New Year, new you. It sounds simple, but addiction recovery and the New Year can be a tough combination. Even if you have made up your mind to pursue recovery from addiction, the pressure of making resolutions and keeping them can be enormous. How many new goals should you set? How can you be sure you make measurable progress? How can you manage the added stress that resolutions can cause? Putting ...
How Can We Better Support Physicians in Addressing the Opioid Crisis?
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. Now that doctors understand the risks of prescribing opioids, they try to reduce the prescriptions they write through CDC guidelines. Some physicians also practice at opioid addiction treatment centers to help patients recover. As someone without an MD, you may wonder what to do to ...
Three Reasons Why You Need Social Support in Sobriety
Recovery involves changes in all aspects of your life. Since addiction impacts so many parts of everyday living, so does the path to sobriety. Having the right support system will help you go through this transition and stay committed to your goals. Consider these three reasons behind the importance of social support during sobriety and learn where you can find it. 1. Your Friends, Family and ...
Can Genetics Contribute to Substance Addiction?
Addiction is called a “family disease” because it not only affects the whole family when a member has a substance use disorder but also because there’s a hereditary link that can be passed down. An important aspect of understanding addiction as a disease is seeing how biological and environmental factors can impact addiction. Those who have a family history of addiction should pay particularly ...
Do People with Addiction Have No Control?
A greatly discussed topic in both medicine and psychology is the concept of control and whether or not the loss of it is at the core of addiction. However, it’s difficult to come up with simple answers considering the many aspects of addiction. It's important to first understand the concept of control and human will, addictive behaviors, and substances, and other aspects that circle each ...
How Do We Stop the Social Stigma Towards Opiate Addiction?
The negative misconceptions that surround addiction, drug misuse, and the struggles of those who are dealing with it are all too common in modern day society. The stigma is so prevalent that it carries many negative consequences, especially for those who are too afraid to ask for help for fear of being damagingly labeled. What is Stigma? stig·ma ˈstigmə noun a mark of disgrace ...
