Going home after treatment can be a strange experience. Not only have you been away for at least a month, you are sober, perhaps for the first time in years. You’ve spent a lot of time with a therapist and with other people in recovery. Life probably looks a lot different from when you started.… Continue Reading What Should You Do When You Get Home After Treatment?
There are many aspects of sports that would seem to protect you from addiction. Regular exercise improves your mood, emotional regulation, and self-control, protecting against the depression and anxiety that often lead to substance use. Team sports add an element of social connection and a sense of belonging that can also protect against addiction. Perhaps… Continue Reading Why Athletes May Be Vulnerable to Addiction
For most people in addiction recovery, their instinct is to keep it to themselves. They may have become quite comfortable talking about their active addiction history with a therapist, group, and certain family members, but they are usually aware that addiction, especially to drugs like cocaine, meth, or heroin, is beyond the ken of most… Continue Reading Should You Share Your Addiction History?
Recovery from opioid addiction must start with detox. Unfortunately, opioid withdrawal is perhaps the most unpleasant of any drug. It is often described as a terrible flu that you know would stop if you just start using again. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, sweating, fever, runny nose, yawning, and bone… Continue Reading 4 Ways to Take the Edge Off of Opioid Withdrawal
Most people who develop substance use disorders have some kind of dual diagnosis. They don’t just have an addiction; they have an addiction and something else. That ‘something else’ might be an anxiety disorder, a personality disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, or schizophrenia. A very common dual diagnosis is addiction and depression. For most… Continue Reading What Comes First, Depression or Addiction?
Substance use issues in employees can be a tricky problem to deal with. You may have noticed some problems with an employee’s performance or changes in her behavior. Maybe she has always been punctual but lately she’s coming in late or leaving early. Maybe her work isn’t the same quality it used to be. Or… Continue Reading What if You Suspect an Employee Has a Substance Use Issue?
There are many faith-based roads to recovery. Most famously, AA and other 12-step programs involve turning your life over to a higher power. These programs have helped a lot of people. This is because belief in a higher power addresses two of the biggest needs of people in addiction recovery. The first is the need… Continue Reading 3 Tips for Atheists and Agnostics in Addiction Recovery
Dabbing is a relatively new form of marijuana use that has become popular over the past few years. Dabbing uses a concentrated extract of marijuana’s active ingredient, THC. There are various names for this extract, including butane hash oil, or BHO, honey oil, wax, budder, and shatter. BHO is a thick greenish brown substance that… Continue Reading What is Marijuana Dabbing?
Eating disorders include conditions such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. These can have serious health consequences and they are sometimes fatal. Eating disorders can damage the heart, digestive system, dental health, bones, and cause other medical problems. Eating disorders are often associated with other mental health issues, including substance use issues. While there is… Continue Reading 3 Myths About Eating Disorders
If you’ve decided to enter treatment for addiction, you’ve made an excellent choice for your yourself and your family. Before you go, though, it’s time to make sure everything is in order. You want to be able to focus on your treatment without worrying that things are falling apart at home. It’s inevitable that you… Continue Reading How Do You Prepare to Enter Treatment?