Many people find themselves having a hard time making the decision to get the treatment they need for a substance use disorder. Often, that hesitancy is grounded in fear of—or at least nervousness about—the unknown. That is only natural. Even when we find ourselves in a bad situation, muddling through can seem preferable to taking...Read More
When you head off to work each day—whether you drive, walk, bike, take public transportation, or just head down the hall to the home office—odds are pretty good that you take the same path each day. You might have tried a few different routes when you first got the job, and from time to time you...Read More
In a recent blog post, we took a look at a few terms and phrases that might be described as “recovery jargon.” We covered the process known as urge surfing to fend off cravings. We defined the phrase “dry drunk.” And we took a look at the vagaries of the pink cloud, which can cause...Read More
You need to understand the language of recovery. Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with two people who work in the same field—a field different than your own? At some point, the conversation turns to work and what each of you like, hate, and tolerate about your gigs. Maybe your two companions start...Read More
Words Really Do MatterSometimes people don’t think too hard about what they say. And sometimes that can have more serious consequences than one might expect.Think, for example, about the kinds of words that are commonly used to describe a person struggling with a substance use disorder.He’s an addict.She’s a drunk.They are abusing drugs.He has an...Read More
How Can You Help Your Loved One?When someone in your life is struggling with drugs or alcohol, it is only natural to want to help. It is also natural to wonder just how you can help.After all, a person with a substance use disorder is often unpredictable, unwilling to listen, and unable to make clear...Read More
In the first entry in this miniseries about the different kinds of therapy, we explored cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and family systems therapy. Finding the Right Therapeutic Approach Our point, as you may recall, is that “therapy” is a generic word that can be applied to quite a...Read More
Codeine Misuse Can Lead to Bigger Problems When you think about the opioid epidemic in the United States, the odds are pretty good that codeine does not immediately jump to mind. Instead, you may think of codeine as a mild cough suppressant and source of pain relief. That is entirely understandable. Codeine has been around...Read More
Variety Packs You are probably familiar with variety packs. You find them in the grocery store, and they tend to have small individually packaged portions of something. Ten little cereal boxes with two boxes of five different kinds of cereal, for example. Or a big bag of candy that has mini versions of several of...Read More
“Top Five Answers Are on the Board”If you found yourself on a quiz show and the topic was “names of substance use disorder recovery programs” (we admit this would be an odd category), how many could you name?There’s an excellent chance you could name one—and a pretty good chance you could name two.The sure thing:...Read More
