Best Continuing Care Programs After Addiction Treatment RecoveryBy Promises AustinMarch 24, 2017Choosing to enter a program in a drug treatment center is an important first step in addiction recovery. Organized treatment programs offer a structured multidisciplinary environment designed to address various components of addiction recovery, including emotional and psychological factors, and medical concerns. But when treatment is successfully completed, there is a critical next step during…
10 People You Need on Your Support Team in Addiction Recovery RecoveryBy Promises AustinMarch 22, 2017If you’re a recovering alcoholic or drug addict, giving up the substances you depended on to get you through the tough times is … tough. Even tougher is staying sober. In order to maintain your sobriety, you need a little help from your friends — and not the friends you used to drink or use…
Best Recovery Apps After Addiction Treatment RecoveryBy Promises AustinMarch 4, 2017Finishing a drug rehab program is just the first step to the rest of your sober and healthy life. To continue taking positive steps forward and to prevent a relapse, you’ll need ongoing support, resources and tools. Why not carry those very resources with you wherever you go? The urge to use can creep in…
Does Talk Therapy Work for Everyone in Addiction Recovery? RecoveryBy Promises AustinFebruary 22, 2017By Jana Albright, MA, CATC-IV, Primary Therapist at Promises Malibu Many addiction treatment programs emphasize talk therapy as a method for helping clients through the treatment process. Does talk therapy work for everyone? It depends, because every person who enters a drug treatment program arrives with their own complex and unique personal history, issues and…
How to Choose an AA Sponsor You Can Count On RecoveryBy Promises AustinFebruary 3, 2017While you’re going through the taxing and difficult process of recovering from an alcohol addiction, choosing an AA sponsor is one of the most important decisions you’ll have to make. A great AA sponsor wears many hats. Depending on your needs, your AA sponsor will be your confidante, guide, advisor, teacher, sounding board, comrade-in-arms or…
Turning Points/Rock Bottoms That Led Celebrities Into Recovery RecoveryBy Promises AustinJanuary 10, 2017One of the hallmarks of addiction is a persistent denial about one’s own condition. Many of us rationalized our behavior in order to feel better about how much we were drinking or using. “It’s only until I’m through this rough patch,” we might say. Or, “Everyone drinks/uses like this during the holidays.” If we’re lucky,…
6 Tricks for Developing Resilience in Addiction Recovery RecoveryBy Promises AustinJanuary 10, 2017A recovering addict faces the same ups and downs in life as anyone else, but with the added pressure of knowing how important it is to handle the “downs” without turning to drugs or alcohol. Recovering addicts need to develop rock-solid resilience in order to forge ahead and never look for solace in drugs or…
Imprisoned by Addiction, Freed by Recovery RecoveryBy Promises AustinSeptember 8, 2016Becky R. believes in miracles. How else can she explain the change in her life from two years ago when she heard a judge say these words after her arrest for selling ecstasy to an undercover agent: “You will spend a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 45 in the Illinois Department of…
Are Substitute Addictions an Inevitable Part of Recovery? RecoveryBy Promises AustinAugust 29, 2016Some people who recover from one chemical addiction or compulsive behavior will develop a different addiction while in recovery from the first one. Simply put, substitute addictions, also known as cross addictions, occur when a person “replaces” one addiction with another. Why are some people more successful in recovery, while others may bounce from one…
Romance in Recovery: Start With a Plant RecoveryBy Promises AustinAugust 15, 2016Active addicts and alcoholics typically don’t enjoy being told what they can or can’t do. The reason for this is simple: they’re usually being asked to do the No. 1 thing they don’t want to do: stop drinking or using. It leaves the addict with an automatic bristling when it comes to authority figures. So…
