What are "Lights?" in recoveryBox?

So you are wondering what exactly are these lights?  That's the easy part...they are your daily activities broken into your greens (the activities/habits you want to build), the yellows (umm, these are people, places or things that are putting you at risk for acting out and you want to avoid them), and the reds (activities that are part of your addiction).

The goal of course is to have as many greens as possible.  By taking care of your green events on a daily basis you will see how you are starting to take care of yourself and your yellows and reds will start to lessen.

Next post, I'll explain how to use those greens to track activities.  recoveryBox is extremely flexible with your lights.  It allows you to basically give weight to the green lights for accountability to your sponsor or accountability partner.  But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself...you'll have to wait until I
get to that blog post.

Can't wait, check out recoveryBox the site for more info.

Want to download from the Apple App store..thanks.  I'm available for questions anytime.

Using recoveryBox for Addiction Treatment Goals

How To Video Series for recoveryBox iOS App for Addiction Recovery

Below you will find our How To Videos for recoveryBox - Goals for treatment for an addiction can come from a variety of places. Create goals with a counselor, perhaps you have person goals, create some with an accountability partner/sponsor. no matter where they originate from, track them all on one place in recoveryBox. Attach a 12 step to a treatment goal.

Treatment Goals Using recoveryBox

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Download recoveryBox Addiction Recovery App - Your Complete Accountability Sobriety Toolbox

Addiction Recovery Motivator Compliance ~ Do I Really Have to??

Being compliant in addiction recovery is NOT an easy task nor is it one that you can just do one day but not the next.  You MUST work at addiction recovery each and every day!!!  Bottom line!!!

As I've said before I'm not a counselor but rather someone who has been through the process of what addiction recovery looks like.  And being accountable each and EVERY day to a sponsor or accountability partner is a must. And it's the same for a traditional 12 Step Program or for Celebrate Recovery.

recoveryBox , the mobile iPhone app built for addiction recovery, has some built in tools that can help you with that if you need some reminding.  And let's face it...in our lives we are so busy that things slip our mind - easily.  And for that, we have what are called MOTIVATORS!

If you click on More Tools in the tab bar on the bottom, you will see a whole list of tools.  Select "Settings" and voila..all sorts of things you can customize!!  I invite you to investigate how these can simplify data entry (again for compliance).

What is a motivator?? It's a reminder that will pop up when you tell it too!  Set one for entering your "lights" for the day or set one to remind yourself to text/email an accountability partner.

You can change the motivator at any point.  You can even turn it off if you don't need one anymore.   Work it out with your 12 step sponsor or accountability partner.  Decide together if you are to text your numbers daily or weekly.  Again, it's all about creating a system that you will be compliant with and that will help during your recovery.

~ Have you set your motivators today??

PS.  Just a small side note, if you set a motivator to text/email on a daily basis then the Accountability Module dates will be set for daily use, but if you select weekly in the motivators tab, then those dates will reflect a one week difference.  Just a small nice thing to help you be consistent.

Haven't downloaded recovery box yet?? 

Get it today and begin your addiction recovery today!!  

What addictions are supported in recoveryBox the iOS app built for addiction recovery?

Want to know what addictions are part of recoveryBox the iOS app?  here goes (but if you don't find one you like you can create your own by customizing the yellow and red lights)

List of Addictions currently supported in recoveryBox:

~ Adrenaline-Producing Activities
~ Alcohol
~ Anger
~ Being Right
~ Caffeine
~ Cocaine
~ CoDependency
~ Collecting "stuff"
~ Cumpulsive Behavior
~ Drug Abuse
~ Eating Disorder
~ Emotional Addiction
~ Escapism/Amusement
~ Exercise
~ Fantasizing
~ Gambling
~ Getting One's Own Way
~ Heroin
~ Hoarding
~ Idolization
~ Isolation
~ Laziness
~ Lust
~ Marijuana
~ Media (TV, Internet, etc)
~ Methadone
~ Opiates
~ OverWorking
~ People Pleasing
~ Perfectionism
~ Pornography
~ Prescription Drugs
~ Risky Behaviors
~ Sadism
~ Self Injurous
~ Self-Judgement
~ Sex Addiction
~ Shopping
~ Smoking
~ Sniffing
~ Social Media
~ Steroids
~ Substance Abuse
~ Theft
~ Tobacco
~ Travel
~ Trivia
~ Vandalism
~ Vicodin (pain killers)
~ Video Games
~ Voyeurism

YES!  You can even choose more than one from the list for concurrent addictions.

