Opioid withdrawal can be difficult and painful. It is often described as a terrible flu. Symptoms include irritability, anxiety, insomnia, goosebumps, yawning, runny nose, muscle and bone aches, tearing up, fever, sweating, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms typically peak after a few days then begin to decline. For most people, acute withdrawal…
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Perfectionism and substance use often go together. Perfectionists often have unrealistically high expectations for themselves and then are extremely hard on themselves when they don’t meet those expectations. Perfectionists are often harshly self-critical. Their unyielding attitude can lead to anxiety, depression, and addiction. Perfectionism can also make recovery much harder, since as with other things,…
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With the opioid epidemic growing every year, federal, state, and local governments are doing whatever they can to increase access to treatment. A big part of that is making sure addiction treatment is covered by insurance and funding programs to help get more people into treatment. Generally speaking, this is a good thing. Every year,…
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When you think of someone struggling with a substance use disorder, “perfectionist” may not be the first word that comes to mind. We tend to think of perfectionists as people who have it together, who are organized, who pay attention to details. On the other hand, we may think of someone with a substance use…
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It’s often said that relapse is part of recovery, that, far from being a catastrophe, it’s a necessary step in overcoming addiction. Others say this message is unnecessarily pessimistic and creates an expectation of failure. Which way of thinking about relapse is most helpful for people trying to recover from a substance use disorder? First,…
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Getting someone you love to enter addiction treatment is often difficult. You may experience several stages of resistance. First, they don’t acknowledge the problem. Then, they may acknowledge they have a problem but they can take care of it on their own. After these two hurdles have been cleared, they may resort to practical objections.…
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Social support is one of the biggest predictors of success in recovery. Having a strong sober network reduces stress, increases positive endorphins, gives you more resources for dealing with adversity, and helps keep you accountable in your recovery. In a perfect world, this strong support network would begin with your family. Your family would participate…
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People often feel conflicted about entering treatment for addiction. Although they may know that addiction is making them miserable and they need to do something about it, they may also feel apprehensive about the challenges ahead. Here are some of the common fears people have about entering addiction treatment. Detox Perhaps the most concrete and…
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The question seems like it has an obvious answer: Recovery means you no longer manifest addictive behavior. On closer inspection, though, the answer is not so obvious, and in fact, there are probably many valid answers. Everyone is different, with a different history, a different pattern of substance use, and different goals for recovery. If…
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Recovery from addiction is not a straight line. Nearly everyone has slip-ups, setbacks, and relapses. Everyone has bad days when they feel like they can’t possibly last much longer in recovery. When these setbacks happen, whether it’s something relatively small like losing your temper or something more serious like a relapse, the important thing is…
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