24 Seven February 2022

Personalized
Actions
T owards
Health
www.prospectfitness.com/path
1004 Beverley Road Brooklyn, NY 11218
347-413-6390 info@prospectfitness.com
www.prospectfitness.com

DISCOVER
YOUR INNATE WISDOM
AND
CHANGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP
WITH YOUR BODY
IT'S YOUR BIRTHRIGHT TO LOVE THE BODY YOU'RE IN.
CHANGING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BODY STARTS WITH SELF-LOVE.
AND THAT - CHANGES YOUR LIFE!
CONTACT US TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT FOR GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL
SESSIONS ON YOUR SCHEDULE. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.
Follow Us On Social Media
@FindBodyFreedom
ILENE LESHINSKY
FOUNDER
ILENELESHINSKY@GMAIL.COM
Join the Movement Today!
WWW.FINDBODYFREEDOM.COM

EDITOR IN CHIEF
Joan Herrmann
—
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Lindsay Pearson
—
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Matt Herrmann
—
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Chris Giordano
Andrea Valentie
Oliver Pane
—
CONTRIBUTORS
Rick Hanson, PhD
Rena Greenberg
Gayle M. Gruenberg
Joan Herrmann
Linda Mitchell, CPC

FROM THE EDITOR
—
As we travel through the journey of life,
we may stumble upon a person who changes
the trajectory of where we thought we were
heading. Sometimes the change is a minor
reroute, but other times it re-charts our
direction. For Mitch Albom that person was
Morrie Schwartz.
Mitch was a successful and ambitious
sportswriter who wrote for newspapers,
appeared on ESPN television, and did radio.
He often worked 90 plus hours per week
climbing the proverbial ladder. One day while
flipping through television channels, he caught
the Nightline program and on the screen saw a
thin, sickly, white haired version of his college
professor – Morrie Schwartz - with whom he
had been very close, but hadn’t seen in years.
He learned through the program that Morrie
was dying from Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Feeling guilty about not staying in touch,
he decided to call his professor. At the end
of the conversation Morrie asked him to visit
and he agreed, thinking it would be a one
and done meeting. But the visit made such
an impression on Mitch that he decided to
return weekly on Tuesdays. From those visits
he gained insight about what was important in
life from a man who was dying. According to
Mitch, their rekindled relationship turned into
one final class: lessons in how to live.
“Everything that he felt was important
were things that I was not valuing in my life,”
said Mitch. “And so from that point forward I
started turning things around.”
One of the biggest lessons that had a
profound impact on Mitch was the importance
of giving. He recalled times people visited
Morrie with the intention of cheering him up,
but before long, the tables were turned and
Morrie would be holding their hand trying
to help them with whatever challenges they
faced.
Divorce, love life, work issues, he helped
them all. After witnessing this time and time
again, Mitch finally asked why he didn’t take
their sympathy. Why did he give them more
than they gave him? To this Morrie replied:
“Mitch, taking like that just makes me feel like
I’m dying. Giving makes me feel like I’m living.”
Hearing those words, I realized that if what
made a man who had weeks left on this earth
feel the most alive was giving, then that had to
be true for those of us in our younger, healthier
years, said Mitch. “I started my first charity
that year and have been deeper and deeper
into that world ever since.”
Today, Mitch has multiple charitable
operations in the Detroit area committed to
“lifting our neediest when they stumble.” He
also operates an orphanage in Haiti, which he
visits monthly. He noted that he sleeps better
on the orphanage’s four-inch mattress than he
does anywhere else in the world.
Mitch’s advice to find contentment? Find
someone who needs your help and you’ll be
amazed at how good you’ll feel about your
days.
Listen to my conversation with Mitch:
www.cyacyl.com/shows/mitch-albom
— Joan Herrmann