QUESTION: why do some of the Addictions have related addictions?  Well, we thought it best to make the "red" lights specific to the addiction.  For example, you may select just pornography from the list or you may combine it with voyeurism if those combined paint a better picture of what your addiction looks like.

Regardless of which addiction you select, the recoveryBox works the same for all of them..it's built around accountability and replacing those bad habits with new ones (as well as understanding the when/why of what you do!)

Download recoveryBox today!

Part 3 : One to One Accountability and Your Sponsor

This is where the the entire concept for recoveryBox comes together. You have been diligent about entering your Lights and Triggers and now...

It's time to be honest with someone other than yourself.  And that's why you have a sponsor or accountability partner from a traditional 12 Step Program or from Celebrate Recovery.

When you send a text/email to your accountability partner, it will tally all of the Green, Yellow and Red lights.  You select the time frame (when I write more about the accountability module I'll explain how the dates default).

This is what's so awesome..there is no remembering what the day or week looked like because you already did the work when you entered the lights!!  And believe me it is work being honest to yourself.  

As you can see I use recoveryBox to text (as that's the default I set up) each day by 10:00PM.   It really is that simple and my sponsor can see  as a snapshot what my day looked like.  Let's see an example of what the system builds as a started text/email ( I can edit the piece of communication if I want before I send it too).

As you can see it puts the date (and in my case it's just the one date otherwise it's the range of dates I selected). Then it puts a total of my lights broken down by color...My sponsor and I have made a Green target number I'm supposed to hit and it changes as I meet my goals.

The Yellows and Red's are the hardest for me but it's where I'm being completely honest with myself and another.  Under the settings panel I've enabled comments to be added to my communication piece.  I have nothing to hide from my sponsor but it's nice to have the option (again, when I write more about that module, I'll show you how to enable those).

If I entered any triggers for the day, anything over a green level is included as well as my journaling.  I love being able to communicate to my sponsor without having to retype anything..yet I have it all recorded for me.  Sometimes my sponsor sees something that he is concerned about and will either call or text me back right away..but most times I just get a response saying "OK".  And that's all I need.

This part of recoveryBox is what really allows communication and knowledge to happen between my sponsor and myself.  BUT I do use this with my counselor too.  Sometimes I'm asked how the week was and it's so easy to pull up the information any way I want.  And I'm much more accurate because I can't say "I forgot".

Being successful in Addiction Recovery is about making changes.  With recoveryBox you can actually quantify the changes ~ and that's a good thing!

Use recoveryBox now for your Addiction Recovery.

Part 2 : One to One Accountability and Triggers

Adding our Lights is great for seeing what we did on a certain day but it's not enough if we are going to figure out the why we do what we do.  I could easily have 26 Green Lights for the day but is it because I was making good choices on a certain day or was it in response to a trigger..say boredom.

Triggers really work well when adding yellow and red lights but we can also gain a lot of information about our addiction if we record our triggers on a daily basis.

recoveryBox tracks triggers much like the light system for daily activities.  At the beginning of the day we start at a 0 Intensity level which is Green.  Then as the day goes on something happens and we start to get frustrated, or bored or depressed and we have different levels which will go into Warning for Yellow and I NEED HELP RED.

Again, visually helping us see as we swipe through our days will make habits/triggers/etc jump out at us!

One day I might feel depressed at a 2 level which is very manageable but the next day that same trigger is at a 8 because I was glossed over by my boss for a promotion.  I may not have acted out and therefore I don't have a Red Light to record BUT I still had those feelings.  And this is where you would record why you had that trigger and didn't act out.  

