Coping With Anxiety in Recovery
Getting to the recovery stage can be freeing, but starting your sobriety journey doesn’t mean that everything is a-OK upstairs. Before treatment, there are still fears and doubts that can affect your recovery. Rebuilding your life after treatment can be intimidating, and you might feel afraid of your future and not meeting your goals and […]
How to Explain Addiction Recovery to Your Children
Telling your loved ones about your addiction can be extremely difficult, but it becomes that much more difficult if you have children. Addiction earns its nickname as “the family disease” because it can impact the family system, and every family member is affected. While it might seem tempting to shelter your children about the realities […]
The Fallacy of Hitting Rock Bottom
You’ve probably heard of the term “hitting rock bottom.” What does that look like? When you think of the concept of rock bottom, you probably imagine someone reaching a breaking point where everything is in shambles. This is the worst that it’s going to get, and now they need to climb out of it somehow. […]
Overcoming Toxic Masculinity in Addiction Recovery
If you’ve recently sought treatment as a man, you might have dealt with internal voices telling you not to seek treatment. You might have been afraid that people will think that you are weak for getting help or that having a higher tolerance is just proof that you are a “real man.” You might not […]
Addiction Is ‘A Disease Of Isolation’ — So Pandemic Puts Recovery At Risk
Before the coronavirus became a pandemic, Emma went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting every week in the Boston area and to another support group at her methadone clinic. She said she felt safe, secure and never judged. “No one is thinking, ‘Oh, my God. She did that?’” said Emma, “’cause they’ve been there.” Now, with […]
Trauma and Addiction
Defining Trauma When a person fears for his/her safety, experiences intense pain, or witnesses a tragic or violent act, that person can be described as having experienced trauma. Levels of resiliency vary from person to person, so reactions to traumatic events are similarly varied. Although frightening experiences impact people at any age, adults will generally […]
When Trauma Slips into Addiction
When Trauma Slips into Addiction Living in fear. Terrified no one will come, yet terrified someone will. No relief, just fear and dread. No sense of control and a profound sense of isolation. This can be the experience of a person with a traumatic story. The daily struggle to keep trauma-related memories locked down and […]
