How often have you been so low that you've considered suicide? I know, that's a bold question. But for many in recovery, it's a real question, a serious question . . . because suicide is too often considered. 
Listen to Sam Grittner's blog post from two weeks after his last suicide attempt. I read the post and promptly contacted him for a delightful phone interview and permission to read these two pieces on Recovery Support with Kevin Bergen. 
You can find the original posts here: <a href='https://medium.com/bigger-picture/a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-was-typing-my-suicide-note-1c9d98f78935?source=latest---------4'>A Funny Thing Happened When I Was Typing My Suicide Note . . .</a> and <a href='https://medium.com/art-marketing/how-can-i-help-you-help-yourself-cb5c7ff2e7ce?source=latest---------3'>How Can I Help You Help Yourself</a><a href='http://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'>BECOME A PATRON</a> of Recovery Support. If we get enough patrons, I will release a new episode of Recovery Support at least once a month!RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by <a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'>The Center for Counseling,
Recovery, & Growth</a> and by <a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'>Guy Stuff at CCRG</a>


Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-bisignano-b54a916'>Dana Bisignano</a>

Music for this episode:

“<a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/senne-senne?song=6'>Broken Town</a>” by Brad Senne

“<a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/senne-aerial?song=7'>Out In The Open</a>" by Brad Senne
"<a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/senne-aerial?song=2'>Giving In</a>" by Brad Senne

<description>How often have you been so low that you've considered suicide? I know, that's a bold question. But for many in recovery, it's a real question, a serious question . . . because suicide is too often considered.
Listen to Sam Grittner's blog post from two weeks after his last suicide attempt. I read the post and promptly contacted him for a delightful phone interview and permission to read these two pieces on Recovery Support with Kevin Bergen.
You can find the original posts here: &lt;a href='https://medium.com/bigger-picture/a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-was-typing-my-suicide-note-1c9d98f78935?source=latest---------4'&gt;A Funny Thing Happened When I Was Typing My Suicide Note . . .&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href='https://medium.com/art-marketing/how-can-i-help-you-help-yourself-cb5c7ff2e7ce?source=latest---------3'&gt;How Can I Help You Help Yourself&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href='http://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'&gt;BECOME A PATRON&lt;/a&gt; of Recovery Support. If we get enough patrons, I will release a new episode of Recovery Support at least once a month!&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by &lt;a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'&gt;The Center for Counseling,
Recovery, &amp; Growth&lt;/a&gt; and by &lt;a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'&gt;Guy Stuff at CCRG&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by &lt;a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-bisignano-b54a916'&gt;Dana Bisignano&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Music for this episode:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;“&lt;a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/senne-senne?song=6'&gt;Broken Town&lt;/a&gt;” by Brad Senne&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;“&lt;a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/senne-aerial?song=7'&gt;Out In The Open&lt;/a&gt;" by Brad Senne&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;"&lt;a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/senne-aerial?song=2'&gt;Giving In&lt;/a&gt;" by Brad Senne&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Sam Grittner is a comedian and comic writer. Even his suicide attempt contains humor. And we can learn a lot from his experience and recovery.

042 A Funny Thing Happened

Check out the Recovery Support <a href='https://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'>PATREON site</a>! 
Recitation as Support 



A very special edition of Recovery Support! Kevin takes you in a slightly different direction in this episode as he records during his walk at the beach with two purposes: 1) He shares a personal tool for immediate support whenever you're down or challenged, and 2) he makes a special announcement for the Recovery Support podcast.


 
Clue: he keeps the recorder running after he signs off, so only keep listening to the last 14 minutes or so if you want to relax and walk back to the car with him and hear the people running along the strand, hear the people talking as they pass, hear the loud car that goes by after he climbs the ramp and walks along the Esplanade, hear the helicopter that flies past along the shoreline, hear the guy with the guitar singing, and hear the cordial g'morning to the man crossing the street just before he gets to his car.