Many times we will be moving our sliders on days we have acted out but eventually we will learn to not act out and our addiction recovery journey will really take on an entirely new look.

You can journal about the day..and I find it very helpful.  The next segment will show you how to link the accountability for lights and triggers and honestly how it paints a much clearer picture for your accountability partner.  With that information, they can help you with encouragement targeted for what you need.

The Book Icon in the upper right is where you would add your journaling.  If the book icon is empty then you didn't journal but if it's colored orange then you added some meaningful information about your day.

I'll be writing more about this Trigger's Module but for now try adding your triggers daily and see if journaling helps you and your sponsor work together better.  At the very least see if it helps you just feel better getting down your thoughts.  

And yes, I add a Green Light each time I journal or add a trigger.  It means I'm taking care of myself!!

recoveryBox mobile iPhone app for Addiction recovery

Part 1: One-to-One Accountability and Green Lights

This blog post is going to be broken up into 3 different ones.

1.  Adding my Green Lights for Accountability.
2.  Adding Triggers for Accountability
3.  MOST IMPORTANT:: Being Accountable To My Sponsor or Accountability Partner

recoveryBox was built for those who are in recovery for some sort of addiction with some sort of accountability feature.  

When we go through some sort of treatment it's so important that we are honest with ourselves but also someone else..most likely someone who has been there done that.  Usually we choose someone (but not always) who has been there so they understand the pressures we feel and can offer encouragement during those times.

By adding your Lights and Texting/Emailing to a sponsor or accountability partner you are taking ownership of your addiction and telling yourself that you are on the journey to recovery.  It's crucial that we do this!!

Adding G2 One-to-One Accountability Lights are Easy!!

When you Text/Email your Lights to a Sponsor each day that is checking in. That is letting the see a quick snapshot of your day without you have to rehash or even rethink the day. So that's a G2 One-to-One Accountability Green Light I get to add!

I tend to check in with him in the AM with a text to say Good Morning but at night after my day is done I send a text of my Lights.  It's a system we created with the use of recoveryBox during a one on one meeting.  

I'm supposed to send my lights by 10:00 PM.  

It's that easy.  Check in and get credit and Being Accountable all in one easy step.

In the next segments, I'll show how adding triggers completes the picture for accountability and what to do with these lights..in other words using the accountability feature.

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Download recoveryBox Addiction Recovery App - Your Complete Accountability Sobriety Toolbox

3 R's ~ Staying Motivated or Risk A Relapse

Random Resource ThuRsday!! 

3 R's ~ Staying Motivated or Risk A Relapse

I know from experience how easy it is to start down the road to recovery feeling the high of finally being free from a horrible secret and thinking I've got this licked!!  And then wham!!!  Something in life hits us and we run back to old habits, acting out and then going into relapse. 

And from there it is such a downward spiral.  Does anyone else know what I'm talking about here?!?

But that's why programs like a 12 Step Program or Celebrate Recovery have accountability partners as part of the approach.  Most of us just can't do this alone!  And we need someone to help us, encourage us, support us and motivate us.

This week I blogged about the Motivator piece of the recoveryBox iPhone Addiction Recovery App.  There is a good reason that is part of the app..it's to help us stay motivated.  Part of us as a person wants to please people other people.  It's part of being connected in life.  So when using a tool such as recoveryBox, it's important to stay motivated for compliance...because that IS one of the biggest pieces to addiction recovery.  You can't "cheat" here and there.  True recovery is to not return to those habits.

While doing research for recoveryBox, I ran across this article about motivation and it helped me focus on how can recoveryBox app can be part of that motivation.  Thanks Peggy for authoring such a great piece and for really just putting it out there in honest terms. 

(look for another blog post in a few weeks about another feature to recoveryBox that is all about motivation.  It's my favorite piece too!)


Addiction Recovery

Maintain Your Recovery Motivation Or You Will Relapse By Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D.

