Addiction

Six Questions to Help You Recognize Enabling Behaviors It is basic human nature to want to help someone you care for.  When we see a loved one in pain or distress, the desire to offer support is instinctual.  Watching a loved one battle a substance use disorder is a painful experience – one that often…

When someone is struggling with a substance use disorder, they can prevent the people closest to them from living their own lives.  Those closest to the addicted individual may feel an urge to protect their loved on from experiencing the painful consequences brought on by an active substance use disorder.  These protective urges can lead…

Addiction is a chronic disease that can be successfully managed and long-term recovery is possible.  For many, part of the recovery process will include relapse, which is a return to active substance use after a period of improvement or discontinuation of use.  Relapse does not mean that treatment was ineffective or that recovery is unattainable,…

You may have wondered what does the word recovery really mean.  The definition of recovery, found in the Oxford English Dictionary, is “a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength,” or “the action or process of regaining possession or control of something stolen or lost.”  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services…

Supporting someone living with an addiction can be challenging.  While it is not always easy to help the individual struggling with drug or alcohol use, studies have shown that your support will increase their chances at having success in treatment and recovery1.   If you’re worried that your loved one has developed a problem, there are…

In 2019, 20.4 million Americans struggled with a substance use disorder, but only 1.5% of them received any type of treatment1.  Despite the public focus on the opioid epidemic and addiction recovery in recent years, many people are still not accessing life-saving treatment.  Which leaves us with the question: why? There are still many misconceptions…