What causes addiction? The underlying causes of addiction have been written about at great length. There are many theories about what leads up to the tragic expression of this complex disorder. It has been proposed that addiction is partly an inherited condition. Much has been said about the contribution of childhood trauma. Yet, many who […]
Use Disorder – A Better Way To Say You Are An Addict
How is an addict different from someone who has use disorder? If your drug use has led you to detox, drug treatment centers or 12-step meetings, you are most likely very familiar with the term, “addict”. In Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings, members are encouraged to verbally identify as being an addict. Since the 12-step programs […]
The Power of Prayer Can Save Your Life
Do you believe in the power of prayer? If you are clean from drugs or trying to get clean, you may want to consider prayer as something to help you get through the difficult times. I understand that any mention of God or prayer tends to scare away some newcomers. Spiritual beliefs are a sensitive […]
After the meeting: What to do
After the meeting. You finally got up the courage to go to a meeting. Sitting in the car outside, it looks intimidating. All of those people standing around outside, minutes before the start time. You may even decide to stay in the car for a while, waiting to go in after the crowd has gone […]
White knuckling Versus No Matter What
White Knuckling If you attend recovery meetings, you will at some point hear the term white-knuckling. This is a very graphic term to describe the experience of not taking drugs and fighting it with all your strength and willpower. It implies that you are going at it alone without any help. White-knuckling, is a negative […]
A Song For Michelle
A film about mental illness, addiction and suicide This film, “A Song For Michelle”, is in production currently. I was able to watch a trailer recently and it is clearly an excellent handling of these difficult subjects. Suicide is something that is rarely spoken about and gets swept under the rug. Suicides rarely make the […]
Great Meetings: How to find them.
Finding the great meetings. In my work, I come in contact regularly with people who want to get clean and stay clean. They are motivated to do what it takes. But, when I bring up meetings, right away they bring up excuses. They don’t believe me when I tell them that there are some really […]
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