MITCH ALBOM
ISSUE NO.136

INSIDE THIS
ISSUE
CHOOSE TO LOVE
BY RICK HANSON, PHD
PAGE 12
ON THIS MONTH’S
COVER
MITCH ALBOM SHARES HOW A MAN NAMED MORRIE
SCHWARTZ CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF HIS LIFE,
AND HOW MORRIE’S LESSONS CAN CHANGE OURS, TOO.
IT’S TIME TO FACE YOUR FEARS
BY JOAN HERRMANN
PAGE 18
LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION WITH MITCH:
www.cyacyl.com/shows/mitch-albom
TIPS TO SPEED UP YOUR WEIGHT LOSS
BY RENA GREENBERG
PAGE 22
FINDING FULFILLMENT IN EVERYDAY LIFE
BY LINDA MITCHELL
PAGE 24
THE IMPOSSIBLE TASK
BY GAYLE M. GRUENBERG
PAGE 28
WHEN YOUR CHILD IS AN ADDICT:
A MOTHER’S JOURNEY
BY BOOK CLUB
PAGE 30
PHOTO CREDIT: GLENN TRIEST/TRIEST PHOTOGRAPHIC
24 SEVEN MAGAZINE

Need a personal
or professional
plan to ensure
success in your
new normal?
5 Days to
Clarity: Your
Easy Roadmap
Change is
Constant!
Be Prepared
Be Successful
to C.H.A.N.G.E.
Click below for your free Roadmap to
Change
https://bit.ly/LivingInspiredOffer

ISSUE
NO.136
FEBRUARY
2022
CHOOSE
TO
LOVE
Many years ago, I was in a significant relationship in
which the other person started doing things that surprised
and hurt me. I’ll preserve the privacy here so I won’t be
concrete, but it was pretty intense. After going through
the first wave of reactions – What?! How could you? Are
you kidding me?! – I settled down a bit. I had a choice.
Written by Rick Hanson, PhD

T
This relationship was important to me, and I could see
that a lot of what was going through the mind over there was
really about the other person and not about me. I began to
realize that the freest, strongest, and the most self-respecting
thing that I could do was both to tell the person that we were
on very thin ice . . . and to choose to love meanwhile.
To my surprise, instead of turning me into a doormat or
punching bag, love protected and fueled me. It kept me out of
contentiousness and conflict and gave me a feeling of worth.
I was interested in what the other person was going to do, but
in a weird way, I didn’t care that much. I felt fed and carried
by love, and how the other person responded was out of my
hands.
I got interested in “loving at will,” in how to go to the upper
end of the range of what is authentically available to a person
in terms of feeling or expressing compassion, good wishes,
and warmth. You shouldn’t falsify what’s truly going on with
you, nor let yourself be mistreated. But whatever this range
is for you at any moment in any relationship, it’s your choice
where you land within it.
I became less caught up in how I wanted the other person to
think and feel and act, and more focused on my own practice
of finding and re-finding some sense of love. It felt kind of
like I was strengthening the heart like a muscle. I joked with
myself that I was doing love pushups (not the sexual kind!).
If it’s authentically within reach, you can deliberately,
even willfully settle yourself in love as a central quality in
your mind. This is not phony: the love that’s there in you is
genuinely there. In fact, choosing to love is twice loving: it’s
a loving act to call up the intention to love, plus there is the
love that follows.
Looking back, my shift out of quarreling and into a healthy
feeling of lovingness helped things get better with this person.
And the relationship taught me a good lesson: Love is more
about us being loving than about other people being lovable.
Start with someone that’s easy to feel love around. Relax a
bit. Take a breath or two and come home to yourself. Sense
into the area of your chest and heart. Be aware of what
compassion and kindness feel like; perhaps call up the sense
of a time when you felt very loving. Ask yourself, can I feel
loving now? Open to a natural warm-heartedness. Choose
to love.
Take a dozen seconds to open to feeling as loving as you
can in your body. Take in this experience, let it sink into you.
This will strengthen the neural trace of the experience – a
kind of emotional memory – and make it easier to call up
the next time. Also register the sense of deliberateness, of
choosing to love.
Then try these methods with someone you feel more
neutral about, such as a stranger on the street. Eventually,
try this approach with someone who is difficult for you.
It could help to be more aware of the other person’s
stresses, worries, and longings. Without staring, look closely
at him or her for ten seconds or so. Can you let your heart be
moved by this face?
Get a sense of the different external and internal forces
pushing and pulling the other person this way and that
– perhaps leading him or her to do things that hurt you
or others. Let your eyes relax and get a sense of the bigger
picture. Disentangle from the parts, and open into the whole.
Let love be there alongside whatever else is present in your
relationship with the other person. There is love . . . and there
is also seeing what is true about the other person, yourself,
and circumstances affecting both of you. There is love . . . and
there is also taking care of your own needs in the relationship.
Love first. The rest will follow.
About The Author
RICK HANSON
Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow
of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley,
and New York Times best-selling author.
To Learn More Visit:
www.RickHanson.net

