While it may feel like addiction is one person’s problem, it is really a problem for everyone around her too. Not only do the consequences of addiction radiate outward to your friends and family, but dysfunctional relationships may also contribute to the development of addiction. Treatment for addiction can’t just focus on one thing. It… Continue Reading Why Family Therapy Makes Addiction Recovery Easier
Those of us living with addiction who are also parents face specific challenges. Our addiction affects not only us but the people around us, and our children are uniquely affected. Our role as their parents makes us responsible for our children’s well-being, but when we’re struggling with addiction at the same time, we are impacted… Continue Reading How Does Our Addiction Impact Us as Parents?
Upon entering addiction recovery treatment, group therapy may be a new experience for many of us. We’re more used to traditional therapy, where we work one-on-one with a psychologist. Group therapy allows us to explore topics in a group setting that we all have experience with. When it comes to addiction recovery, there are some… Continue Reading The Benefits of Group Therapy
After completing addiction treatment, joining a mutual support program is a good way to start building a strong sober network and to keep the lessons you learned in treatment fresh in your mind. 12-step programs like AA are the best known of these groups, but they may not work for everyone. Some people prefer a… Continue Reading What are SMART Recovery Meetings Like?
For many of us struggling with addiction, our fears that our children are being affected by our addiction can be a major catalyst for us to finally get the help we need. We worry that our issues are adversely affecting our children, even when we try as hard as we can to keep them separate… Continue Reading How Does Addiction Affect Our Children?
As we’re doing the important work of recovery, one thing we come to learn is that our relationships have a lot to do with our mental and emotional health. When we are in stressful relationships, our well-being suffers. Similarly, when we are not at peace within ourselves, this is reflected in our relationships and the… Continue Reading Learning Conflict Resolution for Recovery
Addiction relapse rates vary considerably, depending on the person and the drug. A commonly cited statistic from The Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that relapse rates are between 40 and 60 percent, while other estimates put the rate of alcohol and opioid relapse at closer to 90 percent in the first year. The… Continue Reading 4 Reasons Women Relapse After Addiction Treatment
A common question people have in addiction recovery is whether dreams about using again is a sign they are going to relapse. The dreamer may believe she has actually relapsed and wake up feeling relieved, or possibly distressed that it was all a dream. Dreaming of relapse is actually extremely common in addiction recovery. One… Continue Reading Is It a Bad Sign to Dream About Using Again?
Social media addiction has been much in the news lately. While experts agree that calling obsessive social media use an addiction is hyperbolic, especially considering the damage that substance addictions can do to your life, excessive social media use is still a cause for concern. Many studies have now found associations between social media use… Continue Reading 5 Ways to Beat Social Media Addiction
Dealing with cravings is one of the biggest challenges of addiction recovery. Sometimes they seem to come out of nowhere and they can be very intense. Your brain starts to engage in all sorts of crazy logic to justify using “just one more time.” You might find yourself pacing your room, feeling like you’re about… Continue Reading How Long Do Drug Cravings Last?