“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%)…
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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…
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I once told someone in my addiction recovery network about a guy who would brag about the length of his clean time, but always seemed angry. My friend’s reply was, “I actually know who you’re talking about. He may be abstinent, but that’s not the same as recovery.” I’ve seen over the years just how…
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“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…
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“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” – Will Rogers When we’ve “finally had enough” and come into recovery—via an addiction treatment center, an impaired professionals program or a 12 Steps fellowship—most of us are told that abstinence from drinking or using drugs is an essential beginning—”we don’t drink or use, no matter…
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Whether you’ve just recently walked through the doors of a drug and alcohol treatment program or have been in a doctors or professionals recovery program for months or years (or you’re anywhere in between), it’s very likely you’ll hear or have already heard someone say, “More will be revealed.” Some common first responses to hearing…
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“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo Around the world, in both addiction treatment centers and 12 Steps programs for substance abuse, there is a widely held understanding that one of the core “character defects” or shortcomings prevalent in those afflicted by alcoholism or addiction is…
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As marijuana use becomes legal as a medical option, people are beginning to wonder, what is marijuana? Marijuana, a powerful hypnotic drug, raises levels of pleasure chemicals in the user’s brain. The flood of chemicals causes extreme pleasure, calmness and may raise or suppress appetite. The drug relaxes some people and energizes others. Repeated drug…
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“Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the most important gift I’ve been given.” – Parker Palmer Being in recovery—whether early on (e.g., in treatment for alcohol or drug abuse) or with many years “clean and sober”—we’re often reminded of the importance of regularly practicing self-care (i.e., daily self-care).…
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