Stress is one of the biggest triggers of relapse. Feeling besieged and overwhelmed can tempt you to fall back into old ways of coping. That’s why managing stress is one of the most important skills to learn in recovery. Here are some ways to keep stress from ruining your sobriety. Change your thinking. Often, the…
For most people, moderate drinking is not really a cause for concern. There is even some evidence that having about one drink per day might have some health benefits, although that finding remains controversial. If you drink much more than that, you risk developing a number of problems, especially if your alcohol consumption continues to…
Watching a loved one struggle with addiction is stressful and painful. It’s very difficult to understand addictive behavior if you’ve never experienced it personally. Watching someone you love slowly self-destruct is hard. If you’re in this position, here are some ways to deal with it. Stay safe. The most important thing is to stay safe.…
It is possible to overdose on alcohol. When you drink alcohol faster than your liver can metabolize it, toxic byproducts start to build up in your system and cause alcohol poisoning. More than 2000 Americans die of alcohol poisoning every year. We typically think of alcohol poisoning mainly affecting college students, especially in sororities and…
Thanksgiving is a stressful holiday for many people. You may have to travel or cook for a lot of guests. Whenever you have a big family gathering there are bound to be arguments of some kind. If you are still relatively new to recovery, you may feel extra pressure, especially if your family members drink…
Intensive outpatient programs, or IOPs, are part of the continuum of care for addiction treatment. IOPs are intended to treat people who need something more than early intervention or general outpatient treatment but don’t need medical detox or 24-hour supervision. These are often people with co-occurring conditions such as depression or anxiety disorders. Typically, someone…
By now, most of us are aware of the big myth about opioid painkillers that kicked off the opioid epidemic: that opioid painkillers are not addictive. Decades of intensive marketing by drug manufacturers convinced doctors and patients that drugs like OxyContin were safe for long-term use and would not lead to addiction. Now we know…
About five million Americans have wisdom teeth extracted every year. It’s usually quick, safe procedure that takes a few days to recover from. People often feel quite a bit of pain those first few days, which is why oral surgeons prescribe pain medication for patients recovering from dental surgery. Unfortunately, that medication can be addictive.…
The majority of Americans drink at least sometimes. We drink with dinner, we drink with friends, we drink with strangers, we drink to celebrate, and we drink to mourn. With so many culturally acceptable reasons to drink, it can be hard to tell when you or someone you know has a problem. Here are some…
Recovering from addiction isn’t easy, and it’s even harder if you have unrealistic ideas about recovery. You might feel like you’re not progressing as fast as you should or that you’re having problems no one else has. In reality, although everyone’s story is unique, there are very few unique problems in addiction recovery. However, having…
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