How to Choose a Treatment Plan that’s Right for You

Each of us are different and, when it comes to treating addiction, everyone has a unique set of needs and circumstances that must be taken into account when deciding on a treatment plan.  Addiction is a dependency the brain has formed on a particular substance or behavior. For things like opiate addiction, which is a

Keep Calm and Kick the Habit

The popular Internet and T-Shirt meme has a catchy and shareable nature to it; Keep Calm and…  The phrase is usually followed up with some activity but the central idea of this viral idea is that only when you take a breath and calm your agitated nerves can you truly enjoy what you’re doing, whatever

The Lifetime Value of Discipline

Recovering from an addiction is a process of mental strength, willpower, and treatment. But above all things, the core of recovery is an artform that has gone out of fashion in the modern consumer culture; Discipline.   Many people look at discipline as restrictive rules and dogmatic practices that limit your options as an individual.

You’re Responsible for Your Own Happiness

We hear in recovery counseling a lot about people who turn to substance use in a search for joy or pleasure in an otherwise miserable or unhappy life. As understandable and universal as the desire for happiness is to all of us, it’s well understood that the fleeting rush afforded by drugs and alcohol are

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Addiction Recovery

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is intended to prevent relapse to drug addiction while in recovery. The therapeutic technique has been in use for many years and focuses on exploring, learning, analyzing, and understanding the psychology and behavioral patterns of oneself. Its aim is to help a recovering addict find new perspective on his own

3 Reasons Your Friend Isn’t Ready to Quit

There are numerous examples of people who were unwilling to get help for their addiction and, for one reason or another, forced into sobriety.  These stories are surprisingly positive, as the majority of these cases have experienced long term success in recovery. The fact is, the very nature of addiction is that you do not

Is Social Media the 13th Step?

Human beings, like many other animals, exhibit a tendency to emulate each other’s behavior. The more individuals behave in a particular way, the more powerful the tendency becomes. To a degree, we become like those we spend the most time with. This is called “herd mentality”. It is a phrase that describes how we are

How Young People View Marijuana

The debate over Marijuana use among teens revolves around the question of whether or not it truly is the gateway drug and whether it adversely affects their development. The primary concern is it cultivates a pattern of addiction with high probabilities of worsening in adulthood. Additionally, there is growing concern over the negative effects of

Addiction Changes the Reward Centers of the Brain

Drug addiction is one of the most mysterious and confusing dilemmas in the human experience. It’s been that way for a long time, we’re just now getting it under the clinical observation of medical professionals in an attempt to truly answer the question; Why do we get addicted? To understand how addiction works and why

Our Culture of Alcohol Glorification

When a drug addict comes out of recovery, having undergone treatment for narcotics or opiates, the struggle to stay clean is real.  However, at least for these addictions the culture around you supports your abstinence because these drugs are usually illegal to buy or possess and use is often frowned upon by the majority of