The process of recovery management is complex at times and simple at times. Addiction recovery first depends on not taking the first drink of alcohol or the first draw of pot or the first snort of cocaine or the first shot of heroin. If…
Addiction counselors have evolved through the years. When I first started working at an inpatient facility in 1983, most addiction counselors were in addiction recovery, had at least 3 years of recovery, and went through the state certification process to become a counselor. Now, many,…
Emotions are difficult for most people, not just those in addiction recovery – however, emotions in addiction recovery are an important issue in treatment because the consequences of not dealing with emotions are too grave for the recovering addict. The ordinary person who doesn’t understand their…
Because it’s easier to not type alcohol and other drugs, this post will refer to recovery from alcoholism – however, the recovery principles addressed here apply to recovery from all types of addiction. Recovery from alcoholism is best accomplished when it’s comprehensive. In other words,…
Which came first the fried chicken or the omelette? There has been a debate through the years regarding addiction and mental health issues like depression or anxiety — which came first, the addiction or the mental health issues? Doe addiction cause mental health problems?…
When a person becomes addicted to a drug, including alcohol, there are addiction withdrawal symptoms when the person stops using the drug. Withdrawal can be physical or emotional/psychological. Physical withdrawal is usually associated with alcohol, opiates and benzo (benzodiazepines) type drugs. Pot withdrawal is mainly…
For the next couple of weeks I’ll write about the experience of addiction treatment and addiction recovery. Not everyone who recovers from addiction receives formal treatment, but the experiences are much the same. Those who don’t receive formal treatment have to learn recovery principles the hard way,…
This is another post to address myths and misunderstandings regarding social drinkers, alcoholism, alcohol abuse and addiction treatment. People often tell me that they first perceived addiction rehab facilities like NewDay as just another nanny-like attempt to interfere in people’s business and tell that drinking alcohol is…
Science continues to discover drugs that help treat addiction, such as Vivitrol and Suboxone. Scientists are getting closer to discovering a drug that could blunt the effects of cocaine. While these drugs are useful in the treatment of addiction, it’s a mistake to think that…
Science is learning more and more about the biological damage to the brain caused by alcoholism, and there are more and more medical treatments to help ameliorate the damage. The biological damage is the easiest to understand. The alcoholic mind is harder to understand. What’s difficult to…
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