SMOKING
DOUBLE
CAN
COVID-19
PROGRESSION
IT TIME
ISN'T
QUIT TO
Mary Beth Battaglia
Certified Clinical
Hypnosis Practitioner
Video Hypnosis
Sessions For
Individuals And
Groups
SMOKING
WITH
www.metrohypnosiscenter.com
HYPNOSIS?
Call For A Free
Video
Consultation
201-477-0265

February 2022 Issue
It’s Time To Face Your Fears
Written by Joan Herrmann
D
Do you allow fear to stop you
dead in your tracks whenever you think about trying
something new? Does that voice in your head conjure up
a list of reasons to be inactive, why you shouldn’t try to
accomplish a goal?
For most of my life, I was that person, too afraid to
take a chance, self-sabotaging myself at every turn. I had
a reason for every roadblock that I built; I allowed fear
to govern my life.
It took a major life upheaval and a lot of soul searching
to get me to change my ways. And when I did, I realized
that I hadn’t really lived - I played it safe and simply
survived.
Over the course of the past decade, I have had the
opportunity to interview people that have inspired
and challenged me to step outside of the comfort
zone I called life. I met warriors who have overcome
tremendous challenges and displayed courage that most
can only imagine They changed my way of thinking!
Some of these people were born without arms and
legs, or feet, or hands; others have lost their vision or
the ability to walk; and others have survived horrific
trauma and now live their life in service to others.
Every one of these people had every right to live in
fear as they faced unfathomable challenges, but they
all chose to confront their limitations and achieve
what many would consider to be “impossible”. They
understood that fear is nothing more than a mindset, a
perception, False Evidence Appearing Real. They taught
me that each time we face our fear, we gain strength,
courage and confidence in the doing.
So, the next time you’re faced with an overwhelming
challenge, an opportunity to try something new, or the
chance to step out of your comfort zone, how do you
push fear aside and take action?
1. Evaluate the driving force behind your fear. Is it a
real consideration or something that you have created
in your mind?
2. Make a list of your concerns and attack them one
by one. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that can
happen?” (btw…it usually doesn’t).
3. Develop a plan of action. What is your goal and how
will you achieve it? Empower yourself with knowledge.
4. Muster up the courage and take a chance. The best
plans are meaningless without action. As the explorer
Christopher Columbus said, “You can never cross the
ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the
shore.”
Remember, it isn’t the end result that matters … it’s
the journey. You may just enjoy the ride!
About The Author
JOAN HERRMANN
Joan Herrmann is the creator of the Change Your
Attitude…Change Your life brand and host of the radio
show and podcast, Conversations with Joan. She is a
motivational speaker and the publisher of 24 Seven
magazine.
To Learn More Visit:
www.JoanHerrmann.com

Odette Coronel
Relationship Coach
Do You....
Love your Partner, but know your
marriage could be better?
Always do what you have to do,
NEVER what you want to do?
Are you ready to....
Create the best Marriage possible?
Feel loved, wanted, appreciated?
Feel sexier and more confident?
Put Yourself Last on your
Priority List?
Feel a lack of connection in your
Relationship?
Do all the things you WANT to do?
Live Your Best Life and Become
the BEST Version of You?
Book a FREE Discovery Session
odettecoronel.com/olw

B”H
Virtual and On-Site Organizing Services
Individuals
Chronic Disorganization
Busy Professionals
Life Transitions
Businesses
Home Offices
Corporations
Organizing as an Employee Benefit
201-613-2733
www.LGOrganized.com

Tips to Speed
Up Your
Weight Loss
Written by Rena Greenberg
You’ve been eating less, sweating at the gym,
reaching for healthy meals and passing by the
old snacks that used to call out to you, and still
the scale numbers aren’t budging. Have you ever
had the experience of feeling like you are doing
everything “right” but not getting the desired
result? You may wonder with frustration what is
going on and why your weight loss is so slow.
Here are a few tips to help you get through
those times when it feels like your weight loss has
slowed down to almost a complete halt.
Keep going. Just because you aren’t seeing
the results you are looking for yet, is no reason
to give up. In all areas of your life where you are
successful, it’s often a journey to get to where you
want to go. The only one who fails is the one who
gives up. Besides, there’s really no going back once
you remember how awful it was to be controlled
by food and to literally be putting poison into your
body. As you re-train your brain and keep hitting
the re-set button, every time you practice self
hypnosis, you’ll start to realize that you’ve come
too far — there’s no going back.
Be patient. Give yourself the gift of time. Even
if you were only to lose one pound a month,
you would still be going in the right direction.
One of my dear clients, Cathy McHugh, came
to me for gastric bypass hypnosis. When she
first arrived, she could barely walk. Within
nine months, she had lost 90 pounds and was

