Talking to Teens About Substance Abuse: Tips for Parents in Recovery
Talking to teens about substance abuse is never easy, but the conversation often proves particularly challenging for parents in recovery. At St. Joseph Institute for Addiction, we know that breaking the cycle of addiction is a top priority for many [...]
Move Forward in Your Recovery by Breaking Free from the Victim Mentality
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” ― Carl Gustav Jung Breaking Free Recovery is a new chapter in the story of your life, but it's up to you to decide what happens [...]
Things You Can Do to Help Someone with an Addiction to Prescription Opioids
Support from friends and family is a vital part of the recovery process. While you can't force your loved one who is abusing prescription opioid painkillers to seek treatment, there are several things you can do to help them recognize [...]
Overcoming Denial and Promoting Addiction Recovery
Denial is often described as one of the primary roadblocks to addiction recovery. Admitting that you feel lost and powerless is never easy, so it's understandable that men and women struggling with substance abuse would prefer not to acknowledge the [...]
Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Substance Use Disorders
What Is CBT? When many people think of going to therapy, they are imagining the traditional Freudian psychoanalysis they've seen on TV and in movies. They picture laying on a comfy couch while a therapist asks about their childhood to [...]
Paying for Addiction Treatment
Evidence-based addiction treatment helps build the foundation for a lasting recovery, but it's understandable to worry about how to afford the care you need. However, there are many options available—regardless of whether you have access to private health insurance coverage. [...]
What You Need to Know About CBT for Addiction Treatment
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a goal-oriented form of psychotherapy that focuses on solving immediate concerns and helping people with substance use disorders develop the skills they need to stay sober. It’s much less intensive than other forms of psychotherapy, [...]
Tweaking Your Diet to Control Drug and Alcohol Cravings
Cravings Are Normal Experiencing cravings for drugs or alcohol is a normal part of the addiction recovery process. It's nothing to be ashamed of, although the experience can be uncomfortable. In most cases, cravings pass on their own within 10 [...]
Trauma and Addiction: What’s the Connection?
It's difficult to say with certainty what causes some individuals to develop a drug or alcohol addiction. Substance use disorders are chronic biologically based illnesses with complex environmental triggers. However, exposure to trauma—especially during the childhood years—is strongly linked to [...]
Alcohol and Opioids Are a Deadly Combo
Legal doesn't mean safe. Since alcohol is legal for adults over the age of 21 and opioid painkillers are legal with a prescription, people often mistakenly assume that mixing the two is no big deal. This couldn't be further from [...]
