Watching your local news or checking your social media feed, you’ve probably heard about the opioid epidemic, the nation’s current public health crisis. As death tolls from the crisis continue to rise dramatically every year, this is not an issue to be taken lightly or ignored.According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 42,000 people died from an opioid-related overdose...[ read more ]
Drug and alcohol use in this country is on the rise, with over 23 million Americans addicted. To put that into clearer perspective, that’s one in every ten people in the United States over the age of 12 that are currently struggling with substance abuse.But what is addiction exactly, and how can we recognize the symptoms?Drug addiction, or substance use...[ read more ]
For decades, individuals suffering from addiction have traveled the same route toward recovery with some measure of success. That route entailed combining a recovery program, such as AA, with therapy.The problem with this traditional route is that therapists and program leaders had only marginal potential for influencing patients outside the office or treatment center. Once outside these walls, patients are...[ read more ]
Parenting is one of the toughest jobs in the world – if not the toughest. After all, children do not come with manuals or operating instructions. Looking for guidance, many parents turn to their own childhoods to pick up clues on how to raise children the right way, or at the very least, how not to raise them the wrong way.But times change. Childhoods of just...[ read more ]
It can often be difficult knowing how to navigate a relationship that is tainted by addiction. Often, loved ones are told that helping an addict means creating codependency, and that the best thing to do is show some “tough love,” even if that means walking away.But is this really true?Is there a better way to relate to a friend or...[ read more ]
Completing drug rehab is the first step in beginning a recovery program. Many addicts, while recognizing the toll addiction has taken on their relationships, don’t realize the additional affects it has had on their physical health and wellbeing.Addiction often leads to malnourishment, which forces the body to work in less than optimal conditions. A poor diet is tough on the...[ read more ]
For many people, drinking alcohol is something that is done on occasion and in moderation. Having a glass or two of champagne on New Year’s Eve or a cocktail out with friends is nothing to be concerned about.For others, however, alcohol is not something one marks a special occasion with; it is the main event.There are a variety of factors that can...[ read more ]
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), almost 20 million American adults battled a substance use disorder in 2017. There is every indication that this number has continued to rise over the past 5 years. These numbers are staggering and suggest that millions of families in this country have one or more loved ones who may be struggling...[ read more ]
Watching a loved-one self-destruct and feeling helpless to stop them can feel devastating, particularly when that person is in complete denial about their unhealthy life patterns. While you may feel hopeless, there is something you can do to try and help your loved one get the help they need to change their life.What is an Intervention?An intervention is a carefully...[ read more ]
Addiction can take many forms—for example, people can become addicted to smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, using drugs, gambling, and shopping. But regardless of the type of addiction in question, many members of the mental health community use the “four Cs” to determine whether someone is an addict: compulsion, craving, control, and consequences.1. CompulsionAs someone becomes addicted to something—whether it be...[ read more ]