Life can be pretty overwhelming when we first get sober. We have a ton of wreckage to clean up from our previous life and that takes up a lot of our time. Meanwhile, we have our therapists telling us we have to find ourselves and our joy in life again. In the early days, we…
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This blog often tackles topics of immediate concern to those in early recovery. This one is a little different. Cravings are intense feelings of desire for a particular substance and everyone in recovery will struggle with them at some point. This goes for the newly sober as well as folks with years of time under…
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“New year, new me” is the self-help phrase of the season this year. And it’s hard not to get swept up in feelings of new beginnings when the calendar turns. Perhaps you have plans to hit the gym a little more often this year. Perhaps you’d like to read a little more and spend less…
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The effects of substance abuse and eating disorders go far beyond the person suffering from it. Almost invariably, the lives of every single family member of the afflicted are touched as well. This makes communication between family members as important as ever. While skills like active listening and strategies like setting aside time to talk…
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“I loved the way it made me feel around other people.” “I was pretty boring until I had a few drinks in me.” “When I wasn’t using, I could just feel everyone’s eyes on me and could tell what they were thinking.” Sentences like these describing what life was like at the beginning of addiction…
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Making the decision to seek treatment for an eating disorder could be one of the most difficult things you’ll do. It takes a lot of courage to take that step and we applaud you for it. That brings us to the second step: choosing the right eating disorder treatment center. Unfortunately, things can get a…
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Healthy Boundaries Vs. Weak Boundaries Healthy boundaries are integral to fulfilling relationships and happy lives. Unfortunately, many of us – especially those of us in recovery – don’t learn the required skills to set and maintain boundaries. In fact, unhealthy boundaries were likely contributed to many of our problems, whether it was from abuse, codependent…
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A Potentially Problematic Holiday Thanksgiving can be stressful for everyone, but it can be particularly problematic for those suffering from an eating disorder. Last year around this time, we posted an extensive two-part guide for navigating the holidays while in recovery. This year, we’d like to hit some of the high points of those blogs.…
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Barriers to Recovery It’s an unfortunate truth that stereotypes, preconceptions, and myths surround addiction and recovery. While we generally subscribe to the idea that what others think of us is none of our business, it’s also true that these same myths are keeping people from getting the help they so desperately need. These old notions…
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Life Is Waiting Once drugs and alcohol are gone from our lives, the hard part is over and it’s nothing but smooth sailing from here on out, right? To quote the great John Bender, “Not even close, bud.” While overcoming an addiction is one of the hardest things most of us will ever do in…
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