ecstatic. Then the weight loss
completely stopped. Nothing
for six more months! As of
today, she’s down 130 pounds.
Imagine if she had turned
around and started going in
the wrong direction. Instead
she continued to practice her
hypnosis and have faith. It’s
such a joy to get Cathy’s annual
vacation photos and see her
beaming, healthy, at her ideal
weight.
Appreciate your progress.
Instead of beating up on
yourself, begin to send yourself
some appreciation. Have you
ever watched a child learn
to walk? When it fell down,
did you want to yell, “What’s
wrong with you?” Of course,
not! Your instinct was surely
to encourage that child. In
the same way, encourage
yourself for all your efforts and successes. Don’t
only measure success by the number on the
scale. Instead measure winning by your actions
and accomplishments. Did you take the time to
prepare a salad today and bring it to work instead
of pulling into a fast food restaurant like you may
have before? Give yourself a big smile, pat on
the back, and deep encouragement, praise and
gratitude.
Heal your emotional patterns. See your
frustration as a great opportunity to heal your
own emotional patterns. Notice the familiarity of
the feelings you are having right now. Realize that
no matter what your life situation, your thought
habits are repetitive and predictable. This is a
great opportunity to break that old cycle. Without
judgment, open your awareness. Be brave and let
yourself experience any “dark” feelings of shame,
anger, victimhood, fear, insecurity and jealousy.
Whatever comes up for you, you no longer need
to push down again. You can bring your feelings
into the light of day to be acknowledged and healed.
It’s time to hold yourself, instead of rejecting the
parts of you that you feel uncomfortable with.
Imagine a huge, radiant sun in your heart that
can contains all your feelings — both the wanted
and the unwanted ones. Imagine that the dark
emotions passing through you can be healed by
the light that’s in the core of your being — the
light that is part of your true Spirit. Ask to release
judgment and criticism of yourself.
From The Story
“Don’t only
measure success
by the number
on the scale.
Instead measure
winning by your
actions and
accomplish–
ments.”
Stop suppressing any discomfort within you. You
no longer need to bury your emotions with food.
Instead, summon your inner courage, breathe light
into all your emotions and let this light expand
and wash over you. You are much stronger than
you think. Also, you are not alone. The feelings that
feel unmanageable to you are simply your share
of the feelings that all of humanity experiences.
By bringing them into the light deep within you,
and witnessing them, you can channel them into
positive energy — even if that is simply compassion
for others and for yourself.
Shift your mindset. Reinstate a sense of certainty
within yourself that you are moving in the right
direction. Feel with every cell of your body the
inner knowing that you deserve to be happy and
to live the creative, happy life that your heart longs
for. Know that weight loss is only the side benefit of
living your life with authentic freedom — freedom
to choose what your inner wisdom knows is best
for you. Make a decision to release the old habits
of thought and action that no longer serve you.
Decide to love all parts of yourself, even those that
in the past you may have been ashamed of.
Embrace your humanity while more and more
embodying your divinity. Practice self-hypnosis
every day to help you get more and more connected
to your authentic self.
Never give up and know that all good things
happen in their own time. Your job is to keep
consciously moving towards living the life that
you know is best for you. That means embodying
the new habits of healthy eating, eating only just
enough to satisfy your physical hunger and moving
your body for balance, stress relief and energy.
Focus on cleansing your mind daily and nourishing
your body. And if you must look back, do so only
long enough to see how far you’ve come!
About The Author
RENA GREENBERG
Rena Greenberg is an author, healthcare expert,
and educator whose programs are sponsored
by over 75 US hospitals and 100 major US
corporations, including Disney, Home Depot,
and AT&T. She has helped over 200,000 people
find their journey to health. Her weight loss
and smoking cessation programs, as well as
her organic CBD line of wellness products have
been featured widely in the national press.
To Learn More Visit:
www.EasyWillpower.com

