Did you know there is a significant relationship between anxiety and addiction? Understanding that connection can help facilitate healing.
According to a 2017 study published in the journal Psychiatric Services, more than 8.3 million American adults have depression and anxiety. Plus, the 2016 Surgeon General’s report on addiction notes that over 27 million people were abusing drugs and over 66 million were abusing alcohol in 2015.
Depression, anxiety, and addiction are on the rise, and […]

When there’s a celebration, people crack open a bottle of champagne. Bars are regular social scenes where friends meet over a beer. However, is alcohol a drug? Not only is the answer, “yes”, but you could also make the point that it’s among the most dangerous out there.
Understanding the Chemistry of Alcohol
Chemically speaking, alcohol is a depressant. It literally slows down the central nervous system. However, it doesn’t do so at […]

How many people do you know who say they drink/use because they’re bored? Maybe you feel the same. As someone who works in the field of substance misuse, boredom is quite often a main reason given for relapse.
As the statement goes, “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.” This is true for both the “healthy” individual and the alcoholic/addict, but boredom can be a major contributing factor in addiction and […]

One of the most difficult parts of quitting opioid addiction, whether it involves codeine, fentanyl, Vicodin or heroin, is the withdrawals associated with the process.
Many experts believe that both the pain of detox and the fear of that pain are one of the greatest barriers to patient detoxification and rehabilitation. It’s clear that many patients quit before they can be moved to a medication-assisted treatment program.
The Problem of Detox
Statistics show […]

Research has proven when it comes to addiction to opioids, Medication assisted treatment substantially improves the odds of successful recovery for people who

misuse opioids, including heroin
prescription painkillers

Medication Assisted Treatment for alcohol/opioid addiction has proven effective around the globe when combining certain medications with a comprehensive treatment program:

Medication Assisted Treatment improves the survival rate for those dependent on alcohol and/or opioids
Patients are able to retain and apply dramatically more of the skills and concepts […]

It is probably not surprising that so many people decide to pursue sobriety around the winter holidays, mainly because this time of year signals both an ending an a new beginning.
Waking up on the 1st of January is like getting a clean sheet. People want to do things a bit differently than the year before. Such a change can bring many benefits to the life of the individual. For some, it […]

The holidays can be a particularly difficult time for people new to recovery. Especially when old family traditions still exist, and you have started to develop new and healthier ones.
It can be difficult for family members or friends to understand that you can’t join the family for Christmas dinner this year because it raises bad memories or that being near alcohol is just too triggering for you at this point […]

At some point during their journey of recovery, every addict reaches a more comfortable place where they feel more confident about their ability to remain sober. After a while; however, recovery can feel like a routine, and boredom and complacency can set in.
What you need to realize most of all is that this is enemy number one. Complacency is the killer in recovery that you need to watch out for. Most […]

Many clinical studies show that 30 day treatment for alcohol and drug addictions only offer a success rate of around 10% after one year. In fact, within 3 or 4 months the vast majority of those who attempt to gain sobriety have returned to using.
This pattern with opioid addiction and alcoholism is something the addiction field has observed for years.
Why 30 Day Treatment Doesn’t Work?
The idea of 30 day treatment […]

The ego, just like addiction, is cunning, baffling and powerful (to borrow a phrase from AA). To say it is tricky to manage is a colossal understatement – if we’re not constantly vigilant and present with our thoughts, it will sneak right up behind us when we least expect it. Before we know it, we’re acting in ways that we know deep down are not for our best benefit, and […]