Thanksgiving is a stressful holiday for many people. You may have to travel or cook for a lot of guests. Whenever you have a big family gathering there are bound to be arguments of some kind. If you are still relatively new to recovery, you may feel extra pressure, especially if your family members drink…
By now, most of us are aware of the big myth about opioid painkillers that kicked off the opioid epidemic: that opioid painkillers are not addictive. Decades of intensive marketing by drug manufacturers convinced doctors and patients that drugs like OxyContin were safe for long-term use and would not lead to addiction. Now we know…
The majority of Americans drink at least sometimes. We drink with dinner, we drink with friends, we drink with strangers, we drink to celebrate, and we drink to mourn. With so many culturally acceptable reasons to drink, it can be hard to tell when you or someone you know has a problem. Here are some…
Recovering from addiction isn’t easy, and it’s even harder if you have unrealistic ideas about recovery. You might feel like you’re not progressing as fast as you should or that you’re having problems no one else has. In reality, although everyone’s story is unique, there are very few unique problems in addiction recovery. However, having…
Emotional regulation is our ability to turn the volume up or down on our emotions. We need emotions just like we need thinking and breathing, but when we let our emotions control us, we often run into trouble. Emotions may be excessive, counterproductive, or just inappropriate. For example, it’s normal to be sad over a…
Learning healthy coping skills is one of the most important parts of addiction recovery. For many people who struggle with addiction, substance use was their primary means of coping with life’s difficulties. Whether the issue was stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma, drugs or alcohol helped to relieve the distress. Recovery may appear daunting because you…
More than 16 million American adults had a major episode of depression in the last year, and that figure appears to be growing. Symptoms of depression include sadness or depressed mood, fatigue, sleep disturbances, such as sleeping too much or too little, changes in weight, slow movements, aches, inability to focus, feelings of hopelessness, and…
An intervention is essentially a last-ditch effort to convince a loved one to enter treatment for addiction. By this point, you’ve already discussed your concerns with your loved one and given her a chance to change. Despite your support and encouragement, you haven’t seen any improvement and so you feel like you have to try…
Group therapy is a common element of treatment for addiction and other mental health issues. A group typically comprises five to 15 participants and is led by one or two therapists. Sessions usually last an hour and a half or two hours. Group therapy can be used as a stand-alone therapy or in combination with…
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD is a condition characterized by uncontrollable, recurring thoughts and behaviors. The popular conception of someone with OCD is that she keeps a meticulously clean house, arranges everything by color, size, or place in the alphabet, and simply must straighten an unlevel picture. In reality, OCD can take many different forms. The…
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