Patricia Wharton - Licensed Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselor

10/06/2023

World Animal Day

11/03/2019

Good morning. I'm sitting in the Chicago airport waiting for my flight. I'm headed home from visiting my 15 month old grandson. He is such a joy in my life. Sobriety is a wonderful way to live. I celebrated 14 years in recovery this past summer. I never imagined that I could do this. I was completely defeated and was more than willing to do whatever my sponsor suggested I do. I was taken in by women I met in AA and started to have some fun. These women became my mentors and became life long friends. I owe the life I live now to the wonderful women I met in AA. I found my Happy Place in recovery and I think I'll stay there. Please contact me at 865-518-2433. I can provide assessments, counseling and make referrals. Just call for more information.

10/22/2018

Do you ever notice that addiction still raises it's ugly head even when we're not drinking or using? It's usually a situation I don't like or I keep trying to change behaviors on my own. Before we're willing to look at it closely, denial keeps the path covered. By that time, we're already obsessing about what's going on and we just can't get out of that tornado. We feel ourselves turning and twisting deep inside. Typically, I come out of the haze slowly and my unstable emotions can remind me that my life is unmanageable. I don't recognize my powerlessness until I realize that nothing I do works. Finally upon complete defeat, I call my sponsor. She's usually the first one to which I surrender. And in the talking a miracle happens. I start having some insight and I become willing to try something different. I begin to do my prayer and mediation more regularly, I read my literature and I feel my Higher Power's presence. I believe that is the power behind the 12 steps. I may try other things from time to time, but where I make progress is the 12 steps. I find it's my foundation and my connection with something greater than myself. I'm grateful. Let me know about your experiences whether it's a struggle or a change. I love to hear back.

10/18/2018

I hope everyone is feeling well on this beautiful Thursday in East Tennessee. It's a little cool, but bright and sunny. It would be a great time to go for a hike in the mountains or a ride on your bicycle. If you're inclined to less strenous activities, walking is another good idea. Walking mindfully is a way of walking while noticing everything around you, even stopping to smell the pines or any blooming wildflowers. Self-Care in recovery is very important but it's not just about activities. Sitting quietly, listening for sounds or focusing on a specific phrase or question is one way to meditate. It can be as basic as hygiene or as complicated as not acting out codependently. In the end, self-care is about respecting yourself and honoring what you have to offer either in spoken word or in silent listening. I would really like to know what you do to take care of yourself. Respond and let us all know, we may not have thought of your way yet. Look forward to hearing from you. Have a beautiful, fun-filled day.

10/03/2018

Good afternoon. Today I want to share with you a little about the Authentic Self. Our Authentic Self can be buried under a lot of baggage. I know that I've heard many people new to recovery say, "I don't know who I am anymore." Addiction, along with the shame and guilt that follows truly buries our true self. Think about it this way, have you ever been to a nursery and seen newborns. Or you might have a friend who recently had a baby. As I look at it that baby is born into this world a perfect human being. What happens to us is that we become conditioned by the way we experience the world. Maybe we believe some things are true about us that really aren't. Recovery is like a rebirth that allows us to start anew. My suggestion to you would be to question your belief system and I'm not talking about your religion. I'm talking about questioning what you believe about yourself. Ask others in recovery how they see you. Explore your interests and what you like and don't like. Everyone has a choice about how they want to live their lives. Addiction took our choices away for a while but recovery gives them back. The Authentic Self is the person you are and have always been. I would tell myself in addiction that I had a good heart and that was true. It was covered over with the mire and yuck of addiction. I hope this is helpful. Shine your light brightly.

09/20/2018

Good afternoon, I want you to know that I appreciate your feedback and acknowledging whether or not you received something that helped you from my blogs.

Also, I have an announcement someone sent to me that I wanted to put out there in case anyone needed the information. On Saturday, Oct. 6th Knox County Super Saturday Bar Legal Advice Clinic will be at the Public Defenders' Office on Liberty Street. The clinic is from 9-12 that morning. Attendees will be able to meet with private attorneys who are volunteering to give one-time free legal advice on varying matters. Please note that the normal requirements for Legal Aid assistance (such a low-income) DO NOT apply to this clinic. Sounds like anyone can go if she/he needs to see an attorney. Someone may need this information so I am putting it out there.

