Can You Get Sober Alone?
You may be ready to quit drinking or stop using drugs, but you are unsure about whether you need help to do so. Maybe you’ve always been independent and want to try to do this by yourself also. Or maybe you think you just...
Engagement and Disengagement in Recovery
You wouldn’t sign up for a gym membership and expect to become more physically fit just because you carry a membership card. You won’t build muscles or lose weight even if you do visit the gym occasionally but still do not work out on...
Convincing an Introvert to Participate in Group Programming
A person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol can feel isolated from friends and family members. When that person is an introvert, the feeling of being alone can be intensified even if the individual prefers to not interact with others. However, in addiction...
Trauma Impact: Communication in Relationships
Most people who encounter addiction at some point in their lives grew up in a home where there were unwritten rules like “don’t talk, don’t feel, don’t trust”. This family system does not always provide adult role models who are able to openly discuss...
Half Measures People Try Before Treatment
We often like to try to fix things ourselves before calling a professional for help. We might try to repair a leaky sink or redo a squeaky wooden floor. When an individual is addicted to drugs or alcohol, though, attempting to fix it themselves...
Can You Get Addicted to Inhalants? | Commonly Abused Inhalants
National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week is March 22-28. Understanding more about commonly abused inhalants can help prevent the negative effects of inhaling, that can sometimes be devastating. Many might ask whether you can get addicted to inhalants. These substances, often found in household...
Denial in the Addicted Family System | Understanding Addiction
Every family has individuals who play certain roles, making up the family system. In an addicted family system, there may be one who jokes a lot, one who is an overachiever, one who doesn’t get much attention, one who enables, as well as the...
Why COVID Relief Efforts Need to Include Mental Health Care
The COVID-19 virus affects an individual’s respiratory system, often creating serious physical health issues. The pandemic that has arisen from the virus outbreak has also caused some serious mental health problems for people across the US. Many experts believe COVID relief efforts need to...
Recovering from a Narcissistic Family
When looking at trauma through an attachment lens, I am privy to recognize how important early relationships with caregivers and family systems are in our development of attachment. Our relationships with our caregivers are integral in developing our concept of ourselves in relation to...
Why Reduced Screen Time is Good for Your Mental Health
Working from home, learning remotely, and meeting virtually have us all online more than ever now. Even before the pandemic, you may have spent a lot of time in front of an electronic device, either socially or for your job, and that may have...
Prescription Drug Abuse Doesn’t Discriminate
Anyone can be vulnerable to addiction, regardless of income level, race, gender, or geographic location. Prescription drug abuse doesn’t discriminate. Young people, older adults, and everyone in between can get caught in the cycle of misuse that can accompany prescription medications such as amphetamines,...
Accountability in Recovery | Peer & Professional Support
What does it mean to be accountable? How can being accountable to yourself and to your peers help you in your addiction treatment? In fact, peer accountability is one of the major keys to recovery. The peer and professional support you get in an...