Real people sharing real stories about their experience with substance abuse and mental health.
During my twenty-five year career in substance abuse treatment, I’ve frequently heard family members (and clients) insist that "Alcohol isn't his/her/my problem - drugs are!" and "Alcoholism isn't his/her/my problem - addiction is!" as if the same principles of recovery from chemical dependency don't apply to any dysfunctional situation where alcohol either isn't present or isn't present enough to be identified as the primary drug-of-choice.
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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is one of the 10 personality-related illnesses recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. Mental health experts commonly view it as one of the most difficult conditions to accurately identify.
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Anxiety is a fear-based mental and physical state that commonly occurs in both adults and children. For most people, anxious feelings are an unpleasant but harmless fact of life…
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The Many Phases of Trauma Recovery There’s no doubt that the human mind is resilient, but this doesn’t mean it’s invulnerable. Distressing and traumatic events can have significant psychological effects, and frequently, a person must go through the phases of trauma recovery in order to regain normalcy. While everyone deals with traumatic situations differently, the…
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By: David A., Transformations Alumnus My name is David Alercia and my journey all started on August 1, 2020. That day I was involved in an officer-involved shooting with a male armed with an AK-47. I developed a plan to take down the suspect but during the shootout, I was shot in the arm and…
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By: Mike Murphy, Manager of Alumni Services Living in Florida, we know every year when Hurricane season arrives that we are playing roulette with Mother Nature. It’s not necessarily a matter of IF as much as it is HOW BAD. Admittedly, I am one of those Floridian lifers who scoff at anything less than a…
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By: Lisa B., Transformations Alumni Coordinator Three-time community college dropout. That was just one of many labels I had for myself during active addiction and well into early recovery as I felt the consequences of my using. I told myself many stories; “It’s too late,” “You’re too old,” “You’re not smart enough to pass that…
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Most people may feel anxiety or panic in certain situations. That’s normal and expected. Who doesn’t feel a pang of panic when they need to speak…
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With approximately one in 11 people in the United States with some form of PTSD, you probably know or have known someone with this disorder. In fact, though it was…
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By: Mike Murphy, Manager of Alumni Services One of the more common questions I get asked regularly pertaining to my sobriety is, “How did you get through your early sobriety? What’s the trick?”. And the answer always has been, and always will be: I didn’t do it by myself. And I am absolutely one of…
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