What does family and recovery mean? Family members can play a very important role in their loved one’s recovery from drugs and alcohol. Whether your loved one has been in recovery or is just starting, there are many ways to offer support and encouragement.
Here are some ways to help your loved one begin or maintain their healthy life in recovery. Read more →
With the holiday season in full swing, I recently did a guest blog post for SoberNation.com called “Gearing up for the Holidays,” which discusses how to keep sobriety and joy during the holiday season.
“The holiday season can be a difficult time for anyone, especially someone in recovery or new to recovery. Aside from a schedule often riddled with trigger-filled parties, there is the added stress of money, work, and family this time of year. Money seems to be tight, deadlines loom before the first of the year, and families (in which relationships can be strained from years of alcohol and drug abuse) are expected to come together and be merry. It can be a recipe for disaster, which is why you have to prepare!” To read the rest of the article click over to the Sober Nation’s website here: http://www.sobernation.com/gearing-holidays/.
In a tear-filled episode last night, Glee said goodbye to one of its beloved characters, Finn. It was a farewell episode and tribute to actor Cory Monteith, who died of a lethal heroin and alcohol combination in July 2013. It’s such a tragedy to watch someone, such as the talented and loving Cory Monteith, be committed to recovery, to go through recovery, and yet face repeated relapse or overdose. The question that many of us are left with is: what can be done to try and avoid this? What is missing in treatment regimes that leaves a person more at risk for this outcome?
Cory Monteith’s accidental overdose occurred months after he entered rehab, during a risky time for those new to recovery. An extremely dangerous period exists for those who have been in recovery but relapse. Without realizing that their tolerance levels have lowered, they often return to using the same amount they were before becoming sober. This can result in an overdose. Deadly mixes of drugs and alcohol can also lead to overdose. Read more →
Relapse (and the fear of relapse!) is a common occurrence in addiction recovery. Although relapse is something that most want to avoid, it’s important to remember that relapse can provide valuable insight into triggers or other aspects of your recovery that you need to focus more of your attention. Over the years, doctors and researchers have compiled information on specific attitudes, feelings or behaviors that indicate an elevated risk for relapse and that might occur before the actual relapse “slip” does.
Here are 10 warning signs of drug or alcohol relapse:
When it comes to addiction recovery, is it important to believe in yourself, to re-establish self-trust? It is crucial. Addiction can strain many relationships in your life, and can cause feelings of disappointment and mistrust. This includes the relationship you have with yourself too! Read more →
With September being National Recovery Month, it is a time to educate people on the fact that addiction treatment is available, and living a healthy and rewarding life in recovery is possible. This national observance is also a time to praise the gains made by those in recovery for substance abuse and/or mental disorders. National Recovery Month encourages and celebrates those managing illnesses and “spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.”
Spearheaded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA.gov), National Recovery Month is now in its 24th year. Read more →
