The Dangers of Mommy Wine Culture

Mama needs some wine

“It’s Mommy’s turn to wine!” You’ve probably seen the memes on Facebook or the clichéd quotes on novelty glasses and sparkly t-shirts. Mommy wine culture is everywhere. Wine moms are fun, cool, and young at heart. They’re the antithesis of the supermom stereotype, demonstrating that it’s normal for parents not to be perfect. The message … Read More

“Can I Tell You A Sobering Story?”

Great challenges, great rewards

This story is about one of my proudest sober accomplishments. Honestly, sometimes I think I’m more proud of this than graduating from college.  It all began when three friends of mine decided to plan a trip to the Tetons.  Knowing that I was a certified mountain guide, they figured that if they convinced me to … Read More

What is Step 3 in AA?

What is Step 3 in AA?

In step two of AA, you were exploring your relationship with God or another higher power and beginning to wrap your mind around the idea of surrendering control to this power. In step three of AA, you’re making the conscious decision to actually do this. Made a decision to turn our will and lives over … Read More

What is Step 2 in AA?

What is Step 2 in AA?

If you’re at all familiar with the 12 steps of AA, you probably know that they’re a very spiritual program. But what is step 2 in AA, the second step is where participants begin to create a relationship with a higher power, a relationship that they’ll explore more deeply as they move on to other … Read More

The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

Even those who have never had first- or second-hand experience with addiction are likely somewhat familiar with the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. This is one of the most well-known programs for addiction recovery and for good reason: it’s also one of the most effective programs. According to AA, up to 75% of its members … Read More

What is White Knuckling & How to Overcome It

What is White Knuckling?

AA’s Big Book states that “We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality—safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem had been removed. It does not exist for us.” Recovering from a substance addiction is more … Read More

What is the Difference Between Supporting and Enabling an Addict?

Difference Between Supporting and Enabling and Addict

Loving an addict is hard. Of course, you want to show them you still love them and support them through their recovery journey. Knowing exactly how to support him or her can be tricky, though. Sometimes, it may feel like you’re helping them when you’re actually enabling their addiction. It can seem like a fine … Read More

How Long Does it Take to Recover from Addiction?

How Long Does It Take To Recover From Addiction

If you have a close friend or family member suffering from addiction, you might be wondering how long recovery takes. It’s certainly an understandable question – addiction is hard to cope with, both for the addict themselves and for their loved ones. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is not as clear-cut as you’re probably … Read More

Any Length Webinar Recap: Q&A With Anthony

Any Length Webinar

Back in April, we hosted our first-ever national webinar. It was a privilege to orchestrate a Q&A session with one of Any Length Retreat’s alumni, Anthony Brooks, about his experience with addiction, his time at the retreat, and what his life is like now that he’s two years sober. If you didn’t have a chance … Read More

Applying the HALT Method During Recovery in Self-Isolation

Applying the HALT Method During Recovery in Self Isolation

Over the last month, we’ve posted a lot about different ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic can affect those in recovery. We’ve talked about the feelings of loneliness and boredom that may arise during self-isolation and how to be proactive about reducing these feelings to avoid triggering a relapse. However, we know that in some … Read More

Foods to Prevent Getting Sick While Promoting Recovery

Foods to Prevent Getting Sick While Promoting Recovery

It’s certainly an interesting time to be in recovery – adjusting to a new normal is difficult thanks to COVID-19, which is making life anything but normal. One thing we often suggest as a way to ease into your new, addiction-free lifestyle is eating in a way that will support you through recovery. Now, during … Read More

The Importance of Hobbies in Recovery

The Importance of Hobbies in Recovery

For a lot of people, a part of recovering from their addiction is rediscovering who they are without the substances that they used to rely on. Some people might feel like they need to find a whole new identity outside of drugs or alcohol. This process can take time and be incredibly difficult. That’s especially … Read More

How to Channel Your Energy into Productivity While Self-Isolating

How to channel your energy into productivity while rehabilitating yourself

At this point, the COVID-19 pandemic has been running rampant across the United States for about a month. In order to slow the spread, many people are social distancing and self-isolating. In our last post, we talked a bit about how, even though self-isolating is effective at slowing the spread of a virus, it can … Read More

How to Support Your Loved One Through Recovery During COVID-19

How to support a loved one while in rehab

COVID-19 has changed the concept of “normal” for nearly everyone in the United States. Many people may be struggling with extended periods spent indoors or without seeing certain friends or family members. If someone you love is currently in recovery for substance addiction, you may feel a bit of extra concern regarding how well they’re … Read More

How Effective is Sober Living?

How Effective is Sober Living

Recovery from addiction to alcohol or drugs is a journey, and that journey looks different for every individual. For many people, one stop on that journey is a sober living facility. Sober living homes act as a transition stage for people who have completed their time in inpatient recovery but still require a bit of … Read More

What Does Addiction Do to the Brain?

Brain damage

We know the basics of what constitutes an addiction: a compulsive need for a particular substance that takes priority over things like relationships, work, and the person’s financial situation. To many people who have never had a brush with addiction, it can seem a bit surprising that a person’s need to drink or use drugs … Read More

What Are Cross Addictions?

What Are Cross Addictions

“Cross addiction” is a term to describe someone suffering from two or more addictive behaviors. In most cases, the person will have addictions to multiple substances, like drugs or alcohol, but it also includes when a person is addicted to, for example, alcohol and sex or gambling. Other terms for cross addiction include addiction transfer … Read More

How to Help an Addict Without Enabling Them

mutual support against addiction

When you’re watching someone you love suffer from an addiction to drugs or alcohol, it’s common to feel very helpless. Because of this, it’s also common for people to try to do too much, get too involved, and accidentally end up enabling the addict despite acting with good intentions. Behaviors that enable an addicted person … Read More

Why Marijuana is Dangerous for a Drug Addict

Why marijuana is dangerous

Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the United States and the rest of the world. It’s used medicinally in many cases and can help treat symptoms of chronic illnesses like HIV, multiple sclerosis, cancer, Crohn’s disease, and seizure disorders. Other cultures around the world use it because they believe it has spiritual properties. … Read More

Signs and Dangers of Complacency in Sobriety

Signs and Dangers of Complacency in Sobriety

Getting sober can be an amazing feeling after months or years taken up by addiction. However, there’s such a thing as being too comfortable with your sobriety, and it’s not necessarily a good thing. When a person begins feels complacent, they feel they’ve already done enough to improve their situation and no longer feel in … Read More

What to Expect When Detoxing from Heroin

Heroin detoxification

Most of us know the United States is in the middle of an opioid crisis. The crisis refers in large part to prescription medication being abused, but there’s another common opioid that’s been around for decades: heroin. Just under a million Americans reported using heroin in the past year, according to a 2016 survey. Between … Read More

Why Reliance on A Higher Power is More Helpful than Willpower for Beating Addiction

Spiritual changes

Many people who have completed a 12-step addiction recovery program go on to sing its praises once they’ve recovered. One of the key differentiators between 12-step programs and other recovery programs (and arguably one of the reasons it’s so effective for so many people) is its incorporation of spirituality. Spirituality and religion are not necessarily … Read More

Tips for Your Diet in Recovery

Tips for Your Diet in Recovery

Recovering from drug or alcohol addiction is a gradual process that involves making many lifestyle changes. We’ve recently talked about how exercise affects the body and can help a recovering addict manage cravings. There’s another major lifestyle change that a lot of people are making at the beginning of a new year: diet. Is there … Read More

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