From my experience in recovery, especially early recovery, holidays can be like walking through a mine field. IEDs everywhere: flame throwers, snipers, relatives throwing grenades. People can tell you a hundred different ways, tips, tricks, but what worked for me…
Recovery groups provide what all human beings need—and what chemically dependent people need more than anyone: recognition by others of their humanness, affirmation of their value as human beings, and validation of their feelings. Actor Tony Curtis was quoted in…
The 2018 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) numbers are in, but do not give us: updated numbers regarding the 2017 daily fatal drug overdose rate (192/day) updated numbers regarding the 2017 daily fatal opioid overdose…
The life changes that must be made by recovering alcoholics and drug dependents differ a great deal from those that are recommended for other people having trouble in their lives; the ordinary psychological self-help books don’t apply. Chemically dependent people…
Generally speaking, the goal for anyone in recovery is to maintain their sobriety for the long-term. Everyone knows that it begins with stopping the addictive substances, but how do we continue to be successful in the long-term? Setting yourself up…
If you’ve been sober for any period of time, you know how precious that time can be. Holding onto your sobriety for dear life should be priority number one at all times. Right from the start of your clean time,…
The Two Most Commonly Smoked Drugs The 2 top drugs most commonly smoked are: Nicotine including vaping THC/Marijuana The top 2 drugs most commonly smoked are also the top 2 gateway drugs leading to harder drugs, including: Opioids Alcohol Stimulants…
Alcoholics Anonymous or AA, is the de facto 12-step fellowship for those recovering from substance use disorder, alcoholism and addiction. Exposure to the fellowship usually begins in treatment, and for good reason. AA has been around since 1935 and has…
As an addict myself, I can say that getting sober wasn’t easy. The first couple of times I went to treatment was under threat from my parents, they said I wouldn’t be allowed to live with them anymore if I…
Researchers fleshed out genetic data that attempted to correlate substandard cognitive functioning with an augmented risk of cannabis abuse.¹ These researchers may not have factored in the well-established and known fact that nicotine is a top gateway drug that regularly…