Recovery capital is whatever you have working in your favor to help you stay sober. An easy way to think of is that anything that makes you happier, healthier, and more connected to others is recovery capital. The more recovery capital you have, the easier it will be to stay sober. Recovery capital can be…
By the time you start considering an intervention for a friend or loved one, things are probably pretty bad. Her addiction is no longer a secret and it affects her friends and family. It may have been affecting them for a while. At this point, you have probably already expressed your concerns to your loved…
A quality addiction treatment program has several characteristics. It employs qualified and experienced medical and counselling staff, it uses evidence-based treatment methods, it has clean, safe, and comfortable facilities, and it incorporates aftercare for when you leave. Another important factor, perhaps the most important, is that a great program will create an individualized treatment plan…
Adderall is typically prescribed for people with ADHD to help them focus. When used as directed, it can work very well, and it might even help protect against addiction. People using Adderall as directed to treat ADHD typically take a low enough dose that missing a few days isn’t too big of a problem, although…
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…
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…
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…
Emotional regulation is our ability to turn the volume up or down on our emotions. We need emotions just like we need thinking and breathing, but when we let our emotions control us, we often run into trouble. Emotions may be excessive, counterproductive, or just inappropriate. For example, it’s normal to be sad over a…
Learning healthy coping skills is one of the most important parts of addiction recovery. For many people who struggle with addiction, substance use was their primary means of coping with life’s difficulties. Whether the issue was stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma, drugs or alcohol helped to relieve the distress. Recovery may appear daunting because you…
An intervention is essentially a last-ditch effort to convince a loved one to enter treatment for addiction. By this point, you’ve already discussed your concerns with your loved one and given her a chance to change. Despite your support and encouragement, you haven’t seen any improvement and so you feel like you have to try…