What Is Chronic Disappointment, and How Do You Avoid It?

Dominique Simon September 29, 2023

Graphic Design by Lizabeth Laroche

When you have expectations about someone else’s behavior, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. If you’re focused on yourself, you get to avoid that disappointment – you get to have agency, think about what your values are and who you want to be, then act accordingly. How do you engage with your loved one and have a more positive relationship, one in which they feel you’re someone to trust? When you work on having good boundaries and not overstepping them, the outcome can be beautiful for the other person. Even small manifestations of positive movement in the relationship are worth celebrating.

Dominique Simon

Dominique launched Allies in Recovery in 2003. Her work has been featured on HBO and NPR. She is a facilitator and a trained speaker on issues of addiction and the family. She has worked extensively developing and evaluating federally-funded substance abuse programs for organizations and clinics throughout Massachusetts and New York. With an interest in recovery and substance abuse that spans 20 years, she sees a huge need to help families develop the skills to help a loved one recover fully in a supportive, whole, and lasting way in their families and in their communities. Her mission is to have Allies in Recovery fill that gap.

An Interview with Christina Dent

Christina Dent of End It For Good discusses how being a foster mom led her to rethink her stance on drugs and the criminal justice system.

Dominique Simon November 24, 2023

Triggers: What Are They, and How Do You Handle Them?

Triggers – when you’re pulled into old reactions – happen. Learn to repair yourself, stopping the cycle to enable healing.

Dominique Simon November 17, 2023

How Do You Get Past Accumulated Trauma?

How do you get past accumulated trauma with your loved one? It’s about breaking the cycles, stepping back, and letting new things happen.

Dominique Simon November 10, 2023

Reflective Listening, Intentional Dialogue, and Improving Communication: Episode 69

How does “reflective listening” work? What are its benefits? Why does Kayla say she’d use it if someone were pointing a gun at her?

isabel November 3, 2023

What’s Burnout, and How Do You Handle It?

Burnout: you’ve got nothing left but fatigue and anxiety. Take a real break to refill your tank in whatever way works best for you.

Dominique Simon October 27, 2023

Did My Comment Make Him Drink?

Did a positive comment cause use? You can’t know what your loved one’s feeling. Focus on you; don’t link your happiness to their status.

Dominique Simon September 22, 2023

How Do You Acknowledge Use Without Accusation?

It was developed to help regulate blood sugar in diabetics and pre-diabetics. It’s widely (though unofficially) used for weight loss. Now semaglutide (brand name Ozempic) is showing promise for SUD sufferers as well.

Dominique Simon September 15, 2023

CRAFT, Al-Anon, and Intervention: What’s the Difference?

CRAFT offers tools to gain awareness of your own reactivity, notice what works for your loved one, and make choices to create real change.

Dominique Simon September 8, 2023

How Do You Move from Crisis Management to Change Over Time?

You’re in it for your loved one. But CRAFT wants you to change, to learn new tools. AIR offers vital support for change over time.

Allies in Recovery September 1, 2023

Let’s Talk About Treatment

The end goal of CRAFT is treatment, but what does that mean, and what does it look like? In addition to more-expected forms, treatment is anything that engages your loved one, that provides meaning and helps them look at themselves. What’s our role in presenting these options when a loved one says they’re ready to hear them? Do the research and put together a treatment list for when that time comes.

Allies in Recovery August 26, 2023

Graphic Design by Lizabeth Laroche

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