Many possible paths take people to the same problem of heroin addiction. For many, heroin takes the place of medications no longer available for chronic pain issues. For others, heroin is the mental escape many people seek from trauma or other psychological problems. Whether you suffered physical or mental pain that led you to heroin, […]

Would you be able to tell that your loved one is abusing opioids? You want to say yes. But are you sure? Statistics prove that about 32 percent of Americans don’t recognize painkiller addiction signs. Researchers Uncover Startling Trends Pointing to a Lack of Awareness Michigan State University wanted to find out how many people […]

In recognition of July’s status as Independence Day month, our next several posts will focus on the theme of freedom and the will to recover. Like all major life changes, freedom from addiction is easier to dream of than to achieve. Anyone can wish for a better life; relatively few are willing to work for it. It’s […]

Independence Day may be over for another year, but celebrating freedom is something worth doing daily. More valuable even than political freedom is freedom of the soul: Celebrating Freedom to Know What’s Right and Do It Just about everyone who makes it into substance-abuse recovery has sworn many times, “I’ll never do that again.” Then they […]

Anyone coming out of substance abuse has extensive experience with disagreement. You disagreed with friends who told you you were overdoing it. You disagreed with authorities who said recreational drugs were bad for everyone. You disagreed with your own conscience when you “borrowed” to finance your habit. You disagreed with your better judgment and insisted […]

A key element of recovery is being open about your struggles, temptations, and doubts. Another key element is mixing that openness with a level of discretion. You can share yourself, but be careful how you do that. You’ve probably met people who seem addicted to bragging about their faults: within ten minutes of meeting them, […]

A major key to finding freedom from chemical dependency is to avoid emphasizing “freedom from” at the expense of “freedom to.” Many people fail to stay clean because, on the subconscious level at least, they think that giving up drugs also means giving up stress relief, enjoyment, or other good-in-themselves things that they’ve come to […]

Labor Day Weekend is here—and though few school districts now save their “first days” for the week after, we still see this as the opening of the fall season. Traditionally, Labor Day was the last day for sporting ladies’ white shoes before closeting them until the following summer. Now, we anticipate an imminent sales surge […]

You, or a family member, may be among the millions of people with “dual diagnosis”—simultaneous substance-abuse problems and mental illness. People with post-traumatic stress disorder, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, or schizophrenia are particularly vulnerable to falling into addiction via the attempted-self-medication route. What do treatment professionals and mental-health experts say that can help dual-diagnosis patients […]

Once you’re detoxed, self-evaluated, and feeling hopeful for a substance-free future, it’s time to clarify your vision for that future. Few things are as universally advocated as setting goals during substance abuse treatment. Yet, even the healthiest people struggle to define what those concepts mean for them. As the saying goes, “If it were easy, […]

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Over a third of substance addicts are estimated to also have some level of mental illness, according to 2014 statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The commonality of mental illness and substance abuse gives those concerned about addiction more of a reason to bring awareness […]

As noted last week’s blog on mental illness and substance abuse, many people with substance abuse and mental health greatly impact each other. This runs the spectrum from mild but chronic depression to complete lack of capacity for comprehending reality. Proper understanding and treatment of mental illness may keep many from turning to addictive substances […]