12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends

Letting go of resentment and forgiving ourselves for our past wrongs are critical to recovery from alcohol and other drugs. Yet, Steps Eight, Nine and Ten, which focus on making amends, can be some of the most challenging to work. Why? Because we must face ourselves and those we have hurt and damaged.

Once we have a willingness to experience our painful feelings, we can grow and mature into the person we’d like to be. We can reach our potential and become our true self. We find forgiveness and self-respect. Through this transformative process we can recover and maintain integrity, resolve or complete unfinished business, restore trust, self-esteem and self-confidence, deepen spirituality and peace and mind, and reinforce a strong commitment to recovery.

In this week’s show, psychotherapist Dr. Allen Berger discusses his new book 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends, and provides an intimate, passionate and honest look at why making amends is not only critical but absolutely essential for anyone wanting to decrease their chances of relapse and learn to maintain a healthy, balanced life. Learn more about Dr. Berger’s work at his website. Look for this and other books by Dr. Berger on Amazon.

Episode Segments:

Break the Chains: Hidden Rewards of Making Amends Did you know there are hidden rewards to making amends? Without a willingness to experience our painful feelings, we can never grow and mature into the person we'd like to be. We can never reach our potential. We can never become our true-self. To grow, we must stay in close contact with our experience, whatever it is. We need to stay in close contact with how we behaved in our relationships in order to make a thorough list of those we have harmed. We must face the wrongs we have done without running away from the truth. -Excerpt from Dr. Berger's Book 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends
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About Dr. Berger Dr. Allen Berger is a psychotherapist in Redondo Beach, California who has been in recovery since 1971. He has written extensively about the experience of recovery, emotional sobriety, and the psychological forces operating in the Twelve Steps. He is author of 12 Stupid Things that Mess Up Recovery, 12 Smart Things to do When the Booze and Drugs are Gone, and 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends. Learn more about Dr. Berger and his work