Important Things to Leave Behind in RecoveryRecoveryBy Promises AustinFebruary 18, 2012When you enter recovery, it should be a joyous time in your life. After all, you’ve come through drug or alcohol rehab more or less unscathed, at least from the standpoint that you’re now clean and sober and have some idea of the path you’ll be taking from here on out in recovery. The key… Details
Five Stages of Surrender Within the Twelve StepsPersonal ResourcesBy Promises AustinFebruary 14, 2012“The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous,” created by A.A. founders Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, has had a major spiritual influence on the lives of millions of people. Everyone can use the concepts in these steps as guidelines to living their own lives. The references to alcohol and alcoholics in steps one and 12 can be substituted… Details
Do You Really Need a Sponsor in Recovery?RecoveryBy Promises AustinFebruary 14, 2012If you’ve successfully completed rehab and are now in recovery, the first thing you should do is congratulate yourself on a significant achievement. You are now clean and sober and that’s the key driver toward maintaining your sobriety going forward. But if you are like most newcomers to recovery, this is an entirely new lifestyle… Details
10 Signs that Your Loved One Needs Addiction TreatmentFamily ResourcesBy Promises AustinFebruary 7, 2012There are several different types of addictions, including drug addiction, alcoholism, and gambling addiction to name a few. Each type requires specialized addiction treatment in order to help addicts overcome their addictive behavior and lead a more constructive and enjoyable life. While the symptoms may vary to some degree from one individual to the next,… Details
5 Common Obstacles to Successful Alcohol RehabilitationAlcohol AbuseBy Promises AustinFebruary 6, 2012Just ask anyone who’s gone through alcohol rehabilitation what is was like. You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who will tell you that it was easy. Those who stick with it and stay sober will most likely tell you that going to rehab was one of the best decisions they ever made. Without treatment,… Details
An Interview with Betsy Spier, Executive Director at Promises West L.A.Staff StoriesBy Promises AustinFebruary 4, 2012Working at Promises is like “coming home” for Betsy Spier. She first stepped foot on Promises’ driveway in 1993 as a marriage and family therapy intern, where she met founder Richard Rogg and instantly had an “amazing feeling about the place.” In the past 20 years, she has worked in a variety of treatment settings,… Details
20 Tips to Help Improve Your Self-Esteem After Drug RehabRecoveryBy Promises AustinJanuary 31, 2012It’s normal to feel pretty low immediately after drug rehab, but if you’re still struggling to regain your self-esteem and it’s been longer than you thought it would be before you felt somewhat normal again, don’t fret. While it does take time to heal from all the damage that drug and alcohol abuse does to… Details
Sex Addiction BasicsSex AddictionBy Promises AustinJanuary 28, 2012Sexual addiction is a compulsive preoccupation with sexual thoughts, the pursuit of sex or sexual behaviors, which the individual is unable to stop in spite of negative consequences to their life, career, relationships or health. Also known as an intimacy disorder or hypersexuality, sexual addiction can be considered a process addiction, similar to gambling, binge… Details
The Benefits of Residential Drug RehabAddiction TreatmentBy Promises AustinJanuary 27, 2012Surveys conducted by our nation’s government report that over 2 million Americans stand in need of drug recovery treatment. Sadly, those same reports tell us that less than three percent of those who need it will actually ever set foot inside of a rehab facility. One might have sympathized with a person who faced hospitalization… Details
Group Therapy in Drug RehabTherapiesBy Promises AustinJanuary 26, 2012Drug or alcohol addiction almost always leads a person to isolation. Isolation from a healthy community brings its own mental health problems. Given that the substance-addicted person is living this sort of detached existence, it ought not to be so surprising that re-connecting them to a group or community will help address several important issues… Details
