Blog

The article discusses the pervasive stigma surrounding addiction, which is rooted in cultural views, media portrayals, and judgmental language, and how this stigma creates significant barriers to recovery, leading to reduced treatment seeking and higher relapse rates. It emphasizes that recovery is diverse, highlighting alternative paths like SMART Recovery and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), and urges […]

Recovering from addiction requires the whole family to relearn how to have fun without substances, which is critical for sustained sobriety and building stronger bonds. This process involves the individual taking responsibility, making amends, and consistently demonstrating change to rebuild trust with family members. Families are encouraged to intentionally create new, sober traditions and activities—such […]

Returning to work after drug and alcohol treatment is a crucial step for long-term recovery, offering financial stability and purpose. This guide emphasizes understanding legal rights like FMLA and ADA accommodations, preparing for the transition with a phased return, and navigating common challenges like fatigue and stress. The key is prioritizing recovery and setting boundaries […]

Recreational nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) use is a growing trend among young adults, fueled by its easy accessibility online and in stores, and normalized by social media. Despite being falsely perceived as safe due to its medical use, inhaling nitrous oxide without medical supervision carries acute risks like sudden death from hypoxia and frostbite, and […]

Achieving and maintaining sobriety is an incredible accomplishment. Why not celebrate it more? Sure, most in recovery celebrate major milestones like being six months, one year, or five years sober. But why not celebrate being 17 days sober? Or going to three meetings instead of the usual two? Or the fact that you woke up […]

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met a single person in recovery who said getting sober was easy. It’s hard. It’s like walking-on-a-bed-of-nails-while-your-head-is-on-fire hard. But you’ve put in the work. You’re in recovery. You’re safe and living your life. Having fun in sobriety is important. So, why not make it the most amazing […]

Recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction requires an awareness of the impact substance abuse can have on the body, mind, and spirit. Developing healthy nutrition and habits involves a similar understanding of which foods and eating habits can have a negative effect on physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing and can be particularly triggering to […]

Summertime is when we think of being active, outward, uplifted, and having fun. It’s a time to get outside by camping, hiking, swimming, attending outdoor concerts, and those amazing road trips with soundtracks of our lives playing right along with us. We tend to eat more naturally by having beautiful fruits and garden vegetables, visiting […]

My name is Lloyd, and I’m a gay male addict in recovery. While I’ve always been gay, I haven’t always been in recovery! According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) often face social stigma, discrimination, and other challenges not encountered by people who identify as […]

Let’s face it. I’m a crystal meth addict. Before I got sober, there was nothing about meditation that appealed to me. I thought that meditation belonged to the monks and the hippies. Even though I look like a reincarnated Tibetan monk and like to burn incense, I wasn’t interested. But when I got sober, I […]

I always wanted to change. Change who I am, how I am, how I act. I used to see a girl in a movie – or walking down the street – looking happy, comfortable. I imagined that she had always been treated kindly, cared for, and probably had a lovably overprotective dad. I’d imagine all […]

This comprehensive guide addresses the unique challenges of addiction recovery for the LGBTQIA+ community, noting significantly higher rates of substance use disorders attributed to minority stress from stigma and discrimination. It emphasizes the critical need for LGBTQ-affirming treatment, which involves explicit affirmation, trauma-informed care, and cultural competency, and provides practical advice on finding supportive resources […]