Category: Recovery

For those of us struggling with addiction and all of the medical issues therein, including needing time for detox and recovery treatment programs, we have certain options when it comes to taking time off from work. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Short-Term Disability benefits are similar in that they offer us flexibility with […]

Maintaining our sobriety is always a challenge, but it can be uniquely so during the holidays because we tend to associate holiday celebrations with using our drug of choice, and we create holiday rituals around it. Our drug use becomes an important pastime for us and is linked to how we spend time with loved […]

One of the many challenges of sobriety is determining how to handle the relationships that were important to us in the past and navigating the dynamics within those relationships. It can be confusing and stressful trying to figure out how to interact with old friends and loved ones, particularly if they are still using our […]

When we have loved ones in recovery, particularly if they have only recently achieved sobriety, we have many questions pertaining to how we should function around them. We wonder if we should modify our lifestyles and behaviors in order to support them. We think it might be insensitive to drink around them, for example, if […]

As we’re working towards recovery, many of us can at times feel disheartened, unmotivated and defeated when dealing with all of the many challenges that arise. We’re struggling to stay sober against what feels like insurmountable odds – pressure from family and friends, the expectations we hold for ourselves, the mental health issues we’re still […]

Sometimes as we’re approaching the recovery process, we’re tempted to think that a short stay in rehab will be all we need in order to achieve a full recovery. We’ve been struggling for so long, we want a quick fix and an escape from all of our mental and emotional pain. We want to feel […]

Very often addicts will show signs of substance use long before we know consciously that they, in fact, have a problem with addiction. It can help us to support our loved ones, or to initiate our own recovery if we’re the ones struggling, to know some of the signs of substance use and to familiarize […]

Very often we can become triggered by something specific, a person, event, situation, issue, or problem, without understanding why. Sometimes our emotional responses baffle us. We’ve become hyper-sensitive. We’re feeling troubled, worried, bothered and much sadder, and more anxious than usual. We might experience intense mood swings, along with trouble sleeping and eating. We might […]

When we have loved ones struggling with addiction, our inclination is to want to help, nurture and protect them in any way we can. It hurts us beyond words to see them suffering and living with so much pain. It causes us tremendous stress, worry and anxiety to watch them self-destruct. We love and care […]

Our work when healing from addiction goes beyond sobriety and abstinence, although these are important to our recovery. The true objective of our recovery is to be able to cultivate the inner peace, calm and fortitude we need to handle anything life throws at us. We want to be able to stay grounded and centered, […]