Addiction |

Healthy Coping Mechanisms to Aid Your Recovery When my husband’s drinking became too much for me, I took the advice of a friend and found an Al-Anon meeting. I needed to recover from the affects alcoholism had on my life. Al-Anon taught me how to change my behavior and learn healthy coping mechanisms that focused...Read More

America’s communities are suffering from the consequences brought on by the ever growing epidemic of the disease of addiction and mental illness. If you personally are not suffering, I guarantee you know someone who is. This can be a family member, close friend, co-worker, neighbor or an acquaintance. With the high price of treatment, many...Read More

These tips for Living with a recovering addict begin with an open mind, the power to let go, and a lot of patience. Addiction is a family disease, it affects not only the one addicted, but everyone close to him. Recovery is forever and transitioning from an inpatient treatment center to life at home may...Read More

For well over twenty years in addiction and behavioral health circles, the question was debated: Just what is Dual Diagnosis Treatment? The most common definition is that persons who need Dual Diagnosis Treatment suffer from both addictions and psychiatric conditions. What Alcoholics Anonymous Says about Dual Diagnosis: Alcoholics Anonymous has long maintained (70 years) that...Read More

What is the Disease of Addiction? The disease of addiction was once spurred by the false notion that addicts and alcoholics suffered from a lack of will power. There are many circles today that still believe this to be fact, but over time much research has been done to prove the contrary. The first known...Read More

In 21st century America, addiction appears to be the ‘diagnosis du jour’. Acceptance of addiction in our culture can be measured by popular opinion that reflects and/or assigns the diagnosis to anyone who over-indulges in food, exercise, shopping, gambling, traveling, internet activity, and so on and so on. In contrast, medical and behavioral health clinicians...Read More

Sometimes it is a long road from the time a loved one needs help, and when they agree to get help. No matter if they get better or not, it is possible to have happiness and purpose in life. During my husband’s addiction, I did many things that enabled him to grow worse and worse...Read More

When considering the definition of addiction vs. dependence, past thinking made it fairly simple to differentiate between the two terms. Although addiction and dependence possess similar symptoms, the manifestations and associated behaviors differ significantly. Let’s Look at Past Definitions, Creating the Distinctions of the Two Addiction vs. Dependence Suppose a person begins to use a...Read More

Alcohol withdrawal is a serious medical condition that can be fatal, if not properly treated. The severity of alcohol withdrawal syndrome varies, depending upon the individual’s alcohol consumption and any other underlying medical conditions. Identifying alcohol withdrawal symptoms in an individual is important so that he or she can receive appropriate medical attention and recovery...Read More

Enabling Behavior and Codependency The most confusing and piercing words that describe the contributions of friends and family to the disease of addiction are enabling behavior and codependency. With the best of intentions, unconditional love, unwavering commitment and a blind eye to reality, we unknowingly become dance partners with the disease. Our enabling behavior is...Read More