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 […]
If you or someone you love is suffering from a substance addiction, you may have done a bit of research into treatment and recovery options in your area. We took a look at how many substance abuse treatment centers there are in each state and compared those numbers to the number of people who have […]
If you’re currently suffering or in recovery from an addiction to drugs or alcohol, you may be looking for different types of professionals who can help support you through your journey to sobriety. You may have come across licensed therapists or treatment centers that can help you overcome your addiction. If you prefer a less […]
If you or someone you love is looking to get help for a drug, alcohol, or any other type of addiction, you’ve probably seen that both long and short term options are available. You may be tempted by a 30-day treatment program, thinking you can go into treatment and come out cured just a month […]
If you were to read through the twelve steps, you might find that the wording, at least for the first few steps, has a distinct feeling of “surrendering” to it, particularly surrendering to a higher power. There are two ways we can approach recovery: by simply complying with what is being asked of us, or […]
When it comes to beating an addiction, the 12-step recovery model is one of the most effective tools used in treatment. They were created by Alcoholics Anonymous as a guideline to working through and overcoming an addiction. The 12 steps, as defined by AA, are as follows: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol and […]
Thanks to the Internet, we’re living in a world of diet trends and fads. In the last few years, we’ve seen a huge increase in people following keto diets, veganism, and more. A lot of people roll their eyes at others who jump on these diet bandwagons, but what if they actually work? More specifically, […]
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 […]
“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 […]
Completing a treatment program is only the first step in achieving lifelong recovery from an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Once your treatment is over, there’s still work to be done – it’s likely that your entire lifestyle will have to change. When you were in the thick of your addiction, you were probably neglecting […]
Remember how far you’ve come from the moment you stepped into your recovery program and how far you’ve come since then. According to the twelfth step of Alcoholics (or Narcotics) Anonymous, in order to fully recover and take your sobriety to the next level, you must share yourself and your story with those who are […]
For hundreds of years, drugs have been abused all over the world. As the years go by, trends in the types of drugs and demographics of users often change. The data we have on drug use can help us have an idea of what drug use will look like in the next few years, and […]
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 […]
One of the biggest steps to putting your addiction behind you and returning to a “normal” life is going back to work. Starting to work after treatment is a great way to create structure in your new life, and this is vital to maintaining long-term sobriety. It’s important to be especially careful in your first […]
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. […]
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 […]
Any article you may come across about living a healthy lifestyle points out how important it is to get enough sleep. During sleep, the body has the chance to rest and recover so it can continue functioning properly day after day. Often, people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol don’t have healthy sleep habits. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
For most people in recovery from an addiction, treatment involves some sort of counseling: speaking with another individual or a group of people to figure out the root cause and to learn how to manage any feelings or emotions that could lead to a future relapse. Recovering from an addiction is all about making lifestyle […]
Often, when we imagine someone addicted to drugs or alcohol, we picture a person in their 20s, 30s, 40s, or 50s. Rarely would we imagine a young teen or an older person as an addict. However, it’s entirely possible for people at either end of the age spectrum to suffer from an addiction. What treatment […]
Finding out someone you love has been abusing alcohol or drugs can be heartbreaking. Your spouse may have already tried to stop drinking or using to no avail. It can leave you feeling scared and asking a lot of questions – does he or she even care? Are these substances more important to him or […]
It can be extremely tough watching someone you love suffer at the hands of drugs or alcohol. They may not believe they have a problem, or they may not want to get help. Having the support of you, someone who loves them, can make it easier for an addict to begin taking steps to get […]
Nobody wants to believe someone they love could be using drugs. It’s easy to let panic set in and worst-case scenarios take over your mind. Thinking about everything that might go wrong can be scary, but it’s important to remain calm and not let your fears take over. Here’s what you should do if you […]
If you’ve lost yourself to an addiction, the concept of sobriety can be a hard one to grasp. You may not remember what it feels like to live a life free from the influence of drugs or alcohol. The idea of achieving sobriety may even feel a bit intimidating, as if you’re venturing into unknown […]
If you’ve been looking into or have recently completed a treatment program for drug or alcohol addiction, you’ve likely come across sober living programs. Maybe you’ve wondered whether sober living is actually helpful. Sober living homes provide residents with a stepping stone from inpatient treatment to “normal” life. In the 18 months following completion of […]
By nature, humans are social creatures. Because of this, we crave connection with other humans. While it’s absolutely possible to achieve success individually, we’re often able to achieve better and faster results when we’re working with a group. If you think about it that way, it makes complete sense that so many addiction recovery programs, […]
Anyone who has struggled with addiction knows it can be hard to imagine what a future free from substance dependency looks like. It’s easy to let yourself be consumed by negative thoughts: “getting sober is too hard”, “only certain types of people have it in them to overcome addiction”, etc. Remember, almost everyone who has […]
Even if you’ve never battled an addiction yourself, you’ve likely heard the word “sponsor” in connection with addiction recovery. A sponsor is a mentor or a guide who has gone through the journey to recovery themselves and is able to mentor or guide another person, known as a sponsee, who is working toward recovery themselves. […]
There’s no doubt that recovering from addiction is rarely easy. It’s also difficult to answer the question of why addiction is so hard to overcome. Addiction has many layers, and each addiction is as complex and unique as each person suffering. To best guess why addiction is so difficult to beat, let’s take a look […]
