Our addictions are fueled by a phenomenon called the reward system, where we are driven compulsively to use our drug of choice or to engage in our addictive behavior of choice because we know that once we do, we’ll feel a certain kind of reward. The reward we feel might be a rush of dopamine […]
Category: Resource Center
Embracing Our Experiences as Gifts
When living with addiction and mental illness, we accumulate layers of challenging experiences that make us question who we are and what our place in the world is. We tend to see our difficulties as a negative thing, especially when they bring us years of confusion and turmoil. As we’re working to recover, though, we […]
How Do Our Personalities Hold Us Back?
Our personalities are the culmination of all the habits, patterns, thoughts and feelings that we’ve come to associate with ourselves and that we’ve used to formulate our identities. We tend to think that our personalities are permanent and set in stone, that they can’t be changed even when we’re not happy with them. We come […]
Reasons Why We Falter in Our Commitment to Our Sobriety
Sometimes when we relapse and fall back into our old patterns of dependence, it’s because we’ve faltered in our commitment to ourselves and our sobriety. We’ve lost sight of the goals and intentions we’ve set for ourselves to get well. We’ve lost faith in ourselves. Often the reasons as to why our commitment might waver […]
How Can I Stop Feeling Like Something is Wrong With Me?
When living with addiction and mental illness, we have a tendency to always feel as though there’s something wrong with us, like there’s always something that needs to be fixed, added or taken away in order for us to be good enough. We feel inadequate as we are, unworthy, and undeserving of love and happiness. […]
Welcoming the Challenges in Recovery
Recovery is known for being a difficult time in our lives, where we’re faced with obstacles that push us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, in ways we’ve never been challenged before. Our recovery is a time when we’re finally taking the steps needed to get sober, learning more about ourselves and deepening our understanding of […]
Why We’re Afraid of Treatment
When it comes to addiction recovery, there are many things we fear – the difficult symptoms of withdrawal, having to give up our dependence on our drug of choice, harsh judgments from other people, feeling alone in this new journey we’re taking. One thing many of us fear is entering treatment and getting professional help. […]
Being Patient with Our Loved Ones in Recovery
Being patient with our loved ones when they’re in recovery is one of our greatest challenges but also one of the most important things we can do, both for them and for ourselves. Throughout their struggles with addiction, we’ve watched them self-destruct, create turmoil everywhere they go, and wreak havoc on both their lives and […]
The Habits that Form Addictions
We tend to think of our addictions in much the same way we view our mental health issues, as powerful forces beyond our control, as illnesses we were born with or inherited but can’t heal from. We fail to realize that the patterns we develop, the mental and emotional habits we practice and repeat over […]
The Role of Self-Hate in Addiction
If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). At the root of our addictions, for many of us, lies an emotional foundation we’ve created for ourselves of self-hate and self-rejection. We don’t feel unconditional love and acceptance for ourselves. We don’t nurture, support or protect ourselves. We […]