The BALM Blog
See all postsGrow Calm in the Middle of Chaos Using Your Be A Loving Mirror (BALM) Resources!
Are You Calm in the Midst of the Chaos? If not, keep reading to learn how you can be!
When a loved one is using, all Hell can break loose in a family. Family members aren’t always sure exactly what is going on, but they KNOW something is wrong.
See if you can relate to any of these experiences currently or in your past:
____Your loved one is exhibiting weird behaviors, but every time you confront them, they tell you that you are the one with the problem – and you are beginning to believe them
____You see things that don’t make sense – a needle here, an odd spoon there, unfamiliar pills lying around, or maybe a bottle of alcohol sitting in a cupboard in the laundry room
____Money is disappearing and when you confront your loved one about it, they act surprised – or completely defensive
____Strangers call on the telephone, and when you pick up, they hang up
____You are feeling physical symptoms of your own. Pains without cause, headaches, stomachaches.
____Yet, when you go to the doctor, you are told it is all about stress…
____It all feels like too much.
____Your loved one is in sobriety now, but you are having flashbacks and feeling like you are living it all over again
____You can’t seem to let go of the hurt or get past all they have done and said. And so, now, it feels like you have become the crazy one
____Every time the phone rings, your heart races because you are afraid of what you will hear on the other end of the line
____You would like to experience peace in your life, but the feeling eludes you
____All you can think of is how afraid you are that they may die and you just can’t shake the fear
If any of these things are happening or have happened in your life, your life may be affected by another person’s substance use disorder or other addictive process.
To learn how the BALM® will help you get calm in the middle of chaos, read on!
In these pages, and in your BALM® program, you will find many ways to move forward to awareness and action! Congratulations for finding a place dedicated to helping YOU!
In this blog, we are going to look at how YOUR inner well-being can impact outcomes in your family.
Specifically, we will look at your own sense of calm and peace.
Many people affected by a loved one’s struggles believe they will only be able to get calm when their loved one faces reality and gets well.
If that’s you, think again!
The BALM® Program invites you to consider this:
Getting Calm is something you can do regardless of a loved one’s choices AND being calm will help you help them more effectively (and of course, we will show you how to do that, too).
Rest assured, we are not talking about superficial, teeth clenched calm, and as you go through your Be A Loving Mirror lessons and readings and live calls you will learn many tools and techniques to deepen your ability to live from an inner, unshakable sense of peace, while also being there for the people you love.
To become clearer on what we mean, we have created lessons and invited experts and recovering persons and families to speak on the topic of how to attain inner peace and all of these talks are available to BALMer’s on Family Recovery Academy. Some of the places you can go for more recordings and lessons on mindfulness are:
- This week’s lesson in Principle 9 Explore and/or Heal Your Relationship with your Spirituality
- Principle 3 It’s Important to Let Go Without Giving Up or Giving In
- 7 Steps to BALM® Step One: Be The Peace You Wish to See in the World (our next 7 steps class begins this summer! Watch this newsletter for updates!)
You will also find brief guided meditations on the Academy to help you as you develop your skill as a calm person.
Join us on Wednesday evening for our live call on the Daily BALM®, when Mindfulness Coach Gary Mahler will share his expertise on how Mindfulness Meditation can contribute to your sense of inner equanimity. Of course, this is only one approach. There are so many and we bring you different approaches so you can choose the one that works for you!
Whether you consider yourself a spiritual person or not, inner peace and calm ARE available to you! Utilize your BALM® resources to grow calm from the inside out and watch the dynamic in your family improve!
Until then, Be A Loving Mirror!
Love,
Bev
This post is one in a weekly series for participants in the BALM Programs.
If you aren’t yet in the program but would like to learn more, please feel free to read more about us on this site and/or to request information through any or all of the forms on the side of this web page.
We are committed to helping ALL families blaze the trail to recovery in their homes. You can also let us know how you would like to help with our mission and/or benefit from it by sending an email to us at info@familyrecoveryresources.com.