• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Amy Hoogervorst

Integrative Health and Wellness Coach

  • WHAT IS HEALTH COACHING?
  • ABOUT AMY
  • SERVICES
  • BLOG
    • FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY
    • MIND-BODY CONNECTION
    • MOVEMENT, EXERCISE AND REST
    • NUTRITION
    • PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
    • RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATION
  • GET STARTED
    • SCHEDULE A FREE CALL
    • ACCESS FREE RESOURCES
    • VIEW ARCHIVED VIDEOS

Aug 2, 2016
MIND-BODY CONNECTION

Faith & Sweat: Battling Addiction, Moment by Moment, Day by Day

The lightning illuminates the sky with a frequency that rivals paparazzi flash bulbs firing. Torrential rains fall, and angry thunder rumbles.

I think of a Mom and her young son, snuggling together in front of the television in a clean motel room in a safe part of town, seeking normal in a world that’s been turned upside down, over and over and over again.

The mother, feeling guilty and remorseful, leans on her faith and her hope. She knows that the choices she’s made in the past caused this uncertainty. She vows to make new, better choices for her child and for herself, even if the path ahead feels overwhelming.

“TWELVE DAYS AND NIGHTS CLEAN,” she shares with her friends on Facebook, in a status update that’s both an offering of and a request for accountability.

Fighting addiction is moment-by-moment combat.

Each 24 hours, the combat culminates in a battle won or lost. For Cee (not her real name), it’s now been nearly two weeks of recognizing and avoiding her triggers, assembling pieces for a new life, and making choices that add up to winning daily battles.

It’s far from the end of the war.

This is not a happy ending story.

Not yet.

But it can be.

Earlier this year, on the first of each month, I started sharing others’ stories of Faith and Sweat. I have featured the overcomers – someone who overcame domestic abuse to help others, someone who fought her own suicidal urges and started painting unicycles to benefit suicide-prevention efforts.

I’ve debated sharing this story, of someone so squarely and actively in the midst of an arduous journey.

The reality, though, is this: We’re each a work in progress. We’re each in the midst of our own journey of joy, and pain, and beauty, and suffering, and celebration, and struggle.

It’s called life.

The extremes are greater for some of us than others. The pressures are greater some times more than others. Most people hide their reality from everyone else. But then someone makes a move to be vulnerable and open. And another move. And another. That’s what caught my attention with Cee, someone I’ve known a long time, but not well.

For her, years of addiction have resulted in lost jobs, missed opportunities, dangerous living conditions, and now, perhaps, rock bottom. She’s desperate to get herself and her son – a kind, loving 7-year-old with good manners and a dream to one day become a police officer – out of that cycle.

The wall next to their sofa is marred with a bullet hole. When they left their apartment to stay with a friend for several nights, so Cee could leave behind her triggers and try to stop using drugs, teenagers broke in and trashed the place. She returned to pack her belongings and found previously packed boxes, furniture, and entire rooms ransacked. Someone had been eating off her dishes and sleeping in her son’s bed.

Now with no home, no job, and no money, they’re staying mostly with friends. Courtesy of someone’s generosity, they spent one night at a motel, where it was rainy and stormy outside and restful inside. She’s applying to long-term recovery centers, listening to her mentor, repacking and shedding her belongings, and reaching out to friends.

One friend has encouraged her to read about Job’s suffering in the Bible. Others offer prayers, encouraging words, inspirational pictures, and whatever support they can. Cee responds, reaffirming her intentions for recovery, her faith, and her gratitude that she is not making this journey alone.

Daily to her Facebook friends, she reports the results of the battle. Now, she’s at 13 days and nights clean.

It’s far from the end of the war.

This is not a happy ending story.

Not yet.

But it can be.

Do you personally know someone struggling with an addiction, or have you walked alongside someone through that challenge? What has been your experience? Comment below, or join our “Faith and Sweat” community, where we can continue the discussion.

Welcome! If you’re new here and don’t want to miss a thing, be sure to CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE to the Faith & Sweat blog updates. 

Tweet
Share
Pin

Don’t Miss out

Join our newsletter to get all the latest!