Resources mentioned in the showPoem: <a href='http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/bruce_and_the_spider.html'>Bruce and the Spider by Bernard Barton</a><a href='http://www.amazon.com/Bergen-Protocol-Achieve-Your-Goals/dp/1772040622/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1448646381&sr=8-1'>The Bergen Protocol</a> by Kevin Bergen


 
RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by <a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'>The Center for Counseling, Recovery, & Growth </a>and by <a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'>Guy Stuff at CCRG</a> 



RECOVERY SUPPORT is not endorsed or pre-approved by any 12-step fellowship.


 
Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by <a href='http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dana-bisignano/6/a91/b54/'>Dana Bisignano</a>

<description>Check out the Recovery Support &lt;a href='https://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'&gt;PATREON site&lt;/a&gt;!
Recitation as Support

&lt;p style="font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
A very special edition of Recovery Support! Kevin takes you in a slightly different direction in this episode as he records during his walk at the beach with two purposes: 1) He shares a personal tool for immediate support whenever you're down or challenged, and 2) he makes a special announcement for the Recovery Support podcast.&lt;p style="font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

Clue: he keeps the recorder running after he signs off, so only keep listening to the last 14 minutes or so if you want to relax and walk back to the car with him and hear the people running along the strand, hear the people talking as they pass, hear the loud car that goes by after he climbs the ramp and walks along the Esplanade, hear the helicopter that flies past along the shoreline, hear the guy with the guitar singing, and hear the cordial g'morning to the man crossing the street just before he gets to his car.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
Resources mentioned in the showPoem: &lt;a href='http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/bruce_and_the_spider.html'&gt;Bruce and the Spider by Bernard Barton&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href='http://www.amazon.com/Bergen-Protocol-Achieve-Your-Goals/dp/1772040622/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1448646381&amp;sr=8-1'&gt;The Bergen Protocol&lt;/a&gt; by Kevin Bergen
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by &lt;a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'&gt;The Center for Counseling, Recovery, &amp; Growth &lt;/a&gt;and by &lt;a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'&gt;Guy Stuff at CCRG&lt;/a&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
RECOVERY SUPPORT is not endorsed or pre-approved by any 12-step fellowship.
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by &lt;a href='http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dana-bisignano/6/a91/b54/'&gt;Dana Bisignano&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Special episode: Join Kevin Bergen on a walk at the beach.

041 Recitation as Support

Self-care For Success




 

You’ve heard it many times, self-care is a crucial part of
recovery. But just what IS self-care? In The
Bergen Protocol, I lay out a clear explanation of self-care, and then I
describe the structured, quantifiable protocol I devised to elevate your
well-being in order to make you ready for the greatest success of your life!


<a href='https://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'>BECOME A PATRON</a> of Recovery Support!
Links mentioned in the show:

Purchase <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Bergen-Protocol-Achieve-Your-Goals/dp/1772040622/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1442112385&sr=8-1'>The Bergen Protocol</a> on Amazon (print, ebook, and audio book)

Kevin's blog site: 
<a href='http://www.theactioncorps.com/'>TheActionCorps.com</a>Get your S/R Ratio worksheet at <a href='http://www.theactioncorps.com/the-book/'>BergenProtocol.com</a>

 

In this episode of RECOVERY SUPPORT, I share Chapter Two of The Bergen Protocol outlining just who
benefits from this protocol.


