Sober Living

It’s not easy to quit drinking alcohol. After years of drinking, your brain becomes programmed to crave alcohol, and it’s hard to ignore what your brain is telling you to do. Do you find yourself thinking, “Work is over; I should probably have a drink,” or “I drink every night. It’s weird not to,” or…

Process groups are a form of group therapy that comprises an essential component of addiction treatment therapy. They allow people to learn the skills needed to navigate social networks and stress, and reduce the inducements to use mood altering substances again. Learning the skills offered from process groups can be a long progression, but the…

Most individuals making a choice to begin treatment for addiction come into the facility with a unique set of challenges; therefore it makes sense that care plans should be individualized.   Which Type of Treatment Is Most Individualized? The two dominant options for treating drug addiction are residential and outpatient treatment. Both of these can…

What Is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is the psychological process of paying close attention to and accepting experiences in the present moment with compassion, without judgment, and without acknowledgment of the past or future. It is thought that focusing on the present allows for individuals to increase their perception of self, which allows them to develop strategies…

To gain control over addiction, it is important to remove all drugs from your system that affect neurological signaling, which includes caffeine. Although caffeine is commonplace and not considered to be harmful in most cases, it is an addictive substance that can cause its own set of health problems such as upset stomach, sleep disorders,…

Addiction treatment options include in-patient and out-patient programs; in both patients are encouraged to get physically fit and engage in more outdoorsy activities. Many people find working out in outdoor naturalistic environments peaceful and calming and a way to find release from the stress of life and the challenges to come. For over a century,…

Have you ever made a mistake while binge drinking that you later regretted? Are you suffering from chronic liver disease due to a lifetime of alcohol consumption? Are you experiencing blackouts after combining alcohol with opioids or street drugs? If you are finding it hard to quit despite the consequences, you might be addicted to…

Six Weeks Until Christmas by Simon Tait Chapter 13: Brain New World I’m writing this on the last day of January, having “graduated” IOP. A couple of months ago, I watched Tom pass a similar milestone and was in awe of him. Three months, ninety days, a quarter of a year, all seemed impossible. Merely…

Six Weeks Until Christmas by Simon Tait Chapter 12: Christmas During the final IOP sessions before Christmas break, our counselor advised us the festive season was a particularly difficult time for alcoholics. Nobody in the room needed reminding. It’s impossible for anyone, let alone an alcoholic, to navigate the festivities without exposure to adverts portraying…

Six Weeks Until Christmas by Simon Tait Chapter 11: Living and Learning When I reached one month of sobriety I felt a sense of achievement akin to graduating from university. Since fifteen, I had never been sober for more than two weeks, so this was an accomplishment.    Picking up groceries from a local store,…