Health Steps

Grief and loss affect almost every aspect of living—or having lived—with alcoholism. Members share how they have learned to acknowledge and accept these losses with the help of Al-Anon Family Groups. The stories shared here reflect the experience, strength, and hope of hundreds of members.

Complaints of brain fog, fatigue, and ADD/ADHD are on the rise and growing every year. All of these factors can block the brain's ability to detoxify and heal. If toxins are not eliminated, they recirculate in the brain, leading to inflammation, which further compromises your brain. Here's the good news: Plant-based essential oils are a powerful self-care tool for transforming your life and healing on many levels, even when prescription drugs have failed. In Jodi Cohen’s five-step protocol, the body's natural systems are jump-started with essential-oil recipe blends.

An Orthodox priest with a doctorate in counseling, Fr. Meletios Webber helps us to understand addiction and explores ways to overcome it. He clearly and skillfully explains the 12 steps of the fellowship of alcoholics anonymous. In correlating the 12 steps with basic Orthodox theology, Fr. Mel identifies the implication of the 12 steps for Orthodox, and for all Christians. Using examples from the life of the Orthodox Church, he shows how the steps can be a valuable resource for our own spiritual journey.

Mindfulness is the biggest breakthrough in treatment for alcohol problems of the 21st century. It changes lives. Yet, outside of formal treatment, the use of mindfulness for alcohol recovery is little understood. I have written this book to put that right and make mindful treatment available to anyone in an easy-to-use format, suitable for you to learn at home.

Do you want to break free from your addictions? If so, you need to optimize your brain. The brain plays a central role in your vulnerability to addiction and your ability to recover. Brain dysfunction is the number one reason people fall victim to addiction, why they can't break the chains of addiction, and why they relapse.

In The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings, listeners will find Bill’s initial inspirations for what became the Twelve Traditions, his battles with chronic depression and spiritual pride, memories of an all-night drinking spree, and a vivid description of how he came to organize the Twelve Steps (there were six in the first draft). For anyone in recovery from alcoholism or addiction, this uplifting and poignant collection provides a view into the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous as well as deep insights on emotional sobriety and personal struggle.

This third edition includes 40 never-before-published, personal stories by recovering OA members from around the world; the founder's story; the complete text of "Our Invitation to You"; an all-new appendix, “The Role of a Plan of Eating in Recovery from Compulsive Eating”, by a dietician specializing in addictive and compulsive eating disorders; the book's original three appendices, “A Disease of the Mind,” “A Disease of the Body,” and “A Disease of the Spirit”; and a new foreword by an eating-disorder treatment professional."

The Lupus Solution is a patient’s guide to understanding the why behind their symptoms and their autoimmune condition so that they may achieve remission.

An uncommon accounting of a life destroyed and reconstructed, and a provocative alternative understanding of the nature of addiction and the meaning of recovery, A Million Little Pieces marks the debut of a bold and talented literary voice.

At one point or another, we’ve all done something that undermines our best interests and intentions. Even the most successful people get in their own way - often without realizing it. In Stop Self-Sabotage, licensed clinical psychologist, tenured professor, and television personality Dr. Judy Ho takes a fresh look at self-sabotage to help us answer two vital questions: Why do we do it? How do we stop?

At least ten percent of children have excessive fears and worries—phobias, separation anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive-disorder—that can hold them back and keep them from fully enjoying childhood. If your child suffers from any of these forms of anxiety, this book offers new, practical, and evidence-based proven tools that can help.

Allen Berger, PhD, draws on the teachings of Bill W. and psychotherapy pioneers to offer 12 hallmarks of emotional sobriety that, when practiced, give people the confidence to be accountable for their behavior, ask for what they want and need, and grow and develop a deeper trust in the process of life. These smart things include: understanding who you are and what's important to you; learning not to take others' reactions personally; trusting your inner compass; and taking responsibility for your reactions to problematic situations.

This collection of readings moves through the calendar year one day—at a time. For every day, a favorite quotation from the literature of Alcoholics Anonymous is followed by an A.A. member’s personal reflection, making for daily ingestion that is at once inspired and inspiring. While focusing broadly on the Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service, this volume offers experience, strength and hope on specific topics such as willingness, faith, making amends—themes that recovering alcoholics must address each day—and reminds us that we are never really alone in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Considering addiction through a trauma-informed lens, The Mind-Body Guide to the Twelve Steps offers an accessible, lyrical, and practical guide to Twelve-Step recovery that elevates a somatic approach rooted in healing, relationship, and Earth connection. Somatic and spiritual counselor, educator, and writer Nina Pick shows how addiction is rooted in survival strategies that protect us from overwhelmingly painful experiences.

We all want to feel less anxiety, guilt, anger, and sadness. We want to obsess less and be less lonely, and free ourselves from our demons, compulsive habits, and stress. But as humans (unlike rocks), we experience all of these. And, paradoxically, trying to avoid and control them only makes things worse. Having struggled with serious mental illness for many years himself, Mark Freeman has become a dedicated mental-health advocate and coach. He makes the case that instead of trying to feel less and avoid pain and stress, we need to build emotional fitness, especially our capacity for strength, balance, and focus.

In this fully updated fourth edition, Dr. Marc Weissbluth, one of the country's leading pediatricians, overhauls his groundbreaking approach to solving and preventing your children's sleep problems, from infancy through adolescence. In Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, he explains with authority and reassurance his step-by-step regime for instituting beneficial habits within the framework of your child's natural sleep cycles.

This book will guide you step by step through 10 proven and effective breathing exercises and techniques to help you reduce stress, improve lung function, decrease anxiety, improve sleep quality, and boost your health. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow along with and no prior experience is necessary. If you are a beginner and are interested in trying breathwork or breathing exercises for the first time, then this book is for you.

Are you or a loved one feeling overwhelmed by an adult autism diagnosis? Do you struggle with daily challenges and want to leverage the unique strengths autism brings? Look no further. "Adult Autism Essentials" offers practical advice and insights to improve daily life, build stronger relationships, and access necessary resources.

In the past decade, depression rates have skyrocketed, and one in four Americans will suffer from major depression at some point in their lives. Where have we gone wrong? Dr. Stephen S. Ilardi sheds light on our current predicament and reminds us that our bodies were never designed for the sleep-deprived, poorly nourished, frenzied pace of 21st-century life.

Half of all marriages end. Unfortunately, about 20% of divorces are high-conflict, involving frequent visits to court, allegations of abuse, and chronic disagreements regarding parenting schedules. In response to this conflict, some children become aligned with one parent against the other - even a parent who has done nothing to warrant the hostile rejection of their formerly loving children. These parents are on a painful journey with an uncertain outcome. Surviving Parental Alienation fills the tremendous need for concrete help for these parents.