Relapse is a part of many recovery stories. It’s the moment in your sobriety when you use the substance that you previously abused, leading you back into addictive patterns. Chances of relapse among formerly drug and alcohol-addicted people are high, but that doesn’t mean that you or your loved one will relapse. It also doesn’t [...]
Self-care is a great way to prioritize your mental health and your physical well-being with techniques that optimize bodily function, mental cohesion, and nervous system regulation. It does not entail being selfish or overindulging while shopping or pampering yourself. Think of self-care less as one specific action and more as a lifestyle or a steady [...]
Our nation’s Veterans, active military members, and their loved ones protect us and the land we live on. This is no small feat. The weight of responsibility that comes with being a protector is often overwhelming and has the potential to lead to a number of long-term negative effects. Recently, our nation has seen increased [...]
Emotionally immature parents can affect their children’s development in ways that may make them more prone to substance use disorders as adults. What does it mean to be emotionally immature? We know what it means to mature biologically. If we think about animals or kids, we can easily point out what maturity looks like. An [...]
Depression. It can feel like a 50-pound dumbbell on your chest every minute of every day. It might look like Alzheimer’s, forgetting appointments or chores or even cherished memories. Perhaps it manifests in a sudden onslaught of narcissistic feelings, extreme guilt, debilitating self-pity, or overwhelming pessimism with every minute that passes. Described as a raging [...]
If we zoom as far out as possible from our loved one’s substance use disorder (SUD), we see that its effects ripple into larger social systems. We see that the person struggling with addiction is taking the brunt of the most obvious consequences: poor bodily and mental health, financial troubles, professional issues, discrimination, involvement [...]
When people throw around the term addictive personality, they’re often referring to what they see as a tendency to abuse substances or fixate on certain risky activities or adrenaline-seeking behaviors. The phase can be used jokingly, as an insult, or as a well-intentioned diagnosis. Since the 1990s, this idea of an addictive personality has embedded [...]
What are Affirmations, and How Do They Work? Affirmations are concise, positive phrases about your life that you repeat regularly. The idea is that with repetition, your brain starts to believe and accept the affirmations as true--causing you to feel that they’re true. Designed to uplift you over time, affirmations are one of many techniques [...]
While fatal car accidents involving marijuana consumption in the United States have nearly doubled in the past 20 years, smoking weed and driving is still less likely to result in fatal collisions than drunk driving. However, the danger that weed presents shouldn’t be overlooked, as this particular substance alters a driver’s perception of time and [...]
