young man sharing thoughts in group therapy for recovery

Rehab 101: The Importance of Sharing, Opening Up, Confiding and Trusting

“Nature never sends a great man into the ground without confiding the secret to another soul.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson   The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “confide” as follows: ‘to trust’ And it defines “trust” as: ‘reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of someone or something’ So, what does confiding in someone, trusting someone,…

woman using microscope to see genetic influence in alcohol use disorder

New Study Finds Genetic Influence in Alcohol Use Disorder

It is commonly held in modern science that a person’s genetics influence the risk of psychiatric disorders. But while genetic factors underlying addiction—i.e., alcohol and substance abuse disorder—clearly play an important role in the disease’s development, it can be hard figuring out the specifics of those factors in any given individual’s case (e.g., how does…

doctor with prescription bottles showing the process of Stealing Prescription Opiates

New Report Discloses Dramatic Rise in Doctors & Nurses Stealing Prescription Opiates

A report by data firm Protenus reveals an alarming problem in the midst of the opioid epidemic, and it’s called “opioid diversion.”[1] The report states that in 2018, over 47 million doses of legally prescribed opioids were “lost” due to healthcare employee theft and misuse, a startling increase of 126 percent from the previous year.…

woman walking down street during pandemic worried about overdose deaths

Latest Data Indicates Pandemic Spurring Rise in Overdose Deaths

“The concerns we have are related to the big challenges people are facing right now with COVID-19: isolation and uncertainty resulting in very high levels of stress.” — Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA)   According to a White House drug policy office analysis, there was a significant rise (11.4%)…

Psychiatrist vs Therapist listening to anxious woman

Psychiatrist vs. Therapist

Sometimes, when we finally commit to looking for help, what we find just complicates things. Indeed, what most people know about therapy, they’ve learned from TV and movies. In films, whenever someone needs help with addiction or mental health treatment, they see a psychiatrist or therapist. It doesn’t matter what title the script gives to…

woman gazing out window ready for addiction recovery

Rehab 101: When Facing “Resistance to Change” in Body, Mind or Spirit, Open-Mindedness and Willingness are Key

“Change is never painful. Only the resistance to change is painful.” – Buddha So often in early addiction recovery (or later for that matter, after months and years of being sober/clean), we find ourselves facing either relationship issues, work-related matters or other “life situations” that require us to change how we’ve approached them in the…