Kindling Theory: Can You Turn Off a Potentially Fatal Mental Illness? Mental HealthBy Promises AustinApril 17, 2013First, a Story Kassia is 16. She’s a smart girl, makes mostly As and Bs with an occasional C thrown in when she isn’t showing her best effort. She’s enrolled in AP English. She belongs to a group of girls who visit the mall regularly, attend football and basketball games, and take turns sleeping at…
Can I Get Kicked Out of Rehab? Addiction TreatmentBy Promises AustinApril 16, 2013Getting over addiction is never easy. That means rehab isn’t easy either. The structure, emotional vulnerability and lack of substances to mute feelings can clash with the lifestyle of addiction you’ve been leading. If you are struggling to get into a groove with your treatment program, you may be wondering if you can get kicked…
Next Step Prepaid Credit Card Can Help Addicts Gain Control RecoveryBy Promises AustinApril 14, 2013There are many tools available to assist alcohol and drug addicts with their recovery once they make the decision to be sober. Physicians, rehabilitation facilities, licensed therapists, support groups, and 12-step recovery systems such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are available to individuals hoping to kick a troublesome habit. Recently, a company called the…
Behind Closed Doors: Millions of Women Eating in Secret Eating DisordersBy Promises AustinApril 13, 2013If some women had a secret food camera, it might be surprising to see how much they eat. It might also be surprising how few women are talking about their emotional eating or binge-eating habits that happen behind closed doors.
Relapse After Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Borderline PersonalityBy Promises AustinApril 12, 2013It took 50 years for my mother to finally admit that she had a mental health issue – longer still for her to accept out loud that she fit all nine of the criteria for borderline personality disorder. Now that she has, I feel emotionally validated by her for the first time, and because she…
How To Stop Enabling Your Addicted Spouse Family ResourcesBy Promises AustinApril 10, 2013Acknowledge your role as an enabler. Staying on the path you are on now will only perpetuate the problem and reduce the likeliness that your loved one will ever get the help he or she needs. Find help. Living with an addicted spouse causes tremendous stress. You may be dealing with a loved one who…
Are You Counter-Dependent? Mental HealthBy Promises AustinApril 9, 2013So much is known and widely discussed when it comes to co-dependency in popular culture, but very little light gets shed on its evil twin, counter-dependency. While co-dependents are weak, needy, and clingy, centering their behavior on what others do, think, and want, counter-dependents are on the flipside of this. Counter-dependency is when someone projects…
Top 10 Myths about Drug and Alcohol Treatment Alcohol AbuseBy Promises AustinApril 8, 2013For alcoholics, drug addicts, and their families, treatment, and rehabilitation offer the hope of redemption and healing. But substance abusers and the people who love them are often unsure what exactly to expect from the treatment, and their tentative sense of optimism is often tempered by uncertainty and trepidation. Complicating things further, misconceptions about the…
The Effects of Substance Abuse on Employment Drug Addiction InfoBy Promises AustinApril 7, 2013In a tight economy, it is worth examining what makes a person more, or less, employable. The question of how alcohol and drug use impact a person’s job has been looked at from several directions. But each study comes up with the same conclusion – that there is a definite link between a person’s use…
7 Signs You’re Enabling Your Addicted Spouse Family ResourcesBy Promises AustinApril 3, 2013If you suspect or know that your spouse is struggling with drug addiction or alcoholism, you may be at a loss as to how to help him or her. What can you do? How do you confront the issue? The answers don’t come easily; after all, it’s not as though you were taught in school…
