Protecting Yourself in Early Recovery
The decision to get sober is not an easy one, and early on we often do not fully understand what that commitment entails. Early recovery is an extremely vulnerable time ...
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What is the Sinclair Method?
If one were to take a survey of addiction treatment methods used in residential and outpatient care environments, there would be a common theme: they require total abstinence. It’s the …
5 Strategies to Manage Anxiety About Re-Opening
Occasional anxiety is an expected part of life. But we are living in unexpected times, with an uncharted way forward as vaccines continue to roll out in the US. Managing …
Anticipating the Wave of Post-COVID Depression
While it is known that the isolation of quarantine itself led to rises in depression and relapse due to environmental causes, there is a direct physiological link between post-viral inflammation …
Don’t Lose Hope: Accepting Help is a Process
It’s easy for people who are not so familiar with substance abuse to assume that loved ones struggling with an active addiction can just one day flip a switch and …
Helping Addicts Sometimes Means Backing Away
It’s a classic scenario: a parent, significant other, or friend swoops in to help a struggling addict who has found themselves in a difficult situation due to their use. Perhaps …
Summer Drug Use: ‘Tis the Season for Triggers!
What do you picture when you think of summer? The beach, BBQs, pool parties, the run-down mini van your family used to pile into for road trips to the lake? ...
High-Functioning Alcoholics Struggle During COVID-19
When someone thinks of an alcoholic they may imagine someone with messed up clothes, bad hair, no job, and maybe no place to live. This is often far from the …
Avoiding Relapse During Social Distancing
We all feel a bit blindsided by this pandemic. Coronavirus has caused people (even those not in recovery) to panic. But this situation is particularly difficult for recovering addicts and …
How Boundaries Collapse in Outpatient Treatment
It’s the drive home from outpatient. You had a good session today: participated in group, got acknowledgement from your counselor for being on track, and turned in a full meeting ...