According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 60% of individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) will enter sustained recovery, yet many will relapse first. The thought of relapse after all your hard work in treatment can leave you feeling defeated. However, your risk for relapse post-treatment is not an inevitable thing. Rather, relapseRead More
When you embark on the journey to recovery, you are actively deciding to experience the greatest pleasures that life can offer. While finding peace after substance use is a long and sometimes challenging road, it is worth the effort. Drugs, alcohol, and other substances are the source of your problems, not the solution. Therefore theyRead More
Most people come kicking and screaming into recovery. Taking away their beloved drugs and alcohol is almost too much for them to handle because they no longer have a way to cope with life. As they begin their journey in recovery, one of the things they will have to muster is willingness. Cessation fromRead More
Our struggles with addiction can cause us to feel totally disheartened, defeated and down on ourselves. We feel self-hating, self-rejecting and insecure. We carry deep shame about our mistakes, shortcoming and wrongdoings. We wonder if we’ll ever be able to regain our confidence and repair our self-esteem. Our self-worth has been so depleted we worryRead More
When it comes to living in sober living, not many would call it comfortable by any standard. Living with unknown persons, having some freedom taken away, and living under the watchful eye of others who more or less tell a person what to do and when can seem like a difficult proposition. In recovery, however,Read More
To a newcomer, the idea of life without drugs and alcohol is baffling. If you attend 12-Step meetings, you’ll notice how happy people are, and question whether or not they’re sober. How on earth could anyone go 6 months, a year, or many years without a drink or a drug? They must be lying, right?Read More
Maybe it is your aunt, your grandma, your uncle, or your Cousin Joe. Most people have at least one relative who is difficult, toxic, challenging, and frequently triggering. As the holiday comes and the interaction with your dreaded relative becomes inevitable, here are a few tools for coping. Remember, if any part of your holidayRead More
Few people feel empowered, strong, resilient, and capable when they come to recovery. Most often they feel broken, tattered, shattered, weak, shameful, guilty, and at a low point. Choosing to recover- be it from trauma, addictions, or mental health issues- is a great mark of strength. Even when your thoughts and feelings tell you theRead More
Going through withdrawals from drugs and alcohol can be a traumatizing experience. Feeling what is essentially poison leave your body can be an overwhelming experience. The symptoms of withdrawal range from mild to severe. Headaches, migraines, and nausea are often the lesser symptoms. Other symptoms like cravings, obsessive thinking, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, hallucinations, muscle cramps,Read More