The Clear Horizon

From oblivion of alcoholism into the light of sobriety

life

  • Do we have a choice where we don’t have a choice?

    It’s a question of training, mindset and perspective, I guess. Given a situation that is truly mind-blowing, fatal or leaves no choice otherwise, it will be difficult to find a possibility of choice. I think, as long as you find a space to maneuver or find a little headspace, though, there can always be a… Read more

  • Trying to escape the maelstrom. Why detachment is an important Concept

    What’s the biggest threat for a social worker or other persons working in a likewise business? Bingo. Emotional entanglement. This has been one of my nemeses (is that a plural?) ever since: Getting emotionally entangled when other people suffer or have hard time in an emotional sense. Yes, I have nonetheless, or rather, because of… Read more

  • Is catastrophising anxiety hyperfocus?

    Yes – and no. Catastrophising itself is not like a hyperfocus (to me). But what results as a means to counter or stop the vicious circle of catastrophic whirlwinds in my head is quite like it. Let me explain. Working with clients that suffer from either an addiction or a compulsive disorder/panic attacks/anxiety disorder or… Read more

  • Next up: Impulse Control

    Ah, yes. Impulse control. One of the functions that I can rely on worst in my neurodivergence. There are a lot of issues where this is a severe obstacle in my daily life and routines. And most of it is due to the lack of dopamine and noradrenaline when you mist need it. Then overwhelm… Read more

  • Figuring out motivation depletion and what helps – a deep dive (Kind of).

    I think I had been on this path earlier. But I also have written earlier, that I sometimes take up loose ends and closed cases, because the actual need may come to it or I have new insights. And since my ADHD brain is too impatient to roam through all my old posts, this is… Read more

  • Not healed yet

    It seems as if the summer season acts as some sort of filter or reset for certain habits, needs and routines in my life. If I have the same in winter, when the year closes, I don’t know. I think so, but the big filter is summer season. I guess it’s the rhythm that has… Read more

  • Personal suffering boundaries and other people‘s advice

    Sometimes things are harder to endure than in other times. My personal suffering boundaries depend a lot on overwhelming and stressful life situations and lack of motivation, that’s for sure. In different modes and moods, I tend to react differently to things that are bugging me and stressing me out up to the point of… Read more

  • Confrontation and being confronted – The Middle of Things

    I love complicated headlines. What is it about? Well, I am a social worker and in my company we work with a concept called “confrontative pedagogy”, which in the end is nothing more than confronting clients with their responsibility and their actions but also with the resources and their potential to work out solutions for… Read more

  • No alcohol doesn‘t help. But alcohol would only make it worse

    First off, let’s identify a couple of statuses (do you write it that way?) about emotional balance: #1: In times of emotional balance, or if my basic mood has a quiet tone, there is nothing that would want me to think about having a drop of alcohol. It has become an automatism not to drink… Read more

  • My rules, my routines – why Self reliance is so important in neuro divergence

    There is an issue I have been pondering on for as long as I have had been working with youths and kids, and something that I can relate to personally: Self reliance and exterior influence in combination with task and problem solving. As neurodivergent folks, we all need, even more than other folks, a structure… Read more