Emerging Strength

10/22/2026

The sober living marketplace is complicated. There are verified programs, certified programs, coalition approved programs, random programs, and mom and pops trying to help someone. I am so glad to see more resources available than we had back in the day.

Almost every single one of them is 12 step based or religious. That's great if that's who you are.

As a substance abuse specialist, I have an obligation to help people find resources that match their needs. So, where does a non-religious person or a person who doesn't 12 step find sober living that fits for them?

Please leave a comment or message me if you have information that can help another person find recovery and freedom from addiction.

10/21/2026

There is more to recovery than talking about how bad things were.

Live well.

10/15/2026

We have been vulnerable to marketing for a long time. That isn't new. Snake oil salesmen have been around a long time. We are seeing more Kratom recently.

The typical user is middle-aged, college educated, married and employed. They are attracted to the promise of energy and pain relief without needing a prescription.

This points directly at our experience with chronic conditions and lifestyle issues that are painful, uncomfortable, and grind on us until we want relief.

Wanting relief isn't a problem but it sets us up for a "coping treadmill". At the end of everyday we feel defeated, drained, and searching for a little helper, something to get us by. The choices we make in these moments really matter. We either move toward what's really important or we just get a moments relief.

Kratom is marketed as a natural supplement. But that doesn't make it risk free. It binds to opioid receptors creating possible long term effects like severe physical dependence or addiction, flu like withdrawal, and a cycle of use that threatens the lifestyle we initially were trying to protect.

If you find yourself at a choice point; contemplating relief or a move toward valued living you are not alone. Make more toward moves and you build a life you love. Choose more relief moves and you risk getting stuck on the treadmill.

At Emerging Strength we help people find their strength in these moment.

09/27/2026

Remember the pandemic, alcohol consumption went through the roof.

That level of consumption has dropped from peak levels, but not for everyone.

A recent study says people age 50 to 64 have continued to drink more.

At Emerging Strength we help people find what's workable for them.

What's workable when it comes to alcohol consumption?

That depends on each individual.

Abstinence isn't the only way.

And 12 Step programs like AA aren't the only help out there.

If your drinking is more than you or a loved one is comfortable with, then let's talk about your options.

Find your strength and live a life you love.

09/06/2026

Here is a very brief outline for living well, part of our life lessons coaching at Emerging Strength.

Lesson 1. Your money belongs in your pocket.

Lesson 2. Everyone works for money.

Lesson 3. Nothing is free.

Lesson 4. Taxation is theft.

Lesson 5. Control your wanting or you will always be broke.

Lesson 6. Your money isn't allowed to be lazy; put it to work.

Lesson 7. You get to choose what a rich and fulfilling life is to you.

Lesson 8. You have one life.

Lesson 9. Life is suffering. It's also beautiful, learn to navigate both.

Lesson 10. You can do difficult things.

Lesson 11. Life has 3 epochs: childhood, adulthood, elderhood. Each requires new skills and strengths.

Lesson 12: If you're stuck in a loop; get a coach and get back on track.

09/02/2026

The work we do at Emerging Strength is about living our lives moving toward who and what is important to us.

The values list behind the important category is complicated. It's a moving target day by day and over the long term we can clearly see a handful of deeply meaningful aspirational values.

This morning I woke up to a simple phrase, "chop wood carry water".

Survival is often about mundane things, daily tasks, boring, laborious things that simply must be done.

These are often uncomfortable. And we like to avoid them. They trigger irritability, complaining, and we think we are suffering.

The real challenge with "chop wood carry water" is acceptance.

What uncomfortable thing do you need to embrace with acceptance in order to survive and reduce suffering in your life?

08/26/2026

At Emerging Strength we get clients that have already tried other types of rehab and recovery and after a while find that something is missing.

Their concerns are challenging to identify they did all the steps, went to all the meetings, made all the network connections, and made personal changes. This was working until it wasn't.

So last week, while talking with a client in this position, a better system emerged. It goes something like this:

Life is like a river and you are navigating it's waters across your lifespan. Sometimes the water is flat and calm and peaceful. Other times it's whitewater with rapid change and dangerous conditions. The water can change in a moments notice. Your approach can always adapt to the changing conditions.

In recovery, as in life, we must have a flexible and workable approach for dealing with an uncertain and changing world. Under these circumstances rigid rules, guidelines, and slogans simply don't flex.

As you are going about your business of living remember, you've never been through this exact thing. Show yourself some kindness. Don't be too judgmental. See the world for what it is now. And move toward your most important values under the circumstances.

Try your hand at a real paddling experience and see if teaches you something. Here are some great places to tryout.

Hiwassee River, East Tennessee
South Fork Shenandoah River, Virginia
Lower Pigeon River, East Tennessee
Middle Youghiogheny, Pennsylvania
Upper Delaware River, New York/Pennsylvania
San Marcos Rivet, Texas
French Broad River, North Carolina/Tennessee
Nantahala River, North Carolina
Upper Deschutes River, Oregon

08/25/2026

Cases of 'scromiting' condition tied to cannabis use spike among teens, young adults: New study

The syndrome has long been linked to chronic use of ma*****na.

08/23/2026

What's the first thing most people try to change their relationship to alcohol?

It isn't rehab.

Most people think that rehab is for junkies and the worst kind of alcoholic.

At Emerging Strength we see things differently. When you want to change your relationship to alcohol, you try to drink differently. It's important that people find ways to support change early on and to find something workable. Something they can live with, something repeatable.

Finding your strength and building a life you love is all about who you are and living aligned with your values. Sometimes that can be supported by alcohol use and sometimes it is not. Life is complicated like that.

Moderation Management, says that,

"Moderate drinking isn’t about following someone else’s rules—it’s about finding a level of alcohol use that supports your health, relationships, and the life you want to live."

Want to learn more:

Moderation Management is a peer-support community helping people change their relationship with alcohol through moderation or abstinence.

07/15/2026

I want to share a couple things today. Our lives are about the business of many important things. The business of feeling productivity, doing meaningful things, funding our lifestyle and future, relationships, family, community, well being, and more.

That's a lot of businesses to be about when life comes at us. We talk a lot about how to deal with life, cope with stress, and much of each and every day seems like a treadmill of coping with one thing after another. This can be and feel intolerable.

The secret to building a better life is counter intuitive. The secret is to experience the intolerable. It has data to inform and guide us. But we will miss that data if we avoid the intolerable and we will put ourselves on the treadmill of coping, coping, coping.

Coping is not living. Let me explain further.

The essence of addiction is an attempt to manage the intolerable stuff that we cannot avoid any other way. So when you are tired of the coping treadmill you are vulnerable to addictive substances.

Here are 3 things you can do to successfully move toward the businesses of your life.

First, sit with the intolerable and listen to what it is telling you. Listening is safe. It might feel uncomfortable or stir up more intolerable things, but it is safe to sit and listen.

Second, reflect on the businesses of your life. What's working and what's missing the mark in your opinion. For example, you might have aspirations for a lifestyle your income will not and cannot afford. That touches several businesses of life and indicates that each one needs your attention in order to produce your desired outcome.

Third, don't spend your time stuck and spinning your wheels. There are very specific ways to build and operate the businesses of life. The most important resource you have is time, don't lose it to uncertainty, being stuck, or experiences that feel like anchors holding you back.

At Emerging Strength Life Coaching and Counseling we help people navigate the businesses of life. We do this with a research backed evidence based approach to all the stuff humans have to deal with. It's less talk and more action. So you can grow in meaningful ways toward a life you love.

If you think life coaching could help you, check out our website emergingstrength.com.