Valentine’s Day can be challenging for some people, especially if you’re early in recovery. It’s a time for wine and champagne with your significant other, which means an avalanche of posts on social media by friends and family who want everyone to know how happy they are to be in such a wonderful relationship. That…
A substance use disorder can demolish your self-esteem. It can impair your career, possibly leading to unemployment, it can damage your relationships and alienate you from the people who care about you, and, perhaps most importantly, it can make you feel like you have no control over your life. Recovering your self-esteem is an important…
While the opioid epidemic has been getting all the attention in recent years, the rapidly growing problem of stimulant addiction has gone mostly unnoticed. While opioids are certainly a bigger problem at the moment, having caused nearly 50,000 deaths in the US in 2017, at the current rate of growth, stimulants will soon catch up.…
From reading the headlines, it’s easy to get the impression that fatal overdoses are almost always caused by opioids, especially heroin and potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil. While opioids are responsible for a large share of opioid deaths, they are rarely the only drug involved and a significant number of fatal overdoses don’t…
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a condition caused by some traumatic event. Although it’s typically associated with combat veterans, it’s actually far more common among civilians. Common causes of PTSD include accidents, assault, robbery, natural disasters, or the unexpected death of a loved one. While it’s normal to experience symptoms for a few weeks…
A breakup, or worse, a divorce is one of the most stressful challenges you can face in addiction recovery. A breakup might entail feelings of rejection, disappointment, bitterness, resentment, animosity, and grief. You may have to make significant changes in your life, such as finding somewhere else to live or reorganizing your social life. The…
For many women, motherhood is the motivation they need to finally get sober. One day, they’re just being young, having fun, maybe a bit too much fun, then they find out they’re pregnant and decide to deal seriously with their substance use. Having a baby can be a wakeup call, but it doesn’t make sobriety…
This is the third of three posts based on the work of writer Johann Hari, whose search for answers about his own depression led to his book Lost Causes: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression–and the Unexpected Solution. In the first part of this series, we looked at the problems with the serotonin model of…
The holidays have come and gone, but depending on where you live, you may have three or four months of winter weather left. Winters can be hard for many people and that’s especially true if you are recovering from addiction or mental illness. Here are some common challenges winter poses to your recovery and how…
Depression is the number one cause of disability worldwide, affecting more than 300 million people, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms include prolonged sadness, irritability, sleep disturbance, anxiety, aches, pessimism, lack of motivation, and thoughts of death or suicide. Depression is typically treated with some combination of medication and psychotherapy. Studies have already found…
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