What do you do about chronic pain management when prescription drugs fall short? Right now there are about five to eight million people in the U.S. that use prescription drugs to manage chronic pain. And yet there is insufficient evidence to show that long-term use of opioid therapy is effective at improving chronic pain, function or quality of life. In fact a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine tells us that prescription painkillers may not be the most effective treatment for chronic pain. Meanwhile the rate of abuse is dramatically increasing.
With June being PTSD Awareness Month, we wanted to take a closer look at understanding PTSD, its symptoms, and some of the
more common misconceptions. Most of us are familiar with the movie-version of PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: the soldier returning from war who loses it in a psychotic, angry and violent episode. But this isn’t the only version of PTSD.
Common Misconceptions about PTSD
#1: Only war vets suffer from PTSD Read more →
This week is National Alcohol and Drug-related Birth Defects Awareness Week and an important time to talk about why women should avoid alcohol while trying to conceive. While the majority of women already know the dangers 
of consuming alcohol while pregnant, many forget that early on, before you even know you are pregnant, your body is still vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.
The CDC now recommends that if you are planning to become pregnant to avoid consuming alcohol. By the time you find out you are pregnant it could be anywhere from 2-6 weeks along, and significant damage could have already occurred by this time.
Having to deal with cravings can make you feel lost in an endless maze of Peachtree-named streets, and can be as annoying and frustrating as sitting on 285, 85, 75, or 400 during rush hour. But learning how to deal with cravings is an important part of recovery. Our goal is to help you understand cravings, identify triggers, avoid cues, and manage with coping skills. 
Cravings can be the brain’s way of remembering a habit or behavior that has been repeated many times. They are often normal in early recovery and do pass, even the ones that feel quite strong. But cravings also tell us what our body is lacking and needs. For someone who has struggled with substance abuse, their body is often deficient in vitamins, minerals and more. So this needs to be addressed in early recovery to help the body heal from the damage. Read more →
Do you ever think that you might need to cut back on alcohol even if you aren’t an alcoholic?
Some people find that they drink more than they’d like to, but don’t feel they can be defined by the label: alcoholic. They find their relationship to alcohol to be tricky and challenging, but are worried about reaching out for help because it doesn’t seem like an all or nothing situation. Here are some signs to look for that might signal you should consider reevaluating your relationship to alcohol:
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On the heels of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics March’s “National Nutrition Month®,” we wanted to discuss the importance of diet and nutrition in recovery. In every substance abuse recovery there is the goal of changing negative behaviors into positive ones. Eating right, relaxing and exercising all play an important role in helping you make these changes. Choosing to eat healthy is crucial to sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
We naturally assume that food affects our physical body but it also affects our mood. Deficiencies in amino acids and nutrients like folic acid and B-vitamins can have tremendous negative impact on how we feel. Sugar and caffeine are two big culprits in sabotaging one’s mood.
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