Thank you again for your support. I believe that to share our experience, strength and hope is important. Someone may need to hear what you have to say.

09/11/2018

I'd like to write about the word "honesty". It's a word that can cause one's heart to beat faster and suddenly experience mental anguish about what to tell and what not to tell. I remember going to my first AA meeting and listening to people talk about their struggles. My first thought was, "Why, they're telling on themselves. I would never do that." But then I felt a knock at the door of my heart and realized that in the deep recesses of my mind, I had been longing for someone that I could share my truth. It was a little while before I actually talked in a meeting. I do remember that I shared with my sponsor first. She didn't judge me and I learned to trust her with my deepest secrets. The tremendous weight on my shoulders began to lift and I became happier than I'd been in a long time. After a while, I could even laugh about some of the idiotic things I did when in active addiction.
So take heart, find someone you trust and be willing to share the heartbreak you've experience; it does have benefits.

06/12/2018

Good afternoon. Today I wanted to talk about loving yourself. I think first we need to come up with some ideas about love. Personally, I like what Rabbi David Wolpe says "Love should be seen not as a feeling but as an enacted emotion. To love is to feel and act accordingly". So it's not necessarily about saying, 'I love you' but more about showing love. Now if we had parents who were not loving, we can be confused about how to love. So I'm going to give you some synonyms for the word 'Love'. How about tenderness, compassion, kindness, warmth. Can you learn to treat yourself this way? Of course you can. Marianne Williamson says it this way, "What we do or don't do is not what determines your essential value - your growth perhaps, but not your value". The way I learned to love myself was to let the women in AA love me. They really showed me what love is all about. What have you got to loose?

05/29/2018

Good afternoon, I apologize for not being in touch the last couple of weeks. Actually, I went to my daughter's baby shower out of state. She is due in July and it is my first grandbaby. I was thinking today about how good my life has become in recovery. It's an exciting time in my life and I look forward to my future. Let me tell you, it wasn't always so. Addiction took up a large part of my life, and my kids were grown before I got into recovery. I had a lot of shame about what I had put my kids through. Today my shame is gone and I have good relationships with my children. They survived in spite of me (Lol). I want you to realize that addicts are resilient people. All we need is someone who won't judge us and show us the way into recovery. Then it's up to us to get a sponsor and work the 12 steps (that's when I began to change). Meetings were a big help too, because if I was at a meeting, I was not drinking/drugging. I couldn't have done it without the support of my recovering friends. All it takes is to reach out and talk to someone about your pain, someone you can trust. I am always willing to talk to someone on the phone, should you need some help. Call me.

05/07/2018

Good morning, I was reading an article on the addict's experience with fear on AddictScience.com. I have attached the article if you would like to read it. I remember being afraid that someone would find out what I was doing. I feared being judged by others. I masked that fear for a long time by telling myself that I just wasn't like others and that was okay. I liked taking drugs and that's all there was to it. Little did I know that was my brain's way of protecting me from facing my worst fear that I was "crazy" or "defective" or just plain devious. It was the best thing ever to find out I had a disease and there was help. Other recovering addicts supported me in a way that I had never known. I will be forever grateful to those who do not judge; those who know the horror of addiction but also know about recovery. You might want to search these people out if you're tired enough of feeling sick and shame ridden. I did and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I can help by providing coping skills and other therapies that will help you with the transition. Just call.

The Addict Experience Explained By the Science of Addiction

04/25/2018

The word "change" can create fear in almost anyone but change is what we have to do. Our old thinking will continue to create old behaviors. So how do we change? 12 Steps comes to mind. Part of what the steps do for us is change our thinking. What we did before certainly does not work so why not try working the steps. Just remember, it's not something we can do on our own. Have a great day in sobriety.