and civilian life.

Medal of Honor recipient, Dakota Meyer will be featured on Tuesday, April 24 and retired U.S. Army soldier and “Dancing with the Stars” champion, J.R. Martinez will be featured on Wednesday, April 25. Both speakers will present their inspiring and motivational stories in the Crown room at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. Each presentation will conclude with an interactive Q&A time. Both Meyer and Martinez hope to bring attention to the various treatment methods available to returning military men and women while also raising the level of awareness of how our military is affected by the circumstances of war and service.

“With domestic challenges at home and active military returning from abroad, our service men and women have unique and profound needs for integrated treatment,” says Rob Waggener, CEO of Foundations Recovery Network. “We are honored to offer such high quality speakers who are able to address innovations in treatment for our veterans and first responders.”
A limited number of tickets are available to the public and also for conference attendees. For more information about the conference and to purchase tickets please visit: www.foundationsrecoverynetwork.com. Media placement at conference will be available.

The Gift Of Honesty And Experience

sherrygaba — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:36:09 +0000

One of the aspects of working with people in addiction recovery that I always find amazing is the ability of people to share their innermost experiences. This is such a gift when someone is able to share with another person what an experience is like in a way that really resonates. After all, most people have never gone through an addiction and recovery, yet in listening to others we can empathize and truly understand the struggles and the overwhelming feelings of loss because of the addiction.

Personal stories have a way of connecting on a unique level with others. Hearing things in someone’s words that has really lived through the experience is so much more valuable than reading a textbook or case summary that is cold, emotionless and clinical. I was very fortunate to have so many individual’s share their stories of recovery with me that I was able to use them in my book, “The Law Of Sobriety”. If it was possible to summarize why those individuals were successful in their recovery while others struggle for years the following would be key:

Talk and share – finding trusted people that you can talk to about your feelings, goals, desires and personal issues is such a blessing. You will find yourself surrounded by love and support when you are able to understand that you are a lovable and loving person. The universe will put those people in your life and in your path, some which will also have been successful in their continued journey through recovery.

See You At Your Best – it is too easy when you have gone through an addiction to see yourself as a chronically damaged person. Yes, you will always be in recovery, but you can change and become the person you want to be. Giving yourself the opportunity to see you as a positive, sober and successful is the only way that those around you, and the universe, is going to see you as you know you will be.

Set Goals – these don’t have to be big, huge, life altering goals. They can start small, one day’s worth of goals, and then continue to expand. A great goal every day is to give thanks for one thing in your life. This is range from having a pet to greet you when you get out of bed to having a job to go. As you being to be thankful about things around you more and more will come into your world and your gratitude will increase and include yourself and those around you.

Sherry Gaba LCSW, Psychotherapist, Life & Recovery Coach is featured Celebrity Rehab on VH1. Sherry is the author of â€œThe Law of Sobrietyâ€ which uses the law of attraction to recover from any addiction. Please download your Free EBooks from Sherry™s Enrich Your Life Series. Contact Sherry at sherry@sgabatherapy.com for webinars, teleseminars, coaching packages and speaking engagements. Listen to Sherry on A Moment of Change with Sherry Gaba on CBS.

Tracking Your Food: What You Eat And Why You Eat It

sherrygaba — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:04:59 +0000

Food additions and food bad habits are all around us. Everyone has that one or two different types of foods they just can’t resist. Often food is associated very strongly with feelings of comfort and satisfaction and this can be developed from childhood based on behaviors around food in the family. If food was used as a “fix all” when you were a kid you are likely to turn to that same food when you are feeling emotionally down as an adult.

This isn’t a surprise. Food is associated so strongly with celebrations, special events and social activities in all cultures around the world. There are wedding cakes, Christmas puddings, and birthday cakes, traditional roast turkey meals or roast beef with all the trimmings. Often foods such as macaroni and cheese are even designated as comfort foods. These foods are not bad in themselves, but they have to be consumed in limited amounts. Additions and bad food habits can develop when the emotional value of these foods outweighs the health risks in gaining weight and increasing health risks.

In order to find out why you eat what you eat a great idea is to keep a food journal for a month. This is a simple activity that will just take a few minutes of your time but will help you learn a lot about yourself. To get started develop these three activities to do each time you eat.

Be Honest – write down everything that you eat and the time at which you ate. This means when you are preparing the food as well as actually eating the finished product. You can estimate the amount of the food; everything doesn’t need to be measured perfectly. It is important to be accurate and honest, don’t skip items and don’t underestimate.

Record Your Emotions – at the time you are eating what are you feeling inside? Are you happy, sad, angry, frustrated, hurt, lonely or a combination of emotions? This will help you determine if you have pattern of eating around your emotional state.

Write ASAP – don’t leave your journal until the end of the day, do it as you go throughout the day. If you leave it to the end of the day it will be skipped or you will not be accurate.

At the end of the month look through your journal and see if there are patterns around when you ate, what you were feeling and how much you ate. This can really help you decide if you have a food addiction or food bad habit that you are using to attempt to deal with your feelings.

