When your loved one is showing symptoms of addiction and is struggling through life, your first instinct is to help them. You want them to be happier and healthier and may even go to extreme measures to protect them from themselves. There is a...
“The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness.” – Jessica Lange Sadly, not all mothers are able or willing to maintain such a natural state. If you lacked a mother figure, or if your mother was negligent or abusive, you may be suffering from a mother...
Addiction affects the whole family: members who aren’t “addicts” typically take on other unhealthy roles, such as “hero” (trying to make everything better by being personally perfect), “scapegoat” (acting up to distract from the addiction), or “invisible man” (staying quietly out of the line...
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...
Addiction is a family disease. When it affects any one member, it also affects the other members of your family. When your loved one enters treatment for addiction, it is critical that you and your family stay engaged and involved throughout the program and...
You have been addicted to drugs or alcohol and are now ready to go to treatment. That’s a great first step toward your successful recovery. If you happen to also be a parent, you may be worried about the effect of your addiction treatment...
One of the greatest features of recovery is that you are able to start over – it’s a second chance at life. As you let go of harmful habits and establish better ones, your overall quality of life improves. Many people find that asking...
Recently, BRC was asked by our good friend Ken Seeley of Intervention 911, and the producers of The Doctors TV Show to accept a patient struggling with heroin addiction for treatment. I flew to LA to meet with Ken, the family of the patient,...
What a journey we have taken over the past 7 years. My firstborn daughter celebrated her 4th year of sobriety last April. I can still remember the shock and total disbelief I felt when I was finally able to admit to myself that she...
BRC Recovery I had a dream once of going to Penn State and getting a Ph.D. Instead, I ended up at the State Pen getting a GED. After dropping out of high school in the 12th grade, because I thought I knew it all, I...
BRC Recovery Recently, my family and I went on vacation to Nosara, Costa Rica. What a glorious week of sun and fun mixed with the rains and mud of the "green season". Swimming, surfing, ATV tour, horseback riding, and lots of good food and fellowship...
If you’ve spent any time around Al-Anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, or other recovery-oriented groups, you’ve heard at least a few slogans and acronyms. Most of them seem to fall into one of three categories, and they include our relationship with: Our addicted loved one. Ourselves. ...