Re-entering the world newly recovered from a treatment facility can be frightening. Despite the dismal statistics, you really can beat the odds. Say hello to a new recovery buzzword: Sober Monitoring. Sober monitoring can be paralleled to an architectural blueprint or structured plan to assist the newly recovered alcoholic, drug addict, over eater, gambler, etc....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

Watching a loved one go through severe detox symptoms can feel as painful on your insides as it looks like on their outsides. It may cause you to feel helpless or scared, or angry even when your loved one is in the safe care of professionals during the process. It may also cause you to...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

In many ways, the United States is known as the land of excess. We make cheesy pizzas with hot dogs in the crust, we clamor for decadent iced coffees with the calorie content of an entire meal. We are consumed by excess of food, money, clothes, cars, and technology. And when it comes to drugs...Read More

How easy is it to get addicted to heroin? I found myself searching this question on the Internet, hoping to find a definitive answer that would help me avoid the pitfall of addiction. I had experimented with other drugs and was curious to try heroin. I knew that it was addictive, but I figured I’d...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

Recovery from alcohol and drug addiction is a process that begins with the addict’s willingness to take responsibility for the choices that have fueled his/her disease. The step by step journey to recovery deconstructs the addict’s distorted thinking and allows the addict to envision a life free of alcohol and drugs. Recovery entails surrender, acceptance,...Read More