Addiction Recovery Blog | Daniel J Callahan, MSW

Live life large!

by Daniel 17 November 2011

“The successful always has a number of projects planned, to which he looks forward. Any one of them could change the course of his life overnight.” — Mark Caine The “one day at a time” principle is the guiding light in keeping our minds from racing. In early recovery we often feel as if staying [...]

If you can’t walk, crawl…

by Daniel 16 November 2011

If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving. – Martin Luther King, Jr. Inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard! The founders of AA had some great insights. Before anyone ever labeled post acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) they knew [...]

E + R = O…

by Daniel 15 November 2011

A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction. – Rita Mae Brown E + R = O. Event plus response equals outcome! Learning to respond to adversity or simply life events, is crucial for the individual in recovery. When things go [...]

Daily Reflections

by Daniel 11 November 2011

I have utilized the Daily Reflections for over twenty years, it was given to me as a gift on my third anniversary. It is amazing that a reading like this pops off the page for me today as if I have never read it before! I want to share it with you in case you [...]

A bit of History!

by Daniel 9 November 2011

Dr. Bob’s Farewell Address “My good friends in AA and of AA, I feel I would be very remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to welcome you here to Cleveland, and not only to this meeting but to those that have already transpired. I hope very much that the presence of so many people [...]

Build up or tear down…

by Daniel 8 November 2011

“Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself”. – David Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Of course we all talk to ourselves on a daily basis. We are thinkers and self talkers. Often we talk to ourselves in the negative, “aaa look at you, you [...]

Enthusiasm!

by Daniel 4 November 2011

Enthusiasm is the most beautiful word in the world. – Christian Morgenstern I do not classify myself as a linguist however I love words when I recognize their meaning and root. In this case according to Dictionary.com the root of the word enthusiasm, is Greek, énthous, variant of éntheos having a god within. The meaning [...]

How am I doing?

by Daniel 3 November 2011

How am I doing? Honorable Ed Koch, former New York City Mayor If you are old enough and lived in proximity to New York City in the late 1970′s and 80′s you would remember the Mayor that made that question relevant, Ed Koch! He would walk around the city when he was out and about [...]

Never Regret…

by Daniel 1 November 2011

Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience. Victoria Holt Regret is a terrible thing we all make mistakes if we learn from the mistakes we move on. If we don’t we live in regret. That is correct, many people think that learning from mistakes means that we never make the [...]

Stress, fear and worry…

by Daniel 24 October 2011

You may have fooled yourself into thinking that it’s useful or unavoidable, but it’s not. – Seth Godin I recently read Seth’s blog on worry and I realized that we all worry whether we are addicts, alcoholics or simply earthlings! Worry is expressed in many ways, for some of us it comes in the form of [...]

Hope beyond hope!

by Daniel 18 October 2011

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true there is life and joy. Proverb I have been speaking to many rehabilitation programs lately, especially those centers on the West Coast, particularly California. I have been fortunate to have been able to speak with Chad Carlsen the co-founder and Executive Director of Hope [...]