If you’ve received professional addiction treatment, you probably learned that self-care during your recovery journey is not selfish. In fact, caring for your needs is one of the keys to relapse prevention. During recovery, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. You are cleansing your body, learning how to cope with stress and individual triggers, mending broken…
Details
Alcoholism is a disease that we can’t see or often understand unless we’ve experienced it ourselves. All we can see are the repercussions and impact it leaves on the addicts and their loved ones. As a result, it’s easy to believe misconceptions about this invisible disease — but these false perceptions can ultimately be damaging…
Details
Many people refer to college as the best years of their life. The time period has the potential to pave the way for your future success as you devote yourself to learning, personal growth and social networking. That said, college has also often become synonymous with partying, drinking and drug use, which can lead to…
Details
A set of cultural expectations surround a 21st birthday party, as the newfound ability to buy alcohol indicates that doing so is, naturally, how you should spend your day. As a result, this milestone birthday is typically tied to alcohol consumption — but it’s certainly not the only way to celebrate. If you’re in recovery…
Details
Music has a universal ability to empower, energize and inspire. It also has the power to influence its audience, often without them realizing it. When it comes to a culture of drinking and drugs, music has been shown to play a role in helping to fuel addiction and normalize a seriously unhealthy way of life.…
Details
If you’re dating the child of an alcoholic parent, you may be wondering how their past experiences will impact your romantic relationship. Or you may have already seen the effects at work and are searching for healthy ways to understand and resolve them. First of all, know that this dynamic is not a rarity. One…
Details
The public portrayal of American teenagers in television and media would have you believe that every high school student is consuming alcohol underage or dabbling in drug use. In reality, illicit drug use is at the lowest level it has been in more than 20 years — with 6.1% of 8th graders, 9.6% of 10th…
Details
If you have a loved one who battles addiction, you know firsthand the painful price of your love. You likely feel infinitely helpless as you watch someone you care for battle this stubborn opponent. Even more difficult is knowing how to continue showing them love while putting up necessary boundaries. Here we’ll offer some guidance…
Details
Shame and addiction — what a tragically intertwined pair. These two often seem to walk hand in hand, making it difficult for an addict to see their potential and purpose through a fog of lies that say, “You’re not good enough” or “You’ll never be free of this.” Shame also makes it harder for the…
Details
Addiction doesn’t just impact the person suffering — it has a ripple effect that reaches all their loved ones. If you have a sibling who struggles with substance abuse, you know this reality firsthand. Maybe you’re wondering if you should stage an intervention or whether it’s time to cut ties with an alcoholic sibling. Or…
Details