ISSUE NO.136 FEBRUARY 2022
FINDING
FULFILLMENT
IN
EVERYDAY
LIFE
Written by Linda Mitchell

I
It’s safe to say that most
people are seeking fulfillment in their life, yet many
are unsure of how to actually get there, especially when
we’re constantly satisfying obligations and navigating the
details of daily life. Finding fulfillment is an intentional
journey. When we find and follow our soul’s longing, we
open a direct path to feeling fulfilled.
While there’s no specific formula that guarantees
fulfillment, there are important steps that help us pursue
and achieve satisfaction and fulfillment. It doesn’t have
to be challenging; it can even be fun and it’s definitely
easier with consistent action. Here are the critical pieces.
Ask yourself if you’re acting on these most days:
Pursue your passions. Our passions drive us and
motivate us. When we pursue things that bring us
pleasure and a sense of purpose, we can’t help but feel
more fulfilled. Passions are those things we feel excited
about, and they’re generally tied to our values and
convictions which means that they hold deep meaning
and significance. Following our passions gives our lives
an overall sense of value, purpose and worth, leading to
greater fulfillment.
Be true to yourself. When we’re our authentic selves it
naturally leads to greater fulfillment. Joy is diminished by
having to pretend to be someone else or having to mask
who we really are in order to please others. But when
we’re our authentic selves, it frees us to experience true
satisfaction. It’s helpful to care less about what others
think of us and more about what our true selves need in
order to shine. This is when we feel more aligned, more
confident in who we truly are and more empowered to
live the life we desire.
Help others. There are few things more fulfilling in life
than helping others. When we can set our own pursuits
and desires aside to help another person improve their
lives or obtain their dreams, it helps us feel we’re making
a difference and having a positive impact in the lives of
others. I’ve always found helping others to be a win-win
as it brings happiness to both the giver and receiver.
Challenge yourself. Functioning at status quo can
be dull and uninspiring. Pursuing challenging goals or
activities which push us slightly beyond our comfort
zone makes life more exciting and interesting. Even a
modest expansion of activities that stimulate us mentally
or physically can be the boost needed to help us feel a
sense of personal growth and accomplishment.
Live in the moment. Being in the moment is an
important function of finding fulfillment in life.
Sometimes when we focus too much on the past, it can
cause us to harp on negative experiences or mistakes
made. When we focus too much on the future, it can
lead to anxiety, worry and stress about what we imagine
could happen. We often miss the little blessings or
special moments because we’re already thinking of the
next place we need to be. However, when we live in the
moment, we can freely enjoy what is right in front of us.
This breeds gratitude and a sense of appreciation that
helps us experience fulfillment and satisfaction in our
lives in a real way. We miss less and enjoy more of each
day.
These practices help us focus on more positives, be
more authentic, and experience more joy, thus creating a
life that makes us feel much happier and more fulfilled.
Intentionally acting on them will not only have a positive
impact on us and those around us, but we can expect
to find a deeper sense of happiness, joy and fulfillment.
What’s one thing you can do today to create a greater
sense of fulfillment in your life?
About The Author
LINDA MITCHELL
Linda Mitchell is a board-certified transition coach, speaker,
reinvention expert and LMT. She empowers people who are
stuck, overwhelmed, or ready for change, to release their
struggle, gain clarity, balance and meaningful direction as
they move through life’s challenges and transitions and step
into their highest purpose.
To Learn More Visit:
www.LivingInspiredCoaching.com

Allison
Carmen
MAYBE
I can help you?
I am an Author, Business Consultant, Business/Life Coach and
podcaster ready to provide you with the tools to grow or start
your business, find a new career, let go of your stress and
worry, manage life changes or find more fulfillment.
The Best Gift Of Maybe
Published by Penguin Random
House.
Many things are beyond our
control, but the mindset of Maybe
presents a simple, powerful way to
stay connected to what’s possible,
and work to make it happen.
10 Minutes To Less Suuering
Allison Carmen, Self-help author
and Life Coach, presents different
techniques to reduce your stress
and worry in less than 10 minutes!
Event Speaker
Self-help and inspirational speaker available for
conferences, workshops and corporate events.
Life/Business Coaching
Career changes, Reduction of daily stress and worry, Goal
Setting/Implementation, Increased fulfillment in daily
business/personal life.
Business Consulting
Business and financial advice including financial analysis
and marketing for increased profit and expansion.
I have a background in accounting, and I am a licensed
attorney with LLM in taxation. You can find me blogging for
Psychology Today, Huffington Post, Thrive Global
and Mind Body Green.
CHECK OUT WWW.ALLISONCARMEN.COM TODAY!
Contact: ALLISONNALLISONCARMEN.COM
Rates and References upon request

