Recovery Blog
Why Setting Goals Works Better than Making (and Breaking) Resolutions
It's that time of year again - the moment we look at ourselves in the mirror and say, "I'm going to accomplish all of my New Year's resolutions." And, just like every year before this one, by...
Recovery Is a Journey, Not a Destination
You do not exist in the future, only in this present moment. One of the principles of most 12-Step programs is the idea of "one day at a time," which is one of the main facets of sustainable...
Gaining Confidence in Recovery
In the beginning stages of recovery, we are all at a loss about how to cope and interact with others; being ourselves is a task with which we are suddenly unfamiliar. We now have to navigate social...
Accepting Help in Troubled Times
Social worker and researcher Brené Brown explains, "Shame cannot survive being spoken. It cannot survive empathy." We all experience shame, and those experiences can lead to relapse unless we are...
Developing Creative Coping Skills
According to a review in the Behavioral Sciences Journal, stress is the most prevalent health risk. With stress being an overwhelming risk for multiple health conditions, including relapse,...
Recovery Is a Process of Constant Change
Recovery is a process of constant change. Research in motivational interviewing explains there are five stages of change: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Just...
Developing Impulse Control in Recovery
Impulsivity is a part of the human experience. We are all impulsive about certain things, individual to each of us. People with a history of mental illness or substance use disorder (SUD) often have...
The (Surprising) Good News about Bad Mood Swings: A Guide to Early Recovery
You have been clean for a month, and you’re ecstatic. Your recovery group praises you, your addiction counselor uses you as an example for newer clients, and your kid looks at you with new respect...
Financial Wellness: How Recovery Can Impact Your Finances
The use of alcohol and/or other substances significantly impacts your life in all areas of wellness, including finances. You may not consider this as you pursue recovery, but recovery from...
Write Your Recovery Story: Help Yourself and Others
As humans, we seek closeness to others and often can understand our own experiences through self-reflection and by comparing our experiences to the life experiences of others. Writing our stories...
Your Beliefs Hold the Key to Your Success
Believing in yourself is critical to your success in recovery. If you practice belittling yourself, relapse is more likely to occur. The time has come for you to stop beating yourself up and begin...
How does one deal with anxiety while undergoing treatment for substance abuse?
Substance abuse is challenging to overcome under the best of circumstances. However, when it is accompanied by anxiety, treatment can become more complicated. Keep reading to find out how to deal...