When you enter treatment for addiction, it’s normal to want to know if you’re doing things right. You’re putting a lot of time and effort into treatment, and you (as well as the people who care about you) hope it will improve your life. In times like these when you’re not sure where you stand,…
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Addiction is a chronic condition and, as with other chronic conditions, relapse is always a possibility. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that between 40 and 60 percent of people will relapse within a year of completing treatment for substance use. [https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/treatment-recovery] Although everyone has different patterns of substance use and relapse, relapse often…
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Mental illness is one of the biggest factors in whether someone will develop a substance use disorder. Studies show that about half of people with a substance use disorder have a co-occurring mental health issue and some estimates are even higher. [https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/common-comorbidities-substance-use-disorders/part-1-connection-between-substance-use-disorders-mental-illness] The connections between mental illness and substance use are complex. Often, the mental…
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Dreams about relapse are extremely common among people recovering from addiction. In a typical relapse dream, you might use drugs or alcohol again, suddenly feel overcome with remorse, disbelief, or panic, then wake up and feel relieved that it was only a dream. Despite the relief that it was only a dream, many people are…
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We’ve come a long way since the days when people thought addiction was a moral failing. 12-Step programs like AA and NA have done a lot to spread the idea that addiction is a disease. And more recently, the opioid epidemic in the US has brought more public attention to the true causes of addiction.…
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Healthy boundaries keep us from taking other people’s problems and allows us the space to deal with our own. They keep us safe and comfortable in healthy and respectful relationships. Unhealthy boundaries leave us open to manipulation and both physical and emotional damage. In active addiction, many of us got involved in unhealthy relationships built…
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Conflict is natural and inevitable. And if used properly, it can be good. Conflict pushed us to develop tools that increased our likelihood of survival. We evolved from wooden clubs to chipped obsidian blades to metal. We developed the plow and the wheel. New farming techniques created a surplus. All of these things gave us…
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So, you’ve decided to get sober. You have done the research. Maybe you are going to try outpatient, or commit to inpatient. Maybe you have decided to undergo medically supervised detox. Now, you have to figure out what your life is going to look like without the high. For many of us, treatment is complicated…
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Addiction is a crafty beast. People who live with it, especially those in recovery, know this all too well. The road back to a healthier life is littered with traps and obstacles. As humans, we look for comfort and safety. As addicted people, that search tends to lead down dangerous paths. We look for shortcuts.…
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People react differently to trauma. Some seem to have a natural ability to rebound. Others develop Port Traumatic Stress, a disorder that creates ongoing symptoms like unrelieved and intense fear, helplessness and repeated re-living of the trauma. Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress People with PTSD relive the incident over and over through flashbacks, frightening dreams,…
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