Category Archives: recovery stories

Coda Tool Tuesday…CoDA Meetings

This is not a self help program. It’s mutual support. I can read and learn on my own and that’s all fine and dandy but for me, it can’t replace the experience I get in attending regular CoDA meetings. I, like so many, had read Melody Beattie’s book, Co-dependent No More. If that’s all itContinue reading “Coda Tool Tuesday…CoDA Meetings”

The Chameleon

Chameleoning.  My spell checker doesn’t recognize it.  I just hate when we take a noun and use it like a verb…adulting, Googling… It’s just that I have a hard time finding a better word to describe what I do when I change who I am to please someone else, to fit in, to avoid conflict,Continue reading “The Chameleon”

The Falling Star

by DeAnn B. I’m very grateful for my new journey in CoDA. I’m learning acceptance and surrender, about trusting my Higher Power and the light that’s been placed within me to have my own experience, strength and hope that is a joy to share in the fellowship of others.I wrote this in about one minuteContinue reading “The Falling Star”

Feeling my feelings

by CM (compassionate mess) 😉 “Our emotions drive us to recreate situations in which we will feel the feelings we need to face. We do not have to do anything except allow ourselves to feel them.” My work history is full of losses. I look back and see how I’ve repeated a pattern of hangingContinue reading “Feeling my feelings”

Choosing the recovery side of the street

by Terrie C I affirm that the codependent behaviors that I learned helped me survive. I honor them. It is also true that they are a dysfunction that keeps me from joy. Now, I wish to live more on the recovery pattern side of the street. Learning takes place from repetition. Especially when old habitsContinue reading “Choosing the recovery side of the street”

The Serenity Prayer

By Tom P. God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference. I have prayed this prayer literally hundreds of times in meetings over the last 2 1/2 years and many more times on my own when looking forContinue reading “The Serenity Prayer”

Why can’t I end a bad relationship?

The weird thing about abandonment is that I feel it even if I’m the one ending the relationship. This part of my codependency is a big part of why I tend to stay in harmful situations too long.  Perhaps you are reading this because you are in a relationship with someone you wish would change. Continue reading “Why can’t I end a bad relationship?”

The 10th Step…

Step 10 “offers us not only consistency, but also continued progress in our continued relationships. Continuing to take our personal inventory keeps us ready to change our codependent behaviors. Some of our habits are ingrained. Our goal, however, is to make consistent progress. We look for familiar codependent behaviors and areas where our boundaries withContinue reading “The 10th Step…”