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Sometimes it feels like sobriety gave way not to a life of freedom and happiness, but to a plethora of unresolved issued waiting to be addressed. This makes sense. Alcohol and drugs were a means of escaping aspects of life which were difficult to handle, and years of perpetual escape allowed troubles to pile up, […]

The Importance of Nutrition and Diet in Recovery As former disciples of the school of modifying mood by means of chemicals, one might think that addicts and alcoholics in recovery would jump at the opportunity to boost their dopamine levels via their diets. But more often than not, recovering addicts opt for the quick-fix method […]

Tips to Keep You Sane While in Recovery Concrete actions for a better recovery are a welcome change from the spiritual axioms we often hear without quite knowing what to do with them. It’s not that these “sober proverbs” aren’t thought provoking, but profound ideas swimming around in the head can only do so much. […]

Friendship in sobriety is dramatically different from friendship as we once knew it. Before getting sober, friends were partners in crime – people to be sneaky with. Being a good friend meant keeping each others secrets – no matter what they were. In sobriety friendship is something completely different. Sober friends are partners in recovery. […]

Talk therapy can be extremely productive, and is an essential part of recovery. However, it can be difficult to access certain topics in a conversational therapy session, because some of our deepest issues are buried in the subconscious mind. Less structured forms of therapy which allow some play to occur have a good chance of […]

It breaks my heart when I hear a newcomer to sobriety open up and speak her truth in an AA meeting, only to be chased down and scolded post-meeting because she mentioned the word “drugs,” or referred to herself as an “addict” instead of an “alcoholic.” Ok, we do have separate programs for alcohol and […]

With Tiger Woods in the media spotlight, the debate has sprung up yet again. Is overindulgence in vices like sex, drugs and alcohol a symptom of an authentic illness, or is it just plain poor decision-making? When an individual has an addiction to something that doesn’t sound like fun, for example self-mutilation or vomiting, people […]

Many times when an addict or alcoholic comes crawling back to the rooms of AA and NA after deciding to try drinking or using one more time, she is welcomed back and told, “It’s okay – relapse is a part of recovery.” For some people, this may be true. For others, relapse is a part […]

You may have heard it from a sponsor, a friend, or staff member at treatment: Don’t date in your first year of sobriety. I know, it sounds unfair. What else are you supposed to do for distraction? Well, that’s exactly the point. Nothing. Dating is an incredibly easy way to stop thinking about yourself and […]

Dual-diagnosis is a term used to denote individuals who suffer from drug addiction or alcoholism as well as another mental disorder (often bipolar disorder, PTSD, or eating disorders). Considering the fact that addicts tend to be people who use and drink to self-medicate for pre-existing problems, it’s not surprising to learn that dual-diagnosis is incredibly […]