It’s terribly frustrating having a loved one with a substance use disorder. Their behavior seems to make no sense. It may feel like all you can do is watch while your loved one’s life slowly falls apart. Their behavior may be directly hurting you as well, causing additional pain and frustration. You want to help […]
There are many sticking points between addiction and recovery. At first, most people won’t even admit they have a problem. Eventually, they may accept they have a problem and that they need help, but they may have many excuses not to get it. While some of these excuses may sound convincing, what’s typically going on […]
No one wants to see a friend or family member suffer. It’s natural to want to help. Unfortunately, helping doesn’t always help. Sometimes helping just allows your loved one to feed her addiction. When someone becomes addicted, the addiction becomes her top priority. She will do whatever is necessary to satisfy it. She may become […]
It’s normal, and perhaps inevitable to try to gauge your progress by looking around and seeing how others are doing. It’s hard to know if we’re heading in the right direction, especially when trying something new. While comparing yourself to others might be tempting, it can make recovery more difficult. Here’s why. Comparisons are divisive. […]
Self-loathing is a common obstacle to recovery. It often comes before addiction. Drinking and drugs may have been a way to escape a constant assault of self-critical thoughts and painful memories. In the course of active addiction, many people end up feeling even worse about themselves. They may have done things they feel terrible about, […]
It’s common for people in recovery to suddenly find themselves eating tons of sugar–doughnuts, soda, pastries, candy, you name it. Addiction transference is when you quit one addiction only to replace it with another. Sugary foods provoke a strong dopamine response, and people often subconsciously discover that something sweet helps take the edge off of […]
Children of parents with substance use disorders are often anxious, unsure what kind of mood their parents might be in, whether they might be happy, angry, or indifferent. Children in this position often adapt by being extra helpful to try to win the kindness, attention, or approval of her parents. This tendency, learned early on, […]
Fear of missing out, or FOMO can be a challenge for people in addiction recovery, especially younger people. They often feel like the best thing in life is gone forever, like the good times will never be quite as good again. They see their peers drinking and having fun and feel like they can’t be […]
We live in a drinking culture. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2015 found that about 56 percent of Americans drank alcohol in the past month and nearly 27 percent of Americans reported binge drinking in the past month, with binge drinking defined as four servings at a time for women and […]
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a condition typically caused by years of heavy drinking. It is actually two separate but related conditions–Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. It is caused by a vitamin B1, or thiamine, deficiency. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome begins with the Wernicke’s encephalopathy phase. This condition includes confusion, eye problems, and unsteady standing and walking. All three […]
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