Opioid Lawsuits: What’s Next? Purdue Pharma, facing a mountain of litigation linked to the opioid epidemic, filed for bankruptcy in New York this week. The OxyContin manufacturer and its owners, the Sackler family, have offered to pay billions of dollars to cities and counties hit hard by the addiction crisis. But that’s not good enough…
What is addiction? Addiction is a complex disease, often chronic in nature, which affects the functioning of the brain and body. It also causes serious damage to families, relationships, schools, workplaces and neighborhoods. The most common symptoms of addiction are severe loss of control, continued use despite serious consequences, preoccupation with using, failed attempts to…
Sober Living & Halfway Houses: What You Should Know One of the most often asked questions we receive is “what’s the difference between a sober living home and a halfway house?’ There are distinct differences between the two, so let’s dig into some sober living home facts. One of the most confusing sober living home…
Addiction Treatment Centers in California – Options and Differences If you’re going through or about to go through addiction recovery, you’ll want to start by doing research on your options. For starters, where will you go? There are some things you should know before you narrow your search. Probably the best piece of advice is that…
The Various Steps of Addiction Recovery Addiction comes in many forms, and so does recovery. It’s important to understand – and follow – all the steps to ensure the greatest chance of success. REHAB “Rehab” is a general term for intensive, supervised programs that are designed to get people weaned off of substances. The goal…
Relationships and substance abuse – What’s the Connection? A great deal of research has been done on the connection between relationships and substance abuse. The studies have looked a range of groups, from young to old as well as common relationships, such as those between parents and children and spouses or partners. More specifically, they’ve…
Staying sober during the holidays is no easy task. As if holidays weren’t stressful enough, the added burden if trying to avoid potential relapse triggers is no easy task. Admitting this to yourself is step one. Having a plan in place is step two. We all have those relatives who drive us nuts or know…
Overcoming helplessness during the recovery process requires one to look holistically not only at oneself, but to those around him or her who might be playing a role in these feelings. Look for the source of your learned helplessness. Your learned helplessness may have taken root due to the circumstances of your development. Try to…
CELEBRITY SUBSTANCE – INSPIRATION OR TEMPTATION? Almost every day, it seems like another celebrity substance abuse issue shows up in the news. If you’re a person going through recovery, seeing this can trigger a lot of emotions – and even a bit of temptation. Celebrity substance abuse stories, while sad, prove that we are all…
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…