Addictive Relationships : Why Love Goes Wrong in Recovery

Terence T. Gorski is president of The CENAPS Corporation (The Center for Applied Sciences). CENAPS is a research, training, and consultation organization that specializes in the treatment of addictive and co-addictive disease. In his nearly twenty years of experience with the recovery process, Terry Gorski has developed a practical and no-nonsense approach to dealing with relationships in recovery. In this presentation to 600 recovering people at an Adult Children of Alcoholics convention in San Diego, California, Terry give four vital messages. First, relationships are not "e;all or nothing"e; propositions. They unfold on a variety of levels, and we need to enjoy all levels of relationships. His second message tells us to take our time building relationships. Solid love relationships aren't developed on the first date. Third, there are addictive styles and healthy styles of relationships. If we come from a dysfunctional family, we probably don't know the difference. Until we learn what healthy relationships are all about, we will be condemned to recreate our family of origin as adults. His final message is one of hope. There are skills and tools that can be used to build positive love relationships. We can recover. We can break the cycle of addictive intimacy.