 

Readings from SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS (The White Book)
Copyright © 1989-2008 SA Literature 

Used with permission of SA Literature


 

RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by <a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'>The Center for Counseling,
Recovery, & Growth</a> and by <a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'>Guy Stuff at CCRG</a>


 

RECOVERY SUPPORT is not endorsed or pre-approved by any
12-step fellowship

<description>&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style:normal;"&gt;Self-care For Success&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;You’ve heard it many times, self-care is a crucial part of
recovery. But just what IS self-care? In The
Bergen Protocol, I lay out a clear explanation of self-care, and then I
describe the structured, quantifiable protocol I devised to elevate your
well-being in order to make you ready for the greatest success of your life!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'&gt;BECOME A PATRON&lt;/a&gt; of Recovery Support!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;Links mentioned in the show:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;Purchase &lt;a href='http://www.amazon.com/Bergen-Protocol-Achieve-Your-Goals/dp/1772040622/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1442112385&amp;sr=8-1'&gt;The Bergen Protocol&lt;/a&gt; on Amazon (print, ebook, and audio book)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;Kevin's blog site: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;a href='http://www.theactioncorps.com/'&gt;TheActionCorps.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;"&gt;Get your S/R Ratio worksheet at &lt;a href='http://www.theactioncorps.com/the-book/'&gt;BergenProtocol.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;In this episode of RECOVERY SUPPORT, I share Chapter Two of The Bergen Protocol outlining just who
benefits from this protocol.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;Readings from SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS (The White Book)
Copyright © 1989-2008 SA Literature &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;Used with permission of SA Literature&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by &lt;a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'&gt;The Center for Counseling,
Recovery, &amp; Growth&lt;/a&gt; and by &lt;a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'&gt;Guy Stuff at CCRG&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;"&gt;RECOVERY SUPPORT is not endorsed or pre-approved by any
12-step fellowship&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

The Bergen Protocol teaches you specifically how to practice self-care that will raise your well-being, and how that will make you ready to orchestrate the greatest success of your life.

Readings from SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS (The White Book) Copyright © 1989-2008 SA Literature.  Used with permission of SA Literature

RECOVERY SUPPORT is not endorsed or pre-approved by any 12-step fellowship

Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by Dana Bisignano www.linkedin.com/pub/dana-bisignano/6/a91/b54/

040 Self-care For Success

<a href='https://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'>BECOME A PATRON</a> of the Recovery Support Podcast!
A Letter About Doubt

A letter written almost 70 years ago is just as relevant
now. Doubt is one of the most dangerous detractors to recovery. In this
episode, Kevin will share advice written in 1946 to a friend having a very
personal crisis of faith. This may apply to your faith in your own self.


See the <a href='http://lds.net/blog/faith/defending-the-faith/never-seen-letter-doubt-hugh-b-brown/'>first place this letter appeared</a> online in May 2015. 

Readings
from SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS (The White Book) Copyright © 1989-2008 SA Literature. Used with permission of SA Literature
Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by <a href='http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dana-bisignano/6/a91/b54/'>Dana Bisignano</a>

<description>&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.patreon.com/recoverysupport'&gt;BECOME A PATRON&lt;/a&gt; of the Recovery Support Podcast!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-family:Arial, Verdana;"&gt;A Letter About Doubt&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-family:Arial, Verdana;"&gt;A letter written almost 70 years ago is just as relevant
now. Doubt is one of the most dangerous detractors to recovery. In this
episode, Kevin will share advice written in 1946 to a friend having a very
personal crisis of faith. This may apply to your faith in your own self.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-family:Arial, Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-family:Arial, Verdana;"&gt;See the &lt;a href='http://lds.net/blog/faith/defending-the-faith/never-seen-letter-doubt-hugh-b-brown/'&gt;first place this letter appeared&lt;/a&gt; online in May 2015. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-family:Arial, Verdana;"&gt;Readings
from SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS (The White Book) Copyright © 1989-2008 SA Literature. Used with permission of SA Literature&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-family:Arial, Verdana;"&gt;Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by &lt;a href='http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dana-bisignano/6/a91/b54/'&gt;Dana Bisignano&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-family:Arial, Verdana;"&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

A letter written almost 70 years ago is just as relevant now. Doubt is one of the most dangerous detractors to recovery. In this episode, Kevin will share advice written in 1946 to a friend having a very personal crisis of faith. This may apply to your faith in your own self.

