Relationships in Recovery – AA & Al-Anon by Keith and Sue D.
This is quite a different set of tapes because of the format being so formal. Often the tape collections are a variety of speaker tapes and here you have tapes that are organized. That being said, this is for couples in recovery, those couples in recovery, that are practicing a program. AA & Al-Alanon. This is a 12-step and 12-tradition format that is laid out for the couples. It starts with the personal stories of each separately which tells their personality and emotions of each and how it was and what it was like.
The child, of course, you find was in the middle of it, but is now, as Keith says, on fire for the program. The whole family arrived in the program together. The father to AA, the mother to Al-Alanon, and the daughter to Al-Teen. They all participated.
When a person struggles with an addiction to alcohol or drugs, the disease of addiction can affect everyone surrounding that person. Family often change their behaviors around the person, becoming enablers, distancing themselves, or falling into denial about their loved one’s illness. Family is deeply involved in the struggle with addiction, which means it is very important for them to become involved in recovery.
This is not just about supporting the individual overcoming the addiction, but about creating a healthy environment for everyone affected by the disease. That is where Al-Anon and Al-Ateen come in. There is also so much information in the Big Book and in literature for non-alcoholics that will help them to understand.
The insanity of the alcoholic can rub off on the non-alcoholic lates. But first, it may be the excitement or the unpredictability or the enabling or taking the attention off themselves, that the non-alcoholic may tend to have for others.
In these speaker steps, as mentioned, they are laid out in step-format, which makes it easy to understand and make it comprehend.
Some of what they say that I found interesting was:
Develop Love Maps: Good friends know something about their friend’s world. Care about your spouse and share your day-to-day experiences with each other. Keep up with each other by committing time to listening without judging.
Express fondness and admiration: Express what you like and appreciate about each other; this will develop trust and emotional safety.
Bids and the emotional bank account: Listening and responding to your partner’s little “bids” for support, affection or attention makes a huge difference in the big picture of things. The positivity in a relationship needs to outweigh the negativity; this will keep the emotional bank account balanced and out of the red.
Listen to Al-Anon Workshop – Having Relationships in AA & Al-Anon by Keith and Sue D. and more self-improvement audio programs on Audiojoy — download free on iOS or Android.
Content Review by Freddie Tomlinson