Getting individuals to grasp new concepts can take a lot of finesse. The goal of motivational interviewing is to move someone from one way of thinking or doing something into a new direction. Change is usually not easy for anyone. Motivational interviewing for addiction treatment is an excellent way to bring about change for someone....Read More
The war on drugs is nowhere near over, and we continue to lose our loved ones to illicit and prescription overdoses. According to the CDC, in 2015, 47,055 people died from drug overdoses – 1.5 times greater than the number of people killed in car crashes. Typically it’s heroin and opioids that contribute to the...Read More
America has an addiction problem. Although alcohol abuse has slightly decreased, prescription opioid abuse continues to rise. Opioids are classified as highly addictive, prescription strength pain-relieving drugs. These include oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, codeine, and the illicit drug heroin. Many believe the rise of heroin addiction statistics is a direct result of opioid prescription abuse. The...Read More
To understand what living amends are is to understand the concept behind amends in a 12 step program. Part of healing the past is owning the wrongs we have made towards people and places while living in our addiction. An amends is not an apology or “I’m sorry” for a wrongdoing. The most widely accepted...Read More
What is Naloxone and what should you know about it? Naloxone is an FDA-approved drug used to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose. When a narcotic overdose occurs, the individual will have labored (or may even stop) breathing, a slow heartbeat, and extreme drowsiness. Naloxone is not a cure for the overdose; instead, it...Read More
Why does anyone join an alumni program? Do you want to keep in touch with individuals from a school or organization? Maybe you need to be part of something that has given you so much. Maybe you like the socialization aspect of it. Well, individuals in recovery have many of the same reasons for joining...Read More
It is difficult to define heavy drinking. People have different abilities to process alcohol and can tolerate various amounts of alcohol in their system. Therefore, the amount of consumption that begins to create problems for the drinker (problems identified employers, families and other people affected by the individual’s drinking) varies widely. For example, the Substance...Read More
A Personal Story Being in recovery from alcoholism is not about alcohol at all. The basis of the whole-person care approach to recovery is the underlying factors that drove me to use alcohol as a method to cope with life in general. When I began a 12-step program of recovery almost three years ago, I...Read More
The endless chatter of the mind is one of the most difficult roadblocks in recovery. Most addicted people rely on substance use to quiet that chatter, but sobriety brings massive challenges in coping without self-medication. Meditation is a practice that has been around for many centuries and serves a wide variety of purposes. The most...Read More