People often find their way to recovery in the midst of a crisis. Someone standing at the crossroads of recovery, may have been arrested for DUI, may have been fired, or may have received a scary report from the doctor. He may have heard the bottom line demand from his spouse-- "Get help or we are getting a divorce." Or, the alcoholic/addict may in fact, have a moment of clarity and really be able to see that he does have a problem and that help and abstinence are called for. The alcoholic/addict feels afraid. He feels ashamed. He feels angry at others or at himself for being in this position in the first place.

Fear, coercion or crisis helps him find his way into recovery. Fear is a fairly good short term motivator, but not so good in the long run. Once the fear subsides and the crisis is over, it is very easy to lose your motivation and momentum. At the point where the cycle of addiction is interrupted by failing to take the next drink, dose, or joint, there is a lot of tension, anxiety, and mindfulness of where you are in the process. Detox or withdrawal may occur, with physical and/or emotional symptoms being very consciously experienced.

When you get to feeling better physically and emotionally after detoxing, it is easy to lose your momentum. Your focus on recovery can dissolve. Some of the problems that once motivated your recovery might be resolved now. Because you have quit drinking or using, your spouse and kids are once again speaking to you and are in the process of forgiving you. You may have even won back some trust. Everything seems to be going well.

Under these circumstances it is quite easy for you to take your eyes off the target and lose your focus on recovery. Erroneously, you may believe that your abstinence is not so fragile now. Feeling better, you may think you have it "whipped".

Without actively focusing on your continuing abstinence and recovery, your behavior can begin to drift away from the newly instituted behavioral changes that you have made. You run the risk of returning to old thinking, old feelings, and then ultimately old behavior. The reason why this would happen is that you are not consciously taking steps to continue on a path of recovery. This path involves many changes in your behavior and in your life style. Without making conscious choices in regard to how each decision affects your new recovery life or your old addiction life, you are unconsciously choosing your old life. Choosing recovery is not like jump starting your damaged car battery where once you get it started, it recharges itself as run it. You have to continuously work a program of recovery. Without doing so, your efforts will be short- lived.

You will quit going to counseling. You will quit going to meetings. You will have stopped calling your recovery support people. Your defenses will go back up and you may take exception to the feedback of significant others who tell you that you are acting like you used to before recovery.

You won't be able to see that you are on the road to relapse. You won't be able to understand why they are concerned. You won't be able to identify the behavioral changes that scare them because you will be back in denial. Being around old drinking/using environments and friends don't scare you. You can't understand why it would scare your significant others. After all, you told them that you are not going to relapse. You have learned your lesson. What more do they want?

After awhile, you will begin to think that you have your drinking or using under control now. When you think of addiction as a thing of the past, that you now have it under control, you will begin to entertain the notion that you can now drink or use without negative consequences. If any of this sounds like your recent experience, you are in big trouble. You are in the relapse process and unless you do something now, you will relapse--and soon.

Copyright 2009, Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D., http://www.peggyferguson.com Hubbard House Publishing, Stillwater, OK. 

Download recoveryBox, Addiction Recovery App - Your Complete Sobriety Toolbox

Building My Personal Lights Comment (activities) List

Adding your lights and customizing activities for yourself is very easy.  And once you have added your Green Light Category activities, entry will be a snap which WILL raise your compliance during your addiction recovery treatment.

First, comments for Green Lights (which are the activities that you do daily) are really only there for your own accountability and record keeping.  In other words, your accountability partner is going to know how many green lights you are aiming to get a day but doesn't really need to know all of the details.  From day to day these are going to change as you start to take care of yourself more and more.  So to have them know that you took a shower may not be the most important detail but for you it just might be.

(However, yellow and red lights require comments and can't be selected from a list..so this will only apply to your Green Lights.  And your accountability does need to know the why for a yellow or red light.)

To add a comment (an activity) for a Green Light, just click on the Comment(s) field where the Stop Light is.  From there you will be brought to a screen where you can either type in your comment OR you can click the Select From Comments Button. 

Don't worry, just because you want to select from a list for quick data entry doesn't mean that you can't edit it afterwards.  You'll see.

