Addiction Recovery Resources. Owned and operated by Lakeview Health
Ashley is a primary therapist for Lakeview Health. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of North Florida in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, is a Certified Addiction Professional, and a Certified Recovery Coach. She has been working in the field of mental health and addiction since 2012. Ashley is also a person in long-term recovery; her sobriety date is January 13, 2012. She joined Lakeview Health in 2014 as the Aftercare Coordinator. Ashley has experience in working at both adult and adolescent inpatient treatment facilities. She enjoys inspiring other people to live sober, happy lives and to find their life’s meaning.
Ashley Harms, MS, CAP, CRC has written 9 articles so far, you can find them below.
“Avoid all romantic relationships for the first year of recovery” is a phrase most of us in 12 Step programs hear pretty frequently. The top two things that “take people out” are relationships and resentments. When someone gets sober they may think, “This is it! I have my alcohol and drug problem out of the
Are you ready for some (sober) football?! We are well into pre-season football and many people are beginning to wonder, “can I do this sober?” Between football pools, fantasy leagues, and the party environment of football games, is the reward (experience) worth the risk (sobriety)? Many of us grew up surrounded by football as a
I had four months of continuous sobriety and I had arrived to the “work” part of the 12-step program. Step four, the “white light experience” that would send my program into a magical place. This was the step that everyone pushed off and waited to do because it held so much weight. This was the
The spiritual principle behind Step Three is faith, and that word can be a struggle for agnostic or atheists since it is so often associated with religion. The definition of faith, however, is: “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” So, here I am in a 12-step fellowship, and on the third step of that
This Will Not Be One of Those “I Then Came to Believe” Stories When I first came into the 12-step room and read steps two and three, I froze. Back then I was a “recovering Catholic” of 21 years and identified as an atheist, so seeing those words frightened me. I panicked, but my current
There is no right or wrong way to choose recovery; everyone is traveling on a different journey to the same end result: finding a path that creates a happier life than a life in active addiction or alcoholism produced. Today, there are innumerable choices of different paths to recovery, including (but not limited to): 12-step-based
Step one is the only step that I have to work perfectly, every single day. This step was complex for me in the beginning; I could admit that I was powerless over alcohol and other substances, I had called myself an alcoholic since middle school, but the second part challenged me. At the time, I
My journey of recovery began when I was around sixteen-years-old. I had begun my downward spiral, which is an integral piece of my recovery, because without that bottom I would never have found the willingness to change. I began suffering consequences of my addiction at that time: strained relationships, lowered self-esteem from my actions not
Oftentimes people think of parents, children, friends, and employers as the main ones being affected by the person with alcoholism or substance abuse, but they are not the only ones. Let’s not forget the furry, fluffy, fun-loving additions to our lives we call pets (or as some refer to them, children). These are the family
