When dreading the thought of getting clean, a lot of the concern centers around the painful process of detox. Opiate withdrawal in particular is so miserable that it’s earned the ...
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“Clean” Addictions: Compulsive Behaviors in Recovery
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. …
Why Did My Boyfriend Get Me into Drugs?
It’s a sad tale, and unfortunately all too common. The stage: a relatively normal, functional girl grows up in a loving and secure home. She ambles through life learning how ...
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 ...
What are Levels of Care in Rehab?
“My son/daughter needs help.” “I can't keep doing this… it’s time to get right.” Either of these sound familiar? For most families and people who struggle with addiction, the need ...
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 ...
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 …
Avoiding the Treatment Center Cycle
Rehab saves lives. There’s no disputing that. With the opioid crisis catapulting addiction into the national limelight, there has been a much-needed push for Americans to accept addiction as a …
Beware of Bait & Switch: 6 Signs of an Effective Treatment Center
Let’s get down to brass tacks: for most people, substance abuse is not a well-understood disease. Getting help feels daunting and foreign. Loved ones often find themselves at a loss ...
Set Intention: Hacking Away at Your Bad Habits
Some problems seem too abstract to fix easily, so we resort to mental shortcuts instead. Unfortunately, this bad habit of deferring difficult/work-intensive decisions (like, say, getting clean and sober) creates ...