The comment list that you build is based on which Green Light you selected on the initial screen.  In this case, we are working with the G1 Physical Self Care.  You will only see the associated comments (again think activities) which makes it easier so that you are not searching through a long list. 

Now, you may select just one activity if you are the type of user who is entering Green Lights one by one during the day as they occur.  OR, if you are the type of person who wants to do all entry of lights at once then you can select more than one from the list. 

Don't see what you are looking for??  Want to add another more personal activity?  

No problem. Just select Create Personal Comment for Category. 

OK, add what you would like.  Let's say you want to track that you shower each day.  OK.  Add that.  You only have to add it once and it's in your list forever (or until you decide to delete it!  to delete from the list just swipe like all other Apple apps).

OK, select the new activity that you just created and hit done.

Well, since comments are like a personal journal, it would be a shame to have written thoughts and then get them overwritten. The system will prompt your to either Replace your existing comments with the newly selected activities or to Append it to the end of what you already wrote.  

For kicks and giggles select Replace.

OK, you have the ability to change what the comments look like here.  Remember selecting from the list is just for quick data entry but it needs to be personal to you so feel free to edit if you so desire. Now hit save.

And there they are ready to go.  Since I wanted to add all 3 of my G1's at one time I select 3 from the spinner so I get credit for 3 Green G1 lights.  If you want to edit your comments before you Generate Lights , just click the Comment(s) field again and it will allow you to edit them as you please.

Not everyone is going to want to document green lights to such a degree but it's there if you want to.

The idea behind this is to have a number of Green Lights that you are shooting for each day and let your accountability partner know that number.  When you text/email your Lights they will be able to see how many you had for the day.  Change your goal higher and higher as you progress in your treatment and you will start to see how your life style begins to reflect that of someone taking care of yourself.  Your habits will change.

Don't have recoveryBox yet and want to the latest mobile app for addiction recovery, then visit the iPhone Apple app store.

For more information about recoveryBox and all the features, then visit recoveryBox's website.Personal Lights Comments (activities) List.

Random Resource ThuRsday - Inhalants

Many times when we talk about addictions we immediately think about drugs and alcohol. Thinking about inhaling something is not the first thing that comes to mind but it is one of the most easily accessible of "things" to become addicted to.

Think about it, what's under your kitchen sink? Or in your garage? Sniffing inhalants is an addiction that starts when kids are young. Yes, kids DO go in the garage and sniff a can of paint. And just one time can cause irreversible brain damage or even death. It's a horrible addiction.  Keep reading to become educated on inhalants. Parents when you talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol, don't forget this IS a drug even if it's legal to get.

To find out more visit Drug Free World's Post on Inhalants or visit their entire site.  It's filled with loads of information. 

Below is the post from Drug Free World.  Become Educated!

Paul introduces Bridget to recoveryBox the iPhone Addiction Recovery App

Meet Paul and Bridget. Paul is introducing Bridget to recoveryBox, the iPhone app for Addiction Recovery.  Bridget is frustrated with her recovery and how she just doesn't have a good handle on it.

Stay tuned for more to see how the life of Paul and Bridget becomes a relationship of mutual support for themselves and others.

recoverybox, the iPhone Addiction Recovery app!

Break Down of a G2 - Emotional Self-Care Green Lights for Accountability

recoveryBox the mobile iPhone app for addiction recovery uses a system called your "Lights" just like a traffic light.  Green Lights are your good lights meaning go!.  Yellow lights aren't necessarily bad activities but they are the ones that can lead you into some sort of temptation either by being with a person, being at a place or possessing an item that could lead to relapse.  And Red lights do mean an instance of relapse.

If you remember, G1 Green Lights focus on Physical Self-Care during addiction recovery.  These are the healthy daily activities that you do to actually take care of your physical body.  I wrote about how you need to take care of those physical needs first in order to even have a chance of thinking straight and making good choices.

Today I want to focus moving past the physical self care into activities that start to become a little more challenging for us to do.  It's the G2 category of the Green Lights.  G2 lights are the second tier of green lights and  focus on the emotional and treatment activities.  These are the activities that we do to start building connection and make us vulnerable.

