People are raised to believe that words have little power. As children, the nursery rhyme “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is echoed over and over again. Truthfully, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Words can play an incredibly powerful role in shaping our psyches, identities,…
One of the most effective ways to champion your own recovery efforts is to become an advocate for the addiction recovery process. While this is no way means you have to shout the intimate details of your entire recovery journey from the rooftops, it is important to remember that your journey and its success can…
It is almost impossible to efficiently get through recovery and maintain sobriety if you continue to allow negative people, influences, or environments to play a role in your life. This may sound harsh, but studies have actually indicated that those that remove negativity from their lives in the early stages of recovery see much faster,…
The year’s coming to an end, and many of us have a lot to be thankful for in 2018. For some of us, we entered 2018 on a mission to beat our addiction for good, and through, faith, hard work, unity and teamwork, we were able to beat it. Now, as the year winds down,…
They say dogs are man’s best friend, and according to recent studies, they couldn’t be more right. In addition to a recent uptick in “animal assisted therapy programs,” many addiction survivors are saying that their pets have saved them in the worst of times, and, in some cases, have even saved their lives. One of…
Struggling with addiction is one of the hardest things any individual can go through.Whether it is the sense of helplessness, the dependency, or the lack of control, addiction is a seriously debilitating illness that wreaks havoc on its victim. Going through the recovery process can be one of the most emancipating experiences of your life,…
Recovering from any normal illness is a battle in and of itself. Waking up lethargic, unmotivated, and aching doesn’t exactly inspire you to try to get better. In fact, sometimes the most enjoyable thing to do when you’re sick is to stay right there, sedentary, and leave treatment for another day. Fortunately, everyone knows that…
It is important to note that drugs in and of themselves serve a multitude of purposes, and not all are bad. In fact drugs statistically save more lives than they take on an annual basis. When prescribed by a physician and used correctly, drugs can aid in the body’s natural healing process and make the…
Through engaging in a 12-Step recovery program, we begin to feel a connection to a power greater than ourselves for the first time. This can alternately be described as a “psychic change”—our thoughts and behaviors have shifted to a point where we no longer feel the need to use drugs or alcohol. This “spiritual experience”…
Sobriety can seem like a scary prospect. After all, we have spent so much time in a state of addiction that we don’t know any other way to live. For most of us, drugs and alcohol were a way to control our emotions and problems—without these substances, what are we to rely on to make…