Ever wondered why AA and NA meetings are full of donuts, cookies, coffee, and post-meeting chainsmokers? It’s not just a way to tempt newcomers into staying for the long haul. …
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Life After Rehab: Now What?
Going to rehab is hard enough. But actually staying sober afterward? Without any guidance? Aside from feeling a little daunting (one day at a time), a lack of direction in ...
Relapse Dreams: Cause for Concern?
“La la, just going to treatment, minding my own business, working the steps like they taught me…” When BAM! You jolt awake into a cold sweat, bewildered and utterly confused ...
Matrix Model: How Rehab Therapy Actually Works
Remember the days before the opiate epidemic, when the world was drug-free and no one had addiction problems? Of course not. Substance abuse has been ruining lives since humans first ...
Is Kratom Safe for People in Recovery?
If you’re tied into the recovery community, you’ve probably heard of a relatively new substance that can supposedly keep relapse at bay. Kratom, a tropical evergreen tree in the coffee ...
Leaving Against Clinical Advice (ACA) in Rehab
Our culture has a fixation with individualism. Although “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” may seem like a brave and noble idea in theory, it seems less enticing when it …
Harm Reduction: Does It Work?
If you’ve spent any prolonged amount of time in the recovery community, you’ve probably arrived here with a bias either for or against harm reduction. Maybe you vehemently fight against …
If Demi Lovato Can Admit to Relapse, So Can You
Singing the blues is a time-honored artistic tradition. Blues singers often approach the task with a cryptic veil that allows them to channel the idea of sadness or guilt without ...
Backslide vs. Relapse: Is There a Difference?
Recovery presents joy and challenge in competing measures. This battle to regain control of one’s life does not have one linear path. Rather, it’s a series of twisting, convoluted choices ...
Why Do Addicts End Up in Hotels?
We’re all familiar with the trope. After days or weeks on a bender, an addict will find themselves holed up in a hotel with bottles, spoons, and whatever else strewn …