“He’s making me crazy. I don’t understand. Why would someone say they were going to do one thing, then do something so different from what they say? He looks…

Sometimes we’ll take a few steps backward. That’s okay too. Sometimes it’s necessary. Sometimes it’s part of going forward.— CODEPENDENT NO MORE Life is a Gentle Teacher. She wants…

How do you defend yourself when you feel angry and hurt? When Sally was a child, she lived with disturbed parents. They said mean, hurtful things to her much…

I worked at a good job, making a decent salary. I had been recovering for years. Each morning, I got into my car and I thanked God for the…

Throw it away when it wears out. John and Al were talking one day about a mutual friend, someone they both knew and liked. “Mark thinks he has to…

Make yourself feel good. It’s our job to first make ourselves feel better and then make ourselves feel good. Recovery is not only about stopping painful feelings; it is…

Read the following sentences out loud. “No.” “No, this doesn’t work for me.” “No, thank you. This doesn’t feel right to me.” “No. This isn’t right for me at…

Many of us have been trying to keep the whole world in orbit with sheer and forceful application of mental energy. What happens if we let go, if we…

Saying no is another way of saying when. For some of us, the hardest word in the language to speak is the short, simple word no. Instead of saying…

Thank you for keeping me straight yesterday. Please help me stay straight today.—PARAPHRASED FROM ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS When I first began my recovery from codependency, I was furious about having…