By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Recovery is easy when everything is going well, some days nothing goes right.

Pain can be a powerful motivator. It makes us look at our lives. It makes us consider changing. Sometimes we get stuck in the pain and can’t see a way out. Others may see the need for a change before we do. It takes whatever it takes to start on the road of recovery. Recovery groups describe this as “hitting bottom.”

Many sorts of pain can bring someone to treatment, physical pain, loss of family and friends, feeling miserable constantly. Going for help can be difficult. We hate to admit we need help. When people arrive at the helping place they are often unsure, sometimes resentful if they have been forced to seek help by a partner who says counseling or I go, or a judge who says treatment or jail.

In the beginning, it takes time for the process to work.  There is confusion and anger. The focus is on the pain instead of the recovery. Sometime, somehow the focus shifts. They begin to look at themselves and they begin to change. We learn that we can’t change others, not really. The only things that we can really change are ourselves and our attitudes.

Life may start to get better. The meds may work. The counseling helps them unburden themselves or the group provides a source of healing and support. Life is getting better. They tell me they have never been so happy. They say that their life has changed forever.

I start to worry. We call this the “pink cloud.”  We know it will pass.

Then the storms come. Bad things happen, even when you are in recovery even when you are doing all the right things. This is a real life. Sometimes I like it sometimes I don’t.

The real test of recovery is can we handle life’s challenges, live day by day, and still stay in emotional balance?

A person who is truly in recovery, who has moved their life from sickness and symptoms to wellness and recovery is the person who is able to handle life on life’s terms.

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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