039 A Letter About Doubt

Twice-monthly
show offering you support in your recovery from addiction—NOT intended to take
the place of a 12-step program or your individual therapy.

Love-Based Thinking

Criticizing or yelling at someone is a poor method of improving
their behavior.  The same goes for you--negative self-talk will lower your
sense of self-worth and likely increase your attempts to cope with addictive
behavior.  This episode of RECOVERY SUPPORT will help you identify harmful
thinking patterns you've adopted and offer alternatives that you can practice
and master.  Today, Kevin Bergen shares part of <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Addictive-Mind-Yourself-Relationships/dp/0890876231/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377298733&sr=1-1&keywords=jampolsky+healing+the+addictive+mind'>Healing the Addictive Mind</a> by <a href='http://www.drleejampolsky.com/'>Lee L.
Jampolsky, Ph.D.</a>

Call now to leave your question to be answered on a future episode
of RECOVERY SUPPORT with Kevin Bergen: (310) 697-8893 (international callers,
dial 00 1 310-697-8893)

RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by <a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'>The Center for Counseling, Recovery, &
Growth</a> and by <a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'>Guy
Stuff at CCRG</a>

Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by <a href='http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dana-bisignano/6/a91/b54'>Dana Bisignano</a> 

Incidental music for this episode by <a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/chad_lawson'>Chad
Lawson</a> from the albums, <a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/chadlawson-sethill/'>Set on Hill</a> and <a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/chadlawson-thepiano/'>The Piano</a>

<description>Twice-monthly
show offering you support in your recovery from addiction—NOT intended to take
the place of a 12-step program or your individual therapy.

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px"&gt;Love-Based Thinking&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px"&gt;Criticizing or yelling at someone is a poor method of improving
their behavior.  The same goes for you--negative self-talk will lower your
sense of self-worth and likely increase your attempts to cope with addictive
behavior.  This episode of RECOVERY SUPPORT will help you identify harmful
thinking patterns you've adopted and offer alternatives that you can practice
and master.  Today, Kevin Bergen shares part of &lt;a href='http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Addictive-Mind-Yourself-Relationships/dp/0890876231/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377298733&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=jampolsky+healing+the+addictive+mind'&gt;Healing the Addictive Mind&lt;/a&gt; by &lt;a href='http://www.drleejampolsky.com/'&gt;Lee L.
Jampolsky, Ph.D.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px"&gt;Call now to leave your question to be answered on a future episode
of RECOVERY SUPPORT with Kevin Bergen: (310) 697-8893 (international callers,
dial 00 1 310-697-8893)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px"&gt;RECOVERY SUPPORT is brought to you by &lt;a href='http://www.centercrg.com/'&gt;The Center for Counseling, Recovery, &amp;
Growth&lt;/a&gt; and by &lt;a href='http://www.guystuffcenter.com/'&gt;Guy
Stuff at CCRG&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px"&gt;Theme music: Recovery Support theme music by &lt;a href='http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dana-bisignano/6/a91/b54'&gt;Dana Bisignano&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px"&gt;Incidental music for this episode by &lt;a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/chad_lawson'&gt;Chad
Lawson&lt;/a&gt; from the albums, &lt;a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/chadlawson-sethill/'&gt;Set on Hill&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href='http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/chadlawson-thepiano/'&gt;The Piano&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>

Criticizing or yelling at someone is a poor method of improving their behavior.  The same goes for you--negative self-talk will lower your sense of self-worth and likely increase your attempts to cope with addictive behavior.  This episode of RECOVERY SUPPORT will help you identify harmful thinking patterns you've adopted and offer alternatives that you can practice and master.  Incidental music by Chad Lawson.

038 Love-Based Thinking

Support for those in recovery from addiction.  Weekly show with psychotherapist, Kevin Bergen, MA, MFT

Recovery Support

Details

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