Drug use is often glamorized in movies and TV shows, tied to cultural norms, and accepted in many segments of society. As such, it is easy to see why people believe myths about drugs instead of finding out the facts. Peer pressure and clever marketing often influence a person’s views about drugs, thus leading them …
When we hear about someone “working the 12 steps,” our minds go to recovery. After all, the 12-step treatment approach was developed to help people all over the world reach sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous. You may have a close friend or loved one progressing through the 12-step treatment approach right now. If so, you probably know …
Would all the humans please stand up? How about those dealing with shame in addiction recovery? How can we work to overcome the guilt and shame that comes with recovery? Okay, if you’re standing and reading this article, you probably know what it’s like to deal with shame. That’s because we all have at least one …
Are Our First Responders at Risk for Addiction?Firefighters, police officers and paramedics share two major job components: each is a hero of the community, and all face inherent danger on a daily basis. These pressures can make first their careers high risk for addiction. You can imagine those dangers, right? Burns, smoke inhalation, gun violence, physical …
A Few Simple Things to Know About Setting Boundaries in Addiction Recovery Before we get started on setting boundaries in addiction recovery, take a moment to gather a few supplies: A blank sheet of paperA pencilA toddler A few crayons(If you don’t have a toddler handy, your imagination should do the trick). Use your pencil to draw a simple …
Diabetes, a broken arm, a heart attack—these are all widely recognized as medical conditions. But what about a chronic brain disorder? How does it relate to addiction? In some cases, the patient may have even contributed to the onset. Right? And yet . . . A sedentary woman diagnosed with type 2 diabetes receives understanding, guidance and …
If you work as a first responder, I’d like to start by saying thank you. Secondly, if you are one of the millions of first responders battling addiction, I want to tell you, there is hope. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to our local emergency medical technicians, firefighters and police officers. You show …
To Our First Responders Battling Addiction: There’s Hope for You Read More »
Where do you turn when you need help understanding addiction? There’s a book for that. They have a way of transporting us from all that we know into a completely unknown world—that is, from our own mind to the mind of the narrator. We see and understand things as they see and understand them. In this way, …
We’ll get straight to the point: do not let your age stop you from getting addiction treatment! We’ve all heard the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Maybe you’ve even said it yourself a time or two. Thankfully, like plenty of other crabby-clichés, just because we’ve all heard it before doesn’t make it …
Before you or your loved one enter a drug addiction treatment center, it is helpful to familiarize yourself with the different approaches used to find healing from substance use disorders. There are many models to choose from whether it be evidence-based therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT), group therapy …