Shame and Addiction: Breaking the Cycle
Shame, guilt and hopelessness can be heavy burdens to bear. These poisonous emotions affect your relationship with the world and color every interaction with others. Even when you feel good about yourself, there could still be a tiny voice in the back of your mind saying, “You don’t deserve this.” To ease your pain, you […]
What to Say to Someone Who Relapsed
If you have a friend or family member in recovery from a substance use disorder, you’ve seen how diligently they’ve worked toward their health and wellness goals, and you likely have gained a newfound respect for them. That’s why it can be so disappointing when you discover they have relapsed. As frustrated as you may […]
How Women Experience Self-Harm and Addiction
In the absence of a healthy outlet for complex emotions like frustration, anger, self-loathing and hopelessness, some people choose to deliberately hurt themselves through methods like burning, scratching, cutting or hair-pulling. It can be difficult to understand what might cause someone to turn to self-harm when most mentally healthy people actively try to avoid pain. […]
The Importance of Support Groups for Families of Addicted Loved Ones
As an addiction worsens, it can disrupt the entire family dynamic, causing family members’ roles and relationships to shift. Witnessing a loved one’s struggle with substance abuse might also cause you to wrestle with complex emotions like anger, guilt and shame. You want to help your family member and encourage them to seek treatment, but […]
The Link Between Trauma and Addiction in Women
At the heart of many people’s struggles with substance abuse, therapists often discover unaddressed mental and emotional health challenges that led their clients to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. One of the most prevalent of these is trauma, especially in women. What is trauma, and how can you address co-occurring trauma and addiction to start […]
How Women Experience Addiction: What You Need to Know
While addiction affects people from all walks of life and gender identities, we now understand the disease impacts women differently, and that effective treatment accounts for these differences. Understanding what current research tells us about women and addiction recovery can help you make better choices as you weigh the benefits of various options for pursuing […]
Tips for Creating a Successful Relapse Prevention Plan
Completing a drug and alcohol rehab program is a crucial part of addressing a substance use disorder and reclaiming ownership of your life. However, after your discharge from treatment, you must have a strategy for how you will avoid a dangerous return to substance abuse. It’s essential to make a distinction between being in recovery […]
3 Perfect New Year’s Resolutions for People in Recovery
As 2020 winds down, many of us are looking forward to welcoming a brand-new year, with all the possibilities it might hold. It’s only natural to have high hopes for 2021, especially given all the challenges, unrest and uncertainties that characterized 2020. How do the most successful people set goals, and what are some beneficial […]
How to Prepare for Your First Sober Holiday Season
The holidays can cause excessive stress that doesn’t happen during the rest of the year. Pressure to prepare specialty foods and find the perfect gifts for all your family and friends can feel daunting. For many people, the holidays also offer an ideal excuse to overindulge in food and drinks – especially alcohol. If you’ve […]