February 2022 Issue
The Impossible Task
Written by Gayle M. Gruenberg, CPO-CD ® , CVPO
I
Is there one thing you absolutely,
positively cannot do, and you don’t
understand why?
The task could be anything, like making
a bed, doing dishes, paying a bill, or going
food shopping. It could be assigning a
home for a category of items or putting
something back where it belongs after
using it. It could be a project at work
that you know you have the skills and
bandwidth to complete, but you just can’t
take the first step.
This may be your impossible task.
The term “the impossible task” was
coined in 2018 by M. Molly Backes to
describe the overwhelm, guilt, shame,
and complete inability to do something
necessary that appears simple and
otherwise easy to perform on its surface.
The longer the task goes undone, the more
the pressure and desire to do it continue
to build, as does the inability to actually
get it done, and the self-recrimination
over not being able to do it.
Organizing can be the impossible task
for many people. They may know what
they need to do, have the physical ability
to do it, and understand why it needs to
be done, but they just can’t initiate the
action.
The underlying cause of this lack of
motivation can be varied. It is not laziness.
It can be a symptom and a side-effect of
some anti-depressants. It may be one
aspect of anxiety. People with traumatic
brain injury or PTSD can experience the
feeling. The impossible task is how people
with depression describe how it feels to
not be able to do something.
How can someone manage the feeling
of the impossible task? First, let go of
the guilt. Recognize the challenge as a
symptom of an underlying condition
rather than a character flaw. Treat yourself
gently. Break a task down to manageable
pieces. Combine the task with something
very enjoyable, like listening to music
while vacuuming. Delegate the task to
someone who loves to do it. Get support
from a friend or professional.
About The Author
GAYLE M. GRUENBERG
Gayle M. Gruenberg, CPO-CD ® , CVPO
is the chief executive organizer of
Let’s Get Organized, LLC, an organizer
coach, and the creator of the Make
Space for Blessings system.
To Learn More Visit:
www.LGOrganized.com

2022
What are your
financial goals for 2022?
Let's work together! Meet your goals
by having a solid plan in place!
CONTACT ME:
Email: ktobie@thefortisagency.com
Phone: 908-247-8799
Website: www.thefortisagency.com
Kate Tobie
Financial Professional

BOOK
CLUB
WHEN YOUR
CHILD IS
AN ADDICT:
A MOTHER’S
JOURNEY
FEATURED
STORY
Parents dream of their children living a happy,
healthy life. All they ever want for them is the best
of everything. So when their child develops a drug
addiction, it can be completely devastating. Drug
addiction is a progressive problem and the longer
one goes without help, the stronger the addiction
becomes. When an addiction is very strong,
people will do anything to feed the need.
The difficult part for families and those who
love an addict is that no matter how much they
want their loved one to be the person they know,
nothing will change until the addict decides that
he or she wants to quit.
Linda Henderson, author of the book, Wake
Up, Mom!: Can’t You See Your Son Is An Addict?,
shares her emotional journey through her son’s
addictive years. She chronicles their family’s life
and its downward spiral after a prescription
drug, meant to aid her son’s ADHD, caused a
nightmarish sequence of events that nearly
destroyed him.
In a recent conversation, Linda discussed some
of the lessons that she learned.
On recognizing the warning signs:
If your child is taking any prescribed drug,
especially those to treat ADHD, pay attention!
I spent years missing what should have been
obvious signs. I now realize that as a parent I
should have been more attuned to the changes in
his behavior. My son’s appearance changed, as did
his sleeping habits, and his personality. He became
secretive and his communication was guarded.
He experienced a myriad of health problems and
constant financial difficulties. I attributed his
recurring, bizarre, and often ridiculous behaviors
to not taking his medication. I didn’t realize he
was addicted to it. If you’re not sure, seek the help
of a professional.
On the damage addiction causes to a user:
It cost my son nearly everything, including his
life. He lost his job, then several subsequent jobs.
He was financially dependent on me for years
and years. With that comes a loss of self esteem.
His financial situation was abysmal to say the
least. His addiction cost him his health; he had
multiple surgeries as a result of prolonged drug
use. He has lost at least half of his teeth. And he
had to regain the trust and respect of friends and
families, which was lost a result of the addiction.
On what happens to the family:
My son’s words: “Addiction not only held me

