Are you aware of who you are? Are you aware of your thoughts about yourself, your thoughts about others, your thoughts about how you relate to others? Have you ever noticed if you think more highly of yourself around certain people? Do you pay more attention to the way people dress, or the watches…
Vulnerability is a triggering and challenging word for men. The expectation of the male identity is to be strong, solid, unwavering, rational, unemotional, and adaptable. In a group of men who are recovering from their individual pasts full of shame, guilt, remorse, addiction, and mistakes, it is critical to be vulnerable. By embracing vulnerability…
The modern working man is focused on productivity and efficiency. Most self-help and self-improvement topics in regards to work has to do with being as productive as possible as efficiently as possible. We are forever focusing on how to get more done in a shorter amount of time as efficiently as possible without exhausting ourselves.…
Hiking is a great exercise for recovery. Spending time exercising in nature is proven to improve feelings of self-worth, self-esteem, body image, wellness, and actual health. Summertime is a great time to take advantage of hiking and a great way to bond with recovery peers. Part of learning to live sober is being prepared…
Life skills are the various techniques we use to take care of ourselves. We need skills like budgeting, grocery shopping, cooking, personal hygiene, etiquette, communication, resume building, interviewing, laundry, and other activities to maintain our lives and manage our stress. If we are wealthy enough, we can hire someone to do it all for us…
Addiction takes over all life skills. Many people don’t realize how intimately addiction weaves its way into their lives until they start living life and doing things sober. Budgeting, grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking- health, wellness, and nutrition is not often a focus for people who are completely overwhelmed by their chemical addiction to drugs…
Adderall, Vitalin, Vyvanse, and other stimulant drugs are prescribed to people who struggle with learning disorders/mental illnesses like attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, better known as ADD/ADHD. Living with ADD or ADHD stems beyond the generalized concept of not being able to focus on a task. ADHD can cause cognitive dysfunction, sometimes…
Love and logic parenting is a way to set healthy boundaries with your loved one and provide all the love, empathy, and compassion they need, while not enabling maladaptive behaviors. Love and logic focuses on maintaining accountability and letting a child learn how to be responsible for themselves, while continuing to love and support…
Drugs go through phases of “popularity” or high occurrences of abuse and addiction. Drug addiction has been a problem for centuries. Alcoholism has existed as long as there has been alcohol. However, drugs go through phases of being well known and widely used to falling on the back burner. For example, marijuana was the rebellious…
Dual diagnosis is a term that refers to the presence of a substance use disorder and other mental health disorder occurring at the same time in an individual. Also called co-occurring disorders, the presence of one often exacerbates the other. Most people with substance use disorder have a dual diagnosis of some kind whether…