Recovery Won’t Get Better Each Day
The recovery path is filled with detours and missteps.
This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter.
I have a video game on my phone that just might be the dumbest video game I’ve ever played. It’s called “Tap Titans 2” and the basic premise is that you just tap on your screen again and again.
You play as a little man with a sword and as you tap on the screen he swings the sword at a monster. After enough attacks, the monster disappears and a new one takes its place. The monsters never attack back, so there’s no way to lose. You just keep tapping and swinging away.
As the game progresses, allies join your screen, the characters level up, and you find equipment to make your player stronger. Through it all, though, the game remains essentially the same: You just tap and tap as you watch your stats steadily increase higher and higher.
By now you’re probably wondering: Why would I waste my time playing a game like this? What on earth is the appeal?
Originally, I downloaded it as a way to keep my hands busy while practicing Spanish. I wanted something that let me fidget but didn’t require any brainpower. Tap Titans 2 fit the bill perfectly. It wasn’t any fun, it was more like the electronic equivalent of…
