Partial Hospitalization has been a growing concept for the past 20 years. Used in a variety of therapeutic environments, it is an application meant to satisfy both mental patients and substance abuse patients. Here’s the way it works. Since no two people are exactly the same, the path to recovery needs to vary as well. [...]
Why are prescription drugs killing people? Aren’t they supposed to make people feel better, heal faster, and balance out? How did they become public enemy #1? I thought heroin, cocaine, and crack were the most dangerous drugs? To determine what drug is dangerous, we must first decide what makes a drug dangerous. Is the danger [...]
On Memorial Day, remember what you went through starting the recovery from addiction. Remember the wounds that have healed and the relationships that have been recovered. While many Americans may be celebrating Memorial Day this weekend by drinking and partying, remember what it really stands for: For tragedies and sacrifices that we have experienced [...]
In all situations involving addictions there are usually at least two people involved. The addict is the first, while the other is the person striving to help the addict get better. The addict’s parents, brothers, sisters, friends, wife or husband, are so emotionally bound that they practically live for the happiness of the one suffering [...]
Addiction is one of the most difficult things to understand, especially from the perspective of the addict. Let’s talk about addiction from the perspective of the family. For a caring family member, the multitudes of questions can be overwhelming: Is it possible to fix an addict? How long does it take? If it didn’t work [...]
You’ve heard it before: the older we get, the wiser we get. As kids, we thought we were invincible, and could party hard without dealing with consequences. Of course, many of us discovered a valuable lesson. We found that our bodies remembered what we couldn’t. And now, we aren’t kids anymore. So why is the [...]
Addiction. It is pervasive, it is constant, and once you become an addict, you’re always an addict. Right? There has been a lot of discussion about whether a person can ever not be an addict, once they become addicted to a drug. Addiction can be physical, or mental, or both. A physical addiction is easier [...]
There is no uniform timeline for addiction recovery, but there are some guidelines for certain situations. First of all, there should be at least a 90 day commitment regardless of the type of addiction or the severity (or lack thereof) of the problem. Anything less is considered to be inadequate by the mainstream medical community. [...]
How do we challenge the truth of our principles? While we can speak openly and passionately of what we claim to stand for, nothing c an test us better than when doing so is uncomfortable, unpopular, painful, or dangerous. This is an important concept to grasp when speaking to anyone, but especially people with addictions. [...]
