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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The rate of suicide among firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement officers, military, trauma workers and other first responders is steady on the rise. First responders experience the worst stress and trauma daily, which often affects their mental h
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Addiction has laid an early claim to the lives of some of the world’s greatest musicians: jazz icons like Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday, rock legends such as Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain, and pop superstars Prince and Whitney Houston were all in the throes of active addiction when they met their untimely ends.
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Codependency is a relational process that affects individuals differently. The person who self describes as the fixer, the helper, the assistant, the caretaker, the people pleaser, and the right-hand man or woman often feels great about these roles.
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A large part of maintaining recovery is staying socially active by attending meetings, getting support from sponsors, friends and family, and others in recovery, and sticking to a healthy diet, budget, and exercise routine. Whether you’re in addiction recovery or not, these are all human needs that help us thrive in society, not just survive.
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I dare you to read this without thinking about an orange gorilla. Now, think of anything you can without thinking of the orange gorilla and count to 10. No matter how hard you tried, you thought about the orange gorilla, didn’t you? No matter how h
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Vibroacoustic therapy is the use of low frequency sound waves and therapeutic music to heal people from pain, addiction, and other medical issues. Not many people have heard of vibroacoustic therapy or are aware that it exists, but we all know how mu
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Making the decision to go to treatment for your drug or alcohol dependence is an important first step towards living a healthier life. It is a difficult decision and there are typically some common barriers that prevent people from seeking the trea
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October 2nd-8th marks Mental Illness Awareness Week in the United States. During the first week of October, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) raises awareness of mental illness. Each year, NAMI and participants all across the nation figh
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At a visit to The Strip, one of Surrey, British Columbia’s most notorious drug hangouts, investigative journalist Eric Ranklin interviewed Kati Mather, a 22-year-old fentanyl addict. Ranklin, reporting for CBC News, describes Mather as seeming as t
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