We’ve taken a trip to The Addict’s Diary Instagram account and compiled their most powerful stories and photos down below. These images show incredible transformations of people who fought tooth and nail to get sober and deserve to be celebrated. This isn’t the first time we’ve featured this page, but today we’ve put their best posts of all time in one place. So enjoy scrolling through these incredible stories, and keep reading to find conversations with Kevin Alter, founder of The Addict’s Diary, and A. Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP, President of Practical Recovery. “I was looking for an outlet for myself and others to show what life in addiction and recovery is really like,” Kevin says. “Essentially, taking the anonymity out of it. Seeing it become so popular over the years and watching so many people get help from the resources provided by us has been a blessing.” And if you want to recover but aren’t sure where to start, Kevin encourages you to take the first step. “Reach out to us! Go to a local meeting. Or if you’re not ready for that because of how bad you’re using, I always think a detox and treatment center are a great place to start,” he told Bored Panda. “In severe addictive problems, the addictive behavior has become involved in many or most aspects of life. Similarly, if you are right handed, your right hand engages in many actions for you. If you were to switch hands, you would notice the change throughout the day. You would also likely get quite frustrated. With your other hand, life does not go as well (and it would not for a long time). It would be very easy to go back to using your right hand,” Dr. Horvath explained. And if you’d like to support a loved one who’s on their journey to sobriety, the expert says, “Ask what [they like] about the addictive problem. What does it do for them? Listen carefully and non-judgmentally, and acknowledge the benefits obtained from the behavior.” “That is it all or none,” he shared. “Alternatively, it would be good to recognize that all of us probably have several addictive behaviors of various sizes (eating chocolate, watching too many streaming series, romance novels, etc.).” The expert says that there is not only “one way” to change an addict, as there are as many ways as there are individuals. He also shared that it’s not necessarily essential to get help, as many people change primarily through their own efforts. Finally, he noted that it’s commonly believed that addicts are powerless over the addictive problem. “Alternatively, although the powerlessness perspective is helpful to some, there are also effective self-empowering approaches,” Dr. Horvath says. Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