Today's green light is G2 - Emotional Self Care.

Emotional self-care is a huge part of recovery.  Most addicts will tell you that they can't even name the emotions they feel even if they are letting themselves have that feeling.  This is where a G2 light comes in.  These are activities for treatment that deal with identifying/acting/dealing with emotions and how that relates to our self-care.

There are tons of resources out there for dealing with emotions so I'm not going to actually go into counseling..as I am not qualified to do that.  But as you work out emotional self-care in your treatment for your addiction recovery, this is where you would add a light for that.

Some example include journaling, reading, spending time with others.  Perhaps for you it's as basic as even identifying your emotions each day or being vulnerable with someone and telling them how you feel.  Those are activities that indicate you are taking care of yourself.

Now these emotions might not always be pretty or even easy to identify but I can speak from experience and say that it is freeing to finally be able to label even the ugly emotions.  For me, I do count identifying an emotion as a G2 because during my journey I needed to identify what those emotions were and to expand my vocabulary.

Perhaps you can easily identify the emotion you are feeling (great job..you are ahead of most addicts in that case) but you need to deal with the emotion in a healthy way.  So perhaps your G2 Emotional Self-Care is more advanced and needs to deal with reacting properly to the emotion.

Or perhaps you just don't allow yourself the time to connect with others or yourself.  Go to coffee with friends and just have a conversation..and it doesn't have to be heavy hearted either.  Read that book you have been wanting to but putting off.  Allow time to take care of yourself from a mental perspective.  These are all G2 Emotional Self-Care activities.

Work with your counselor and accountability partner/sponsor to build a list of activities that you need to work on for G2 - Emotional Self-Care.  I believe that this Green Light is such an important part of addiction recovery.  Identifying emotions and taking care of one-self emotionally is very tiring but it's also healthy.  Once we begin to do this as part of our lifestyle, the heaviness begins to fade and it become part of who we are..and that's a good thing.

Don't have recoveryBox yet?  Download it from the app store now and begin your journey to freedom.

Connect with others on Facebook and "Like" the app page.  Feel free to tell others about how recoveryBox app is part of your journey for your addiction recovery.  And don't forget to count that as a G2 - Emotional Self-Care activity too!

A Gambler's Tale ~ Random Resource ThuRsday

I recently came across (via Twitter) this book.  It's about a normal person like you or me who can easily fall into the trap of a Gambling Addiction.  The thing about what I call "soft"addictions is that you are not ingesting, drinking, sniffing etc any type of substance to get those "high" feelings.    Addictions like gambling, pornography, hoarding, fantasizing is that you can create that same feeling without using a substance.  And it's very dangerous!!

The story is a very quick read but also reflects how quickly an addiction can form and often from such a young age.  Check out the Gambler's website for more information and how you can get the digital book.

That's it for Random Resource ThuRsday!!

recoveryBox Mobile iPhone App Review

I think what helps us best in deciding what tools to use in our lives for addiction recovery is seeing what others have to say.  Yes, recoveryBox, a new iPhone mobile app  has only been in the apple store for less than two weeks but it has been used in counseling for over a year by a great groups of testers.

These were actual testers in group counseling for various addictions including pornography, alcohol, gambling, drugs, food addictions and a few others..and even though the initial idea was born from this process, it got expanded quickly by the simple "I wonder if it could do ...???"

After it went live in the app store, we were checking it out to see what others have to say.  And each and every review is near and dear to us because of our goal of helping others.

Here is what Susanna's Music wrote...

"I'm a food addict in recovery, this tool Equips me for that I needed everyday successful.  I was looking for something that is combine with 12Step Program, and everything in "Celebrate Recovery".  This is it! Always with you on you phone where ever you go. I love the fact that I can txt my accountability partner from it, track my triggers. I'm going to promote it to everyone I know that struggle with hurt and hang-ups.  I think God send it!"


Thanks Susanna's Music.. we at HMHApps wish we could give you a huge hug and say congrats on deciding to recovery from your food addiction.  We're glad recoveryBox helps you and we can only hope it helps others too!!

