5 Reasons to Consider Drug Rehab
The road to sobriety comes with a unique set of circumstances, and making the decision to begin drug rehab may be an easy one or a difficult one, depending on a number of factors, including where you are mentally, the substances you are using, and your using habits. Drug rehab is your first step in […]
Managing Your Mental Health in Recovery
Managing your mental health is essential, especially in recovery from substance use disorder. Depression and anxiety often co-occur with addiction, and one can affect the other, so it’s important that you are paying attention to how you feel and how you act (or don’t act) on these feelings. Mental wellness is much more that abstaining […]
Should I Tell Someone That I’ve Relapsed?
You’ve been sober for several months. Everything is going great— you’re working a program, you have a good job, your support network is strong. You seem to be making progress all around. And one night, you relapse. You’re confused and scared, and you aren’t sure what to do next. You’re afraid to tell someone for […]
LGBTQ Teens May be More Likely to Use Illegal Drugs
A new study has found that LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) teens are at least twice as likely as heterosexual teens to use cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, methamphetamine, and other illegal drugs. The study considered the sexuality and substance use habits of nearly 15,000 high school students; LGBTQ teens were 12 percent more likely […]
What to Do When Your Partner Relapses
There is a particular set of emotions that comes along with a relapse, and a whole other set of emotions that comes along with the relapse of a significant other. A recovery relationship is, in many ways, like any other relationship, but is associated with a unique set of circumstances— the risk of relapse probably […]
Maintaining Sobriety After the First 90 Days
Many addiction specialists and others in the recovery community say that your first 90 days in recovery are the most important. You need to practice the coping mechanisms you learned in addiction treatment, to help you get through any hardships in early recovery. The first three months following substance abuse treatment are often the most […]
Addiction and Comorbidity
Comorbidity is essentially having both a substance use disorder and mental disorder simultaneously. People with a drug addiction are twice as likely to experience mood and anxiety disorders than are members of the general population and vice versa, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Additionally, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America […]
Recovering Before Rock Bottom
Is “rock bottom” a myth in the world of addiction and recovery? Yes and no. In treatment, it’s not uncommon for people to share stories of when they hit bottom— the moment that they knew that they could no longer live a substance-dependent life and needed to seek addiction treatment. Some seek treatment long or […]
Do Needle Exchange Programs Encourage Opioid Use?
Needle exchange programs, sites where IV drug users can exchange used, or “dirty,” needles/syringes for sterile ones, are hotly disputed in the U.S. at a time when the opioid crisis is at a peak. Heroin— one of the most common drugs injected at these sites— use is on the rise, with nearly 1 million Americans […]
Why Do I Dream About Using?
Dreams about using or relapsing can be incredibly unsettling for those overcoming addiction, especially when you’ve been sober for a time. It is important to not ignore these dreams, though it may be tempting to disregard dreams simply because they are dreams and “are not real.” Drug dreams are not uncommon for those in recovery, […]