hostage, but held my family prisoner as well.” This
insidious disease can challenge and often ruin
even the strongest of families. Addiction affects
the family emotionally, financially, and even
medically and legally. My son’s addiction, like so
many others, caused strain and conflict in our
family. My daughters and I disagreed constantly
about this and it led to heated discussions. I always
defended him saying he was under the care of a
doctor and taking a prescribed drug, which he
was. I think my daughters saw the problem before
I did. We argued about the money I was spending
on him. The close relationship we always had was
tested constantly by our disagreements over their
brother. The closeness they all had as siblings
began to unravel as soon as the abuse began. It
is only now, over 20 years later, they are getting
back to the close relationship they once had.
On turning the corner:
This is an interesting topic because when
my son first when to rehab and returned
home, I knew there was still a lot of work to
be done. I knew we were on the right path and
I was determined to have him stay clean. But a
recovering addict is always that – recovering - and
is never fully healed. They are always fighting it.
Every family of an addict needs to know this. Part
of my brain told me he was “cured” the first time
out of rehab. I had a lot to learn. Every parent of
an addict needs to arm themselves with as much
information about the recovery process as they
can. It is a lifelong process.
On helping loved ones through addiction:
A recovering addict needs support and love
every day to keep them on that path. The family
needs support groups as well as the one suffering
from addiction in order to not only help their
loved one, but to help themselves. The most
important part for me was to never to give up.
Even though there were numerous setbacks and
multiple rehabs, I never stopped losing hope that
he would find his way. His recovery was a result
of love and support by his family, his girlfriend,
friends, and by the Recovery Center of America
program he was in, which constantly monitored
his actions.
On publicly disclosing her son’s addiction:
One of the first questions I get from people
when I tell them the topic of my book is, “Is he
okay with you talking about this?” This is best
addressed by his post. On the date of the book’s
From The Story
“Drug
addiction is
a progressive
problem and
the longer
one goes
without help,
the stronger
the addiction
becomes.”
publication, August 20, he posted a lengthy
statement on Facebook, which started:
“If there was ever was a “good day” to publicly
disclose for the first time, a personal part of
oneself by identifying as an addict in recovery,
today would be it. I am an addict in recovery. The
first time I ever said those words was March 7,
2011.” He goes on.” I am not embarrassed nor am
I ashamed about what has been written. Instead
I am grateful. I am grateful to have made close
friendships with those also in recovery. I am
grateful for a career where each day I show up
to work I see firsthand, what the depravity of the
disease looks like. I am grateful to have had the
chance to live another day. I am grateful for the
chance to help others. I am grateful simply for the
fact I have learned to be grateful. I am also grateful
for my mother.”
He now has a career that he loves, as an intake
nurse in a rehab facility, where he faces the reality
everyday of addiction and the effects on the
families.
On why she wrote the book:
I put our story out there so others could see
they are not alone. Many have told me they could
relate to so many incidents and had experienced
the same struggles. Our journey is not unlike
others. I have found in talking with people there is
hardly anyone who has not been touched in some
way by addiction. When I wrote our story, I was
seeking answers as to what I had missed and if I
was somehow responsible for his demise. My son
viewed it as a healing process for me, which indeed
it became. Once it was finished and he read it, he
agreed that our story may help other families.
One of my favorite Amazon reviews is: “If you
have a family member with addiction, this may
help you, you are not crazy.”
On offering hope:
My message in Wake Up Mom, is don’t give
up. My hope is that our story of chaos and
determination will inspire others and encourage
them to be the much needed support their loved
ones need. The addict cannot do it alone. The
family needs to be part of the process of recovery.
Part of my recovery as a mother was writing. I
encourage all parents or loved ones of an addict, to
at least speak their voice, share their experiences
and not to let it consume you. It can only help you
in the healing process.
To learn more visit: www.lindaleehenderson.com