When you worry that you’re in danger of falling into relapse or make some serious mistakes that could land you in trouble, it’s time to do something proactive to get yourself back firmly in step with recovery principles. The reality is that fear of relapse is quite common, especially among the newly sober individuals just…
Though alcohol addiction is a behavioral illness, many experts agree that environmental factors figure largely in how a person thinks about and interacts with alcohol. Environmental factors such as product availability, social attitude and advertising can all play a part in whether or not a person will abuse alcohol. Socio-economic factors may also contribute, but…
Substance abuse is not a respecter of persons. Addiction affects both men and women alike; however, each sex may use for very different reasons. More often than men, women use alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism for dealing with anxiety and depression. They are also up to three times as likely to suffer from…
Most parents are familiar with the term low grade fever. A child who has a slight temperature, not high enough to arouse alarm and yet, not quite normal is described as running a low grade temperature. Dysthymia is a term used by psychologists to describe something similar in terms of mood function. Dysthymia describes a…
Long hidden due to shame and stigma, the issue of women who drink to dangerous levels is finally brought to light in a documentary film that goes into great detail about who these women are and why they started on the path of self-destructive drinking. Lipstick & Liquor, which debuted at the Reel Recovery Film…
Feeling disgusted with yourself for your past days of addiction? Do you walk around with a gloomy look on your face, mirroring what you carry inside? Ashamed, guilty, filled with pain and anxiety, torn-up in your guts because you’ve destroyed everything important to you and lost everyone you loved? It’s not a pretty picture, is…
Almost everyone has a friend or relative suffering from addiction to alcohol or drugs. The closer you are to an addicted loved one, the harder setting boundaries with an addict is. Addicted loved ones may lie, cheat or steal to cover their tracks. Even people with otherwise rock-solid boundaries can find alcoholics and addicts pushing…
A young mother attending her children’s school functions and sports events doesn’t create the typical picture of a person with a drug addiction, but it’s an alarming and growing reality, say experts. Recent articles have highlighted moms who have had children removed from the home or spent time incarcerated for drug use, often resorting to…
To most of us, vulnerability isn’t a desirable state. We think of vulnerability to disease or attack and assume it’s something that should be avoided at all costs. But according to Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, a speaker, author and research professor at the University of Houston, embracing our vulnerability is an essential skill for a…
Just because you’ve decided to quit drinking and doing drugs, have completed rehab and are now in what’s termed “recovery,” doesn’t mean that you need to resign yourself to living the rest of your life in a ho-hum, boring existence. While you may think that being clean and sober is just plain dull, the truth…
