Recovery doesn’t end after treatment. Sober living is a day-to-day struggle. Life after rehab, or even the thought of what comes after, can be confusing. It’s natural to go through a whole range of emotions. One might may be excited to live substance-free, but the end of rehab can also bring with it an immense fear…
Substance Abuse and Stress: What’s the Connection? According to Sinha & Jastreboff, 2013, Stress is a key risk factor in addiction, recovery maintenance and relapse. This conclusion has been reaffirmed many times in research and shows a clear connection between substance abuse and stress. A stressful live combined with a lack of coping skills can contribute…
With 23 million Americans in recovery, the chances are good that almost every person has loved ones or friends in recovery, either currently or at some time in their past. While it doesn’t matter if they’ve been sober for a few weeks or a few decades, you need to remember that they still are living with…
Myths About Addiction As we’ve learned through research, there are many myths about addiction. We know that the concerns about gateway drugs are well founded, but gateway drugs are not the sole cause of addiction. There is a difference between correlation and causation. The use of these substances leading to addiction has more to do with…
In the United States, researchers have gone to great lengths to find traits in those who are caught up in addiction or substance abuse. The theory is that if they could identify the risk factors for addiction, great progress could be made in prevention and treatment. They looked at age, ethnicity, environmental factors, gender and…
Outpatient addiction treatment is not a new concept. In fact, the history of outpatient addiction treatment goes back more than 150 years. This makes sense given that psychoactive drugs have been used in some form starting as early as human civilizations began to emerge. Despite thousands of years of experimentation with the substances, it wasn’t…
Self-Medication and Addiction: Are they really related? Whether it is in the offices of prescribing physicians or in a social setting where people are experimenting with addictive drugs, only 10% to 20% of users become addicted. Self-medication can bring a greater risk of addiction, but it begs the question, “Why is this so?” These people…
Sleeping Pill Addiction: Yup, it’s still a thing Sleeping pill addiction, made famous in the 1950s, continues to be a problem in the U.S. Among adults, problems with sleeping pills are common and as many as four percent ― that’s nearly 10 million people ― use them, according to an estimate published in 2013 from the U.S. Centers…
What is the Definition of Recovery? Of all the words you’ll here in the addiction field, few have been more mysterious that “recovered,” “recovery” and “being in recovery.” What constitutes a full recovery? Is full recovery considered cure? How long is one supposed to be “in recovery” before he or she is considered cured? The…
What Not To Say At An Intervention An intervention can be a roller coaster of emotions for all those involved. It is often a drawn-out process, with family members and their addicted loved one unloading years or decades of pent up frustrations. We shouldn’t forget why we’re here – we’re here because we care enough about our addicted…