Part One of a Three Part Series Busting Through Shame: A Personal Inventory One of the most significant factors in falling prey to the disease of addiction, one of the greatest triggers to relapse, and one of the greatest barriers to recovery is low self-esteem/self-worth. Where there is low self-worth, there is the shame. In this 3-part series Busting Through Shame, we will break down for you how recovery works to root out the causes of shame to effectively diffuse it and how that makes way for a long time getting and remaining clean and sober. A huge part of recovery from addiction, no matter which method you choose, involves […]

You CAN Quit Smoking as Part of Your Addiction Recovery!   Although the statistics vary, somewhere between 80-97% of all substance abuse disorder (SUD) patients at recovery centers are also tobacco users, which even at the low end of the spectrum is a very high number compared to an average 20% of the general population. It is also known that most of these patients would like to quit smoking in addition to recovering from their other substance addictions. Unfortunately, many treatment centers either do not offer treatment for nicotine addiction or do not stress its importance in overall addiction recovery. Some may even encourage smoking as a crutch to be […]

Diet Overhaul: Eating to Enhance and Accelerate Addiction Recovery You’ve made it to substance abuse recovery (bravo!), and now that you’ve gone through the initial detox your mind is clearing a bit, and you are beginning to start to see the damages caused by the disease of addiction. Along with damaged relationships, careers, finances, and legal issues, you’re also facing a health crisis: what have you done to your body?!? You may have contracted any number of infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and health issues, some of them serious. Even if you don’t show signs of any other severe health issues yet, your liver, adrenals, Central Nervous System (CNS), heart, and […]

Happy Holiday Season When Your Loved One is an Active Addict   It seems like everyone around us is having the perfect Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, while we, the loved ones of an active addict, suffer from worry and anxiety over our loved one’s addiction, even more so at this time of year. We may be more stressed, tired, and overwhelmed by all the additional tasks the holidays tend to bring which can decrease our ability to deal with the active addiction that is going on in our household. We obsess over how many drinks the alcoholic has or look for drugs and paraphernalia if our loved […]

The 12 Days of Addiction Recovery: A Happy Holidays Story   If you celebrate the holidays, you most likely are familiar with the classic Christmas song The 12 Days of Christmas. In the song, the person’s true love gives them a new gift for each of the twelve days, and it is intended to bring in the New Year with joy and prosperity. How incredible does that sound, especially if you or a loved one is currently struggling with substance abuse addiction? If things have been tough, if you or your loved one aren’t in recovery yet, in the beginning, stages, or have suffered a relapse, there is hope! Just […]

Holiday Hazards: Substituting Addictions and What You Need to Know Although the holidays can be full of joy for many, it can be a challenging time for addicts in recovery for many reasons. Holiday parties almost always include alcohol, and, depending on your coworkers, friends, and family, other drug use. That’s if you have parties and friends left to celebrate with – some addicts have so severely damaged their relationships with the people in their life, they are alone on the holidays, which can present its own set of challenges. There can be increased stress about finances at this time of year as well. And the tricky part is, even […]