Previous Post: « Making a Simple Sugar Scrub for a Spa Experience
Next Post: Worn Down and Out? On the Importance of the Sabbath »

Primary Sidebar

MEET AMY

Hi! I'm Amy Hoogervorst, a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, integrative health coach, and creative entrepreneur offering grace and space for a healthier you. Read More…

Amy Hoogervorst is a ReCODE 2.0 Certified Health Coach. Badge is blue and green lettering primarily on a white background

Latest on the Blog

A Bredesen ReCODE coach helps people concerned about or living with cognitive decline implement lifestyle changes that are part of the Bredesen protocol. Colorful image depicts a brain with many synapses and activity

Recently I trained as a Bredesen ReCODE Coach, adding to my professional knowledge base and credentials as I look to help anyone concerned about their brain health. But my desire to prevent and reverse cognitive decline goes beyond a professional achievement. It’s deeply personal, too. About five years ago, someone close to me received a […]

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Latest on Instagram

Scenes from two hikes in the last week - with tons Scenes from two hikes in the last week - with tons of wildflowers! Today is the last day of National Wildflower Week, which raises awareness of the critical role these beauties play in sustaining biodiversity. Native wildflowers have relationships with local wildlife, supporting bees, birds, and butterflies for a living landscape. You also can create your own living landscape with native plants that will thrive in your area.

Find a Native Plant Society near you for more information, and shop native plant nurseries.
Sharing a few glimpses from the retreat I organize Sharing a few glimpses from the retreat I organized and facilitated last weekend in central North Carolina. What a lovely time apart from the world, yet in community. (Everyone else seemed to appreciate it, too!) A couple of days ago I received an email from a participant who said, "You made us all feel safe, welcomed and cared for emotionally and physically and I greatly appreciate that." 🥰

All of these participants said they'd do it again, too. We'd love for you to join us, when it happens. Next date TBD.

 I announce upcoming events and opportunities first through my WellCheck e-newsletter, so if you're not on my email list, that's the place to start. 💌 Visit amyhoogervorst.com/subscribe to add yourself!

#graceandspaceforahealthieryou #wellnessweekend #healingrhythms #retreat #mindbodyspirit #timeapart #timeforyou #lifepractices #integrativehealthcoach 
#compassion #connection
I'm no longer calling this exercise a Suitcase Car I'm no longer calling this exercise a Suitcase Carry. This kettlebell does not have wheels and my suitcase does! The 2023 name of this exercise is the Target Basket Carry.

Gym days = practice for real life situations. Go get it done, friends! You'll thank yourself.

#gymlife #practice #thisislife #strengthtraining #trainingforlife #strongwomen #agewell #kettlebell #carrythatweight #integrativehealthcoach #graceandspaceforahealthieryou
A Puppy PSA: No amount of caffeine (or sugar) can A Puppy PSA: No amount of caffeine (or sugar) can make up for a poor night's sleep.

Both caffeine and sugar, as well as a room that's too warm or bright or noisy, can interfere with sleep.

The good news, if your sleep wasn't up to par last night? You get another opportunity for quality rest tonight. (Or most anytime you want, if you're this guy.)

How can you set yourself up for success tonight? Think through what you already know about your habits and sleep hygiene. What's one small thing you might be able to do differently today or this evening that could lead to better sleep?

And in the interim ... Who else wants a nap? ✋🏼

#thursdaythoughts #psafromthedog #psafromahealthcoach #sleep #naptime #takecareofyou #restandrestore #westielife #selfcare #healthcoach #selfcareisntselfish #graceandspaceforahealthieryou
Follow on Instagram

Tags

accountability anxiety best self books challenge choices coaching dreams exercise faith faith and sweat fitness friends goals grace and space for a healthier you habits health health coaching healthy eating healthy food healthy lifestyle holidays inflammation memories mindfulness mindset movement nutrition perseverance personal growth PhotoOrganize Me photos recipes resources rest self-care sleep social media stewardship stories stress sugar wellness what i learned Youngevity
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • DISCLOSURES
  • CONTACT
© 2023 Amy Hoogervorst - All Rights Reserved

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Amy Hoogervorst
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.