Category: Therapy

Sometimes when we are approaching recovery, it is relatively easy to identify our behavioral patterns. They’re pretty clear and easy to see. We can pinpoint our go-to drugs of choice and addictive behaviors fairly easily. What can sometimes be harder to identify are the emotional patterns underlying our behaviors. These patterns often drive our addictions, […]

Many of us living with addictions have a very hard time accepting help. We might be prideful and not want to show our vulnerability by asking for help. We might be afraid that people will judge us as weak, or hold it against us that we needed help. People who we hoped would help us […]

One of the patterns many of us share is our tendency to blame ourselves for our traumatic experiences. Our self-blame causes us to feel deeply ashamed of ourselves, often for things we could not control and that weren’t our fault. We take the blame away from the people and events that traumatized us and put […]

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). For those of us living with addictions and mental health issues, we can have times when we are in so much emotional pain and distress that we feel like we want to give up. We struggle with […]

The decision whether or not to seek treatment for our addictions can be a difficult one. When making the decision, we are often confronting some very real fears- the fear of having to face the reality of our addictions, the fear of being judged by people, all the fears we have about ourselves that we’ve […]

When we are struggling with addictions, one of the hardest things we’re dealing with is the abundance of painful emotions we feel on a regular basis. We react to our emotions in unhealthy and self-destructive ways rather than choosing healthy coping mechanisms. Many of us have lived through traumatic experiences which can influence us on […]

One of the best things we can do for ourselves in recovery is separate ourselves from the toxic relationships that have been bringing us down. When we are struggling with addiction, we often attract other people also living with addiction. Our relationships are often toxic and destructive, we enable one another’s addictions, and we contribute […]

Learning how to deal with our difficult emotions is one of the most important things we’ll do in our recovery from addictions and mental health issues. Our tendency when dealing with our challenging emotions is to want to avoid them at all costs. We don’t want to feel the weight of their pain. The pain […]

Often when we are caught in the destructive cycles of our addiction and depression, we lose our sense of self-worth and value in the world. We become stuck in our pain and feelings of worthlessness, and we forget that there are infinite ways we can give back and help other people. Serving others is a […]

When we are embroiled in our addictions, we very often lose our connection to our inner selves. We lose our sense of identity, purpose and direction in life. We forget who we are. Recovering from our addictions and mental health issues is largely about reconnecting with our inner selves for true healing. To reconnect with […]