Recovery And Reconnection With Family

sherrygaba — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:14:39 +0000

“The Law of Sobriety” was written not only to help addicts recover from alcohol and drug addictions but also to create a different, positive and supportive frame of mind to shape the recovery and your life after recovery. Changing thinking from negative to positive allows an entirely new outlook on life, one that welcomes in the positive energy around you to sustain your recovery into the future. It is not a specific goal directed recovery; rather it is a way to become spiritual and connected rather than isolated and disconnected.

While this is a wonderful perspective and a positive change for the addict, there is still often a huge issue for the family, friends, spouses and partners that have been hurt by the addiction. These people need to also be able to move forward, to give trust and understanding and also to support the addicted person’s growth and change. In situations where co-dependency is an issue the co-dependent person needs to go through his or her own recovery program in order for the relationship to continue to be positive and possible. A life coach, addiction recovery therapists or a counselor may need to get involved to help both people understand the addiction and co-dependency issues in the relationship.

Addicts need to be able to understand the addiction from the family or friend’s perspective before they can truly begin to make the steps needed to strengthen and rebuild those relationships. Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes is a great exercise that will enable you to see things in a different light. By being able to take on a universal view of the addiction behaviors, not as a negative beat yourself up process but to gain understanding, you will receive a powerful message. By having the ability to empathize with your loved ones and friends you can get goals and look for positives that will allow you to build and rebuild the relationship.

Hidden Habits In Everyday Life

sherrygaba — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:47:00 +0000

Have you ever stopped to think about why you intentionally hide some of the things in your life from others? Do you hide specific activities from your partner or spouse because you are uncomfortable with what they might say? Do you hide things because you are embarrassed that you engage in the activity? Do you fear repercussions if the people in your life found out about them?

Most people have at least one habit or behavior that they are secretive about. It may not be a completely hidden behavior or activity but it is something that you minimize, don’t talk about or don’t bring up. It is often a behavior that carries some sense of guilt or fear of discovery. These hidden habits, while not always destructive, can be the basis of more significant problems in a relationship if the habit turns into an addiction or compulsive type of activity.

You may have habits that you are hiding if you do the following:

Misrepresent the amount of time you are engaging in a specific activity. This could be telling your spouse or partner you talked to your friend on the phone or online for 15 minutes when you actually spend an hour or more.

Just don’t talk about the activity as if it has not occurred. You may fail to report you go shopping on your lunch every day and simply keep the items you by at work or tell others they are things you have had for long periods of time.

Outright lie about the activity. If you go shopping you may hide items, pretend you got them on sale at a lower price or simply sneak them into the closet and hope no one notices.

If you are hiding habits the first step is to examine why you are using the behavior in the first place. Talking to a life coach, therapist or counselor may help you unravel why you feel the need to hide these activities and how you can address the issue in your life.

sherry@sgabatherapy.com for webinars, teleseminars, coaching packages and speaking engagements. Listen to Sherry on A Moment of Change with Sherry Gaba on CBS

Are You A Self-Saboteur?

sherrygaba — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:14:01 +0000

There are some people in this world that set their mind to achieving a particular goal and it seems, no matter what that goal may be, they always manage to achieve it. There are other people in the world that set goals and, no matter how small or simple those goals are, they never seem to be able to say that they have achieved their goal. Are these two people different somehow? Is one person just naturally more capable and the other simply incapable of self-management and success?
In fact anyone can achieve their goals and anyone can fail at their goals based on their own ability to help or hinder their own progress. A person that is consistently successful sees themselves as already achieving that goal and then simply looks for options to make that positive vision come true. The person that fails does just the opposite. They see all the obstacles and huddles along the way and focuses on those, bringing negative energy into their progress.
The term self-saboteur pretty much sums up this second person’s journey through life. Most people have some level of self-destruction or self-doubt at times, but it is not pervasive in the way they view themselves and the world around them. If you are a self-saboteur you will constantly:
Look for ways to fail and focus on those missteps.

Set goals and immediately start talking yourself out of those goals.

Take any possible obstacle and make it a reason to quit.

See the people and events around you as unsupportive and negative towards helping you achieve your goals.

Recognizing these characteristic and thoughts in yourself and changing your thought process may be all you need to do to change the outcome. Look for ways to learn to make progress not ways to fail. Look for small goals that let you build up to larger goals and always see yourself as successful in obtaining what you want and need in your life.

Sherry Gaba LCSW, Psychotherapist, Life & Recovery Coach is featured Celebrity Rehab on VH1. Sherry is the author of â€œThe Law of Sobrietyâ€ which uses the law of attraction to recover from any addiction. Please download your Free EBooks from Sherry™s Enrich Your Life Series. Contact Sherry at
sherry@sgabatherapy.com for webinars, teleseminars, coaching packages and speaking engagements. Listen to Sherry on A Moment of Change with Sherry Gaba on CBS