Many of us have a very hard time facing the reality of our addictions. It can be much easier to turn a blind eye to them. Sometimes we are conscious of our addictions and don’t want to admit them to ourselves or to other people. Sometimes we’re not yet conscious of them. We ignore the […]
Category: Resource Center
Strengthening Our Intuition
We very often ignore and neglect our intuition when we are struggling with addictions and mental health issues. The drugs and relationships have a way of drowning out our inner voice, along with all of the other ways in which we distract ourselves. We are too busy dealing with the conflicts in our tumultuous relationships, […]
Am I Enabling My Loved One’s Addiction?
It is very easy for us to be in denial about our loved one’s addiction, to be unconscious of it, or even to enable it. The difficulty of addiction can be so overwhelming and so stressful that we want to pretend it isn’t there, sweep it under the rug, or hope the problem will go […]
Using Fear as a Motivator
Living with addictions and mental health issues can mean we live with fear on a regular basis. Many of us struggle with chronic anxiety, debilitating panic attacks, fear-based obsessions and compulsions, neuroses and phobias. When struggling with addictions, fear can be one of the things that we allow to hold us back the most. We […]
How are Codependence and Addiction Related?
Codependence and addiction can be related to one another and can fuel each other. The same patterns we learn that develop into codependence can also lead to addiction, and vice versa. When we are in codependent relationships, we are emotionally dependent upon another person. We look to them for direction on how to feel, what […]
Developing Self-Respect
At the root of many of our emotional problems, including our addictions and mental health issues, is a lack of self-respect. We don’t feel we deserve respect from ourselves or from other people. This lack of self-respect manifests as toxic relationships, self-harming behaviors, and self-destructive patterns of addiction and depression. Developing a sense of self-respect […]
How Can Grounding Help with Addiction?
Our addictions and mental health issues can contribute to our feeling lost, scared and overwhelmed. We can feel as though we are not centered or grounded within ourselves and our lives. We don’t feel safe or secure. We have a hard time being present and embracing the moment. Grounding is a way of reconnecting with […]
Neglecting Ourselves for the Other Addicts in Our Lives
A common theme many of us share is our tendency to prioritize other addicts in our lives over ourselves. Their struggles become our main concern. We’re more worried about their wellbeing, or lack thereof, than our own. We give them the majority of our time, attention and energy and sacrifice our own needs. We do […]
What is Smartphone Addiction, and Why is it so Harmful?
Smartphones are a helpful part of developing technology that help us to manage our lives, run our businesses and stay in contact with loved ones. Many of us use our smartphones for various purposes and have come to rely on them. Just like with any other behavior, using smartphones can become addictive, and we can […]
The Rise of Addiction in Teenagers
Drug and alcohol use in teenagers is on the increase, and there are some key factors in this disturbing trend. Part of the problem is that young people’s brains are still developing, so when they start using drugs and alcohol at an early age they are putting themselves at greater risk for both brain damage […]