Success Stories
Anxiety & Stress
It Took a Long Time Before I Asked for Help
I graduated from Law
School ready to take on the world. The first six months of articling were great.
I worked hard, got lots done, seemed to be able to do the work. Suddenly, I
began to feel overwhelmed. This came on without warning...read
more
Chemical Dependency
I Had Stuff, Now I Have a Life
I am an alcoholic and my name
is Mark. I never wanted to be an alcoholic. In my twenties, I wanted my life
to look like a beer ad. In my thirties and into my forties, I wanted my life to
look like an article from one of the glossy food and wine magazines. At the end
of my drinking, a little over 18 months ago, I was suicidal and sitting in blue
pajamas in the psych ward. So much for my plans...read
more
A Long, Downward Spiral and Back Again
I’d like to say that I had a normal, happy childhood. I was happy for the most part, but I lived in an
alcoholic household, which was anything but normal...read more
Hello, My Name is Mary and I'm and Alcoholic.
Also a Lawyer
I come by both of these honestly; my father was also an alcoholic and a
lawyer. By the time he died, though, he’d been sober for 15 years. I was still
furious at him for the unpleasantries of my childhood, and failed to notice that
I myself had crossed the line and become an alcoholic, rather than merely a
heavy drinker who could definitely keep up with the boys...read more
Career Issues
One Person's Transition Journey
Every year, hundreds of lawyers begin to seek out career changes. They either intend to drastically
change from their profession or they just want to alter the way they approach
their practice...read more
A Change is as Good as
a Rest
One of the most challenging things I have faced as a lawyer was practicing
in a way that was healthy for me. The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was my
fairly rigid, idealized image of the way lawyers are "supposed to be"...read
more
Mood Disorders
Trapped...or so I Thought
I entered law school at the age of 21, graduated at 23 and at 25 had an office overlooking Stanley
Park as an associate with a well known downtown law firm...read more
Workaholism
Have you ever heard of “Harriet the Heroine”? Harriet is the youngster in an alcoholic’s family that strives to fix absolutely everything. Harriet is hardworking, often a workaholic, determined to be efficient at everything she touches and refusing to acknowledge any weaknesses.
In the years I have dealt with LAP I have learned that being in “recovery” is not limited to alcoholism. This is my story....read more.
A Lesson Learned
Addiction to work can be as insidious and destructive as an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Ironically, our
society (this profession in particular) tends to hail dedication to one’s job as
the ultimate virtue. But that dedication almost cost me my marriage and mental
health. My substance of choice was not booze, marijuana or cocaine - it was
work...read more