If you ever have ideas on how to improve the app, let us know!!

Random Resource ThuRsday ~ Healing Emotional Wounds

As part of my Random Resource ThuRsday series, I'll be providing insight into other resources that are out there.  Today's I'm linking to a sight for the topic of "Healing Those Stubborn Emotional Wounds".

We all have some sort of baggage in our past that we have to deal with.  I will admit some more so than others but regardless of how painful it is to open that wound again, it has to be done.  I will not pretend to have any answers on how to go about that because each of us has a personal journey that God is leading us down.  But I do know that whatever that might look like, it has to be done.  

I encourage you to visit with a counselor, pastor, trusted friend, trained professional.  Only you know where you are and what type of pain you can handle but the healing must begin.  Trained professionals really can provide insight and advice on moving forward.

And if you are a friend of someone who is going through some sort of addiction recovery, trust me, just being there to listen is such an amazing gift.  Don't be there to solve problems...but to be a good listener.

"Healing Those Stubborn Emotional Wounds" from PsychCentral.

Random Resource ThuRsday!! recoveryBox iPhone app's 3R's

Tell someone you care about them!

I'm a believer that a website can not only present the service/product they are offering but also random resources that are out there in the community/cyberspace.

So, I'll be offering Random Resource Thursday...it might feature inspirational quotes, websites, other products..you just never know (if you have a suggestion please email it to me for consideration).

This week's random resource..send someone you love a card of encouragement. Recovery from an addiction is a long and often lonely road.  Even if it's someone you just barely know I'm sure they would be encouraged to know that someone notices the change.

So check out these addiction recovery cards.
Please note that I in no way endorse the site or products.  I just thought it's a nice resource to put out there.

Still haven't checked out recoveryBox the iPhone app..well, visit recoveryBox's website to learn more.

recoveryBox iPhone app is LIVE in apple store!!

WOW!! The app went live in a record time of 3 hours.  What does that mean..well, Apple (in their review process) thought it was a well put together app worthy of being in the app store.
recoveryBox in the Apple App Store!

Welcome to recoveryBoxApp!!

Welcome to the recoveryBox App blog!!  It's a blog about a new app for the iPhone coming this fall, 2012 and it's for those who are in recovery for an addiction..just about any addiction.

So you want to know what makes recoveryBox a little different I'm thinking?

Well, an addiction is a behavior repeated over and over and over to the point that it causes harm.  The idea behind recoveryBox is that we need to track our daily events in life to see just what is it we are doing. Yes, we need to make sure that we are even physically well so it's good to track things like we ate 3 squares a day, or that we took our meds, or that we went to group counseling or an AA meeting or Celebrate Recovery meeting.  But we also need to track things during our day that just didn't go so well such as watching that porn video at 3:00 AM. 

Just tracking that we did something is great!  Yes!! But we also need to know the why we did something and how we felt.  Yup, those can really be thought of our triggers.  Combined with that information of the what, where, why, etc we can then be held accountable to a sponsor or accountability partner.  Once you track your day it's easy to just take that next step and send that information to your partner. 

Don't worry, can't remember to enter what you did or even remember to connect with your accountability partner or sponsor..don't worry.  recoveryBox will remind you!

Treatment is not complete without attending counseling..in fact both the individual and group sessions are vital to overcoming this addiction.  You don't have to go it alone!

And if you have ever been in counseling you know that we create treatment goals.  recoveryBox will let you create your goals and journal about the progress too.  If you are part of a 12 Step program, you can even connect your treatment goals to a certain step.

Want to get motivated?  You earn badges by entering your data, or staying accountable, or staying sober (and yes there is even a place to track your sobriety date), and creating goals and MUCH MORE!  I just don't want to ruin it by telling you all the badges that you earn (and there are a bunch too)...surprises are so motivating!

I'll be adding more on the blog about the app and how to get the most out of it as well as helpful information about addiction recovery.  For now, I think that's all.

Well, that's the buzz for today for recoveryBox, the iPhone app for recovery addiction.  Look for it soon in the apple store, fall 2012!