In Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-Step programs, a sponsor is someone who serves as a voice of reason in your recovery journey. They are established with their own sobriety and have agreed to support your efforts to work the 12-Steps, but the sponsor/sponsee relationship is considered temporary. As such, either party is free to [...]
Do you feel as though your mood changes with the seasons? If you're finding it difficult to manage your day-to-day activities as the temperature drops and the days become shorter, you might be suffering from seasonal affective disorder. Seasonal affective disorder, often referred to simply as SAD, is a type of depression where sufferers experience [...]
The journey toward sobriety requires significant effort, dedication, and determination to confront the challenges associated with substance abuse. Emotional challenges should not be overlooked, as they can often derail even the most well-intentioned recovery efforts. Understanding and addressing these emotional challenges is a crucial part of addiction recovery. Coming to Terms With the Impact of [...]
A substance use disorder isn't always easy to spot. An addiction to drugs or alcohol often develops slowly over an extended period. This makes it easy to brush off concerns by saying that you just enjoy the taste of a good drink or like to party with your friends. It's a common misconception that addiction [...]
TikTok initially rose to popularity as a social media platform that allowed users to create and share short-form dance and entertainment videos with others. Today, however, the app has become a go-to source of information for teens and young adults—who are being encouraged to like, comment, and react to videos that often contain dangerous misinformation. [...]
The term stigma is used to refer to unfairly negative attitudes or beliefs that result in prejudice and discrimination. With regard to mental health disorders, stigma involves the idea that such illnesses are shameful, embarrassing, and weak. This can cause people who are suffering from mental illness to feel judged or discriminated against by those [...]
At St. Joseph Institute for Addiction, we've found that a lasting recovery is about more than simply abstaining from the use of drugs and alcohol. Clients at our Pennsylvania residential addiction treatment center make peace with their past and learn healthy ways to deal with their emotions. Often, this includes working on forgiving others for [...]
A lasting recovery is about more than just abstaining from the use of addictive substances. Once you're no longer under the influence of drugs and alcohol, it becomes about finding new sources of meaning and purpose. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are some ideas to consider as you contemplate what you want your future [...]
Addiction stigma is an often overlooked yet pervasive barrier to healing. For people in recovery, fighting this stigma is not only a matter of breaking free from the burden of drug and alcohol abuse but also from the suffocating grip of shame, judgment, and isolation. What Are Some Examples of Addiction Stigma? The term stigma [...]
"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt. Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933 during the height of the Great Depression. He led the United States through the early years of World War II while dealing with serious health concerns related to the effects [...]
