Tag substance abuse treatment
There is little question that there are many times that someone who’s addicted to a substance will behave in very angering ways. Though I advocate compassion, I understand the anger and fear that comes with being involved with a person… Continue Reading →
While I can understand the criticisms of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs, a recent study that I stumbled upon suggests that for people wanting to achieve sustained abstinence from alcohol use, increased AA meeting attendance yields positive results…. Continue Reading →
In my clinical experience, people afflicted with substance use disorders enter treatment with rather low expectations for their treatment. It almost appears that the prevailing theme for many people entering recovery is that they are certain to relapse, thereby assuring… Continue Reading →
One of the frustrating things about working with substance abuse is a scenario that appears to repeat itself. There might be different people filling the necessary roles, but certain themes present themselves over and over again. For example, there’s usually… Continue Reading →
Though various treatment programs show improvement, treatment compliance appears to be the key operating variable. However, my life’s mission is to teach everyone that we all have the source of all that’s good, strong, and beautiful within us. In learning… Continue Reading →
It’s really important that we understand substance use as a spectrum. On one side is no use at all; while on the other side is full-blown addiction. In between the two ends are progressive stages of substance use that become… Continue Reading →
The graphic I’ve shared today (taken from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)) tells an important story about the relationship between abstinence from abusing substances and sustained recovery. As the graphic illustrates: 36% of those who abstain for 1-12… Continue Reading →
There are no easy answers: Two people can experience the same traumatic event and one becomes entangled and enmeshed within despair while the other chooses life and becomes whole. The questions as to how and why one dies and one… Continue Reading →
I hate goatheads. Especially when they prick me late at night when I get my cereal snack barefoot. But, even though they bug the crap out of me, they do remind me that God isn’t some wish-granting genie in a… Continue Reading →
