Category Archives: family recovery

The Cycle Ends with Me: Part One, On Paper

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Chelsea Lai

*I have wanted to share on this topic for a looooong time and realized in finally starting this piece that it has grown substantially from when I initially began making notes a couple of years ago, so l feel it … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, family addiction, family recovery, mental health, recovery, self discovery, self help, self improvement, Uncategorized | Tagged addiction, Al-Anon, alcholism, anxiety, celebrate recovery, codependent, depression, detachment, family, family addiction, family recovery, mental health, recovery, self discovery, self help, self improvement, spirituality | Leave a comment

Can’t Hope Him Sober

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Chelsea Lai

Hope is strong. It has the power to push a lost person onward to face another day, bring a broken soul back from the cusp of death, or be that life raft when it feels like things are at the … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, Al-Anon, family addiction, family recovery, mental health, recovery, self discovery, self help, self improvement, Uncategorized | Tagged addiction, Al-Anon, anxiety, celebrate recovery, codependent, depression, detachment, family, self improvement, spirituality | 2 Comments

Piss Off, Perfect

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Chelsea Lai

Perfect. Perfection. Perfectionism. Perfectionist. What do these words conjure up in your head? For me, it is mainly peoples’ faces, going waaay back to First Grade. The “perfect” work was the only student work hung on the bulletin board, and … Continue reading →

Posted in family recovery, mental health, recovery, self discovery, self help, self improvement, Uncategorized | Tagged anxiety, codependent, depression, family, mental health, recovery, self help, self improvement, spirituality | Leave a comment

Bitch Won’t Kill My Vibe

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Chelsea Lai

I’ve worked pretty damn hard over the past four-ish years to get down with my Zen self. I used to be loud, rude, and mean because it was “funny” I guess; got me attention. Now that behavior makes me cringe, … Continue reading →

Posted in family recovery, mental health, recovery, self discovery, self help, self improvement, Uncategorized | Tagged aa, addiction, Al-Anon, anxiety, celebrate recovery, codependent, depression, detachment, family addiction, spirituality | Leave a comment

Love is the Answer

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Chelsea Lai

The morning of September 11, 2001 I was awoken by my T.V. alarm which happened to be tuned to CNN. I sat up and stared in disbelief at video footage of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. I … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, family addiction, family recovery, mental health, recovery, self help, self improvement, Uncategorized | Tagged aa, Al-Anon, anxiety, celebrate recovery, codependent, depression, detachment, family, na, spirituality | 2 Comments

You’re Just Not That Important

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Chelsea Lai

One of the first nuggets of wisdom I heard that really stuck with me was from a long time member, Phil. Phil is a grown child of alcoholics, so he grew up in the disease, then married an alcoholic … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, family addiction, family recovery, mental health, recovery | Tagged aa, Al-Anon, anxiety, depression, self discovery, self help, self improvement | 4 Comments

I Need an Adulting Gold Star

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Chelsea Lai

I giggle every time I run across someone on my social media complaining about “adulting”. “I don’t want to adult today”, or any number of hilarious memes dedicated to the subject. I laugh, but totally agree that it is rough … Continue reading →

Posted in AA, addiction, Al-Anon, family addiction, family recovery, mental health, recovery, self discovery, self help, self improvement, Uncategorized | Tagged addiction, addiction family, family recovery, mental health, recovery | 2 Comments

At Least He’s Not a Heroin Addict

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Chelsea Lai

During Chad’s first year of rehab, I was super grateful that he was “just an alcoholic”. Sure, he popped pills now and again, but mostly it was “just drinking.” In my head alcohol wasn’t that scary. Almost everyone drinks, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, Al-Anon, family addiction, family recovery, mental health, NA, recovery, self help, self improvement, Uncategorized | Tagged aa, addiction, alanon, family addiction, mental health, na, recovery | Leave a comment

A Christmas Rant and Reflection

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Chelsea Lai

Apparently, my Christmas gift from HP is a big, fat test of my recovery. My mum called me a few days ago to let me know some “bad news” which was that Chad had a relapse and had checked … Continue reading →

Posted in family addiction, family recovery, holiday help, mental health, recovery, self discovery, self help, self improvement | Tagged aa, addiction, alanon, family, holidays, recovery | 2 Comments

Please Don’t Give Me Cash: A Recovery Gift Guide

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Chelsea Lai

If you’re anything like me, you looked at the calendar today and yelled, “Crap! I mean rejoice! Christmas is in a week and I haven’t shopped yet!” Gifting is tricky enough as it is, mix in some addiction, mental instability, … Continue reading →

Posted in family addiction, family recovery, holiday help, mental health, recovery | Tagged aa, addiction, alanon, family recovery, gift guide, holidays, mental health, recovery | 1 Comment