Practicing Recovery: Breath Work
All residents at St. Joseph Institute learn about breath work: what it is, how to do it, and why it helps. But breathing is one of the easiest practices to overlook. We breathe without thinking about it, and we often “forget [...]
Practicing Recovery: Managing Negative Thoughts
“Don’t believe everything you think.” This short, simple phrase is the key to managing negative thoughts. Why manage negative thoughts? Negative thinking supports negative emotions, and the two together lead to feelings of stress, powerlessness, and the need for escape. [...]
Practicing Recovery: Nutrition
FACT: Addicts in active stages of using drugs and alcohol are malnourished. FACT: Good nutrition actually impacts cravings for drugs and alcohol. Residents at St. Joseph Institute learn these two facts (and many more!) in classes about how to replenish [...]
Recommended Reading: Comfort Food
Recommended Reading: Comfort Food: No One Brings Dinner When Your Daughter is an Addict By Larry M. Lake, Slate, November 8, 2013 Do you have a son or daughter who struggles with addiction? Do you feel free to talk about [...]
Searching for Shortcuts: When Addiction Treatment Fails
It is part of our culture, our daily practices, perhaps even our DNA: the desire to do things faster, easier, and with minimal sacrifice. Let’s face it. We want shortcuts. While finding a quicker route to the grocery store can help [...]
How Can the Christian Seasons of Lent and Easter Help You in Your Recovery?
Often we see the Word of God as isolated messages stored in compartments that make it easier to digest and comprehend. When we step back and examine the big picture, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on God’s message [...]
New Year – New You
It’s time for a change. Each year the statistics for addiction and its impact on individuals, families, businesses, and communities are released, piling on those from the previous year. Sadly, the numbers keep getting worse: more people die, more accidents [...]
Beating the Odds on Relapse
You will have dozens of questions when you start to talk about relapse, and the answers are often confusing or contradictory. Is the success rate for recovery 10 percent? 25 percent? 50 percent? 75 percent? Can an alcoholic or addict [...]
Afraid to Love: The Enabling Dilemma
A mother called very upset that her son had not been approved for admission to St. Joseph Institute. I explained that he wasn’t ready for treatment. He wasn’t ready to stop using his drugs. He had no motivation to get [...]
Alumni Graduate Feedback
One of the great joys of addiction treatment is hearing from our graduates. While recovery is not easy, and life has many challenges, there are victories that lift us up and help us all move forward. The following e-mails [...]
