You Deserve Freedom

Blog

Close-up of a person's hands gently holding a glass of dark liquid,

New Reason to Give Up Alcohol: It Causes Cancer

People who are struggling with a substance use disorder centered on alcohol (sometimes called alcohol use disorder or AUD) are already facing all kinds of problems. After all, ongoing and excessive consumption of alcohol can have a ruinous impact on your mental and physical health, your job and financial situation, your relationships, and so much...
Read More
A multigenerational family.

There May Be Relationship Work to Do in Recovery

All of us—even the most introverted among us—have lots of relationships in our lives. For example, you have relationships with your family members, your collection of friends, your coworkers, your faith community, and the list goes on and on. If you are a person in recovery from a substance use disorder, you also have relationships...
Read More
art journal

Alternatives to Keeping a Traditional Journal in Recovery

In previous blog posts—like this one—we have suggested that keeping a journal can be a useful activity for a person in recovery from a substance use disorder. We have even provided some prompts to get you started. We continue to believe that journals—whether it is a gratitude journal; a journal for tracking your progress with things...
Read More
a woman reading articles on her computer

Bingeable Series from Our Blog

Here’s an experience you may have had. You and a friend or partner are trying to decide what to watch on your favorite streaming app. At first, you consider a range of movies—maybe a rom-com or a thriller or that one movie starring that one guy—but eventually you decide that it is kind of late...
Read More
person taking some herbs off their plant in their kitchen to cook with - gardening in recovery - cooking in recovery

How Spending Time in the Garden and Kitchen Supports Recovery

Of late, we have been writing quite a bit about healthy eating in recovery—a key strategy for maintaining your physical health, your mental health, and your hard-won freedom from drugs or alcohol. In keeping with that theme, we want to explore a couple of ways that you can be even more directly involved in what...
Read More
photo of a healthy, balanced meal

Making Good Dinner Choices in Recovery

This post builds on two previous blog entries about healthy eating in recovery. The first zeroed in on healthy approaches to breakfast and hydration. The second centered on quality choices when it comes to lunch and afternoon snacks. In this post, we will focus on dinner and late-night snacks. We are dedicating an entire series to...
Read More
Friends having a cookout.

Make Plans to Make it a Sober Summer

Summertime is practically synonymous with relaxation. For kids, there is an extended break from school. For many folks, there is the promise of a vacation. More light in the evening and lovely weather make a whole host of restful and enjoyable activities possible. Heck, some companies even shorten their hours over the summer as a perk...
Read More
woman in her kitchen preparing a healthy meal

Making Good Lunch Choices in Recovery

We are in the midst of a series of blog posts about making more nutritious choices when it comes to your eating habits. In the first entry, we made suggestions related to breakfast as well as considering your best options for staying hydrated. In this entry, we will take a look at lunch and your...
Read More
A healthy breakfast

Making Good Breakfast Choices in Recovery

Eating well is an important part of maintaining your physical and mental well-being in recovery. Knowing which foods support your health is helpful, but understanding how to incorporate them into your daily meals can make a real difference.In a recent blog post, we identified five categories of food that support your ongoing recovery. They include:Leafy...
Read More
Woman getting ready to exercise.

Take Recovery One Step at a Time

When someone mentions the word “steps” in relation to recovery, it is only natural that your mind might jump immediately to the 12 Steps that are at the center of the Alcoholics Anonymous program.AA and those famous steps have been helpful to many people in recovery. While many of the steps refer to God, others...
Read More