Dealing With An Alcoholic Spouse
There are a number of ways to tell if your spouse’s drinking habit has shifted from harmless social drinking to alcoholism. It may seem like alcoholism will have obvious signs that anyone can recognize, but when it affects someone that you see every day, the warning signs may not be so big and dramatic. Learning […]
Building a New Life After Addiction
Quitting an addiction can mean so much more than focusing on staying abstinent from drugs or alcohol. Sobriety is easier to maintain when you make major changes in your life and leave behind many of the negative habits, people and places that contributed to your addiction. Because you may have to give up some of […]
Bonding with Others in Treatment
Forming new, close friendships as an adult can be challenging especially for people with addictions who have spent years adjusting themselves to solitude and isolation. However, in order to recover from substance abuse problems bonding with other people is crucial because it creates a support system and prevents the type of loneliness that can lead […]
Recovery Means Progress, Not Perfection
There is a common saying among people in twelve step groups and recovery programs that quitting an addiction means “progress, not perfection”. This doesn’t mean that people in recovery should not strive to do their very best and follow each step of their program. It simply means that trying to be perfect all the time […]
Self Acceptance And Eating Disorder Recovery
In eating disorder recovery, making a decision to begin accepting yourself is a brave act that can bring about big changes, and that can also be quite scary. The process can be especially daunting for a person who suffers from low self esteem. Oftentimes they have created unrealistic goals of perfection that are impossible to […]
Accepting Difficult Emotions
One of the most challenging things about working with difficult emotions, like anger, shame, or sadness, is learning how to accept them in the first place. This will involve allowing ourselves to acknowledge them, feel them, and admit that they are important and deserving of attention. It’s hard to do all this simply because sitting […]
5 Ways to Learn how to Ask for Help
Asking for help can be a very hard thing to do. Many people want to try to do as much as they can by themselves and are afraid that reaching out to someone else will make them seem weak. Other people are uncomfortable asking for help out of fear of losing their independence, afraid that […]
What Parents Should Know About Anorexia
Finding out that a child or other loved one is suffering from an eating disorder is never easy. You may experience a range of emotions, from sadness to anger to guilt and many others. What you need to remember is that you are not alone and that there are many resources out there for parents […]
How To Talk About Addiction With Children
Talking about addiction or alcoholism with a child can be quite challenging, not only because of the challenging subject matter, but also because each child will require a different approach depending on their age and background. You must also take the child’s relationship with the addict or alcoholic into consideration. Drugs or alcohol may be […]
Building Healthy Friendships
Friends have a big impact on your quality of life and happiness, and studies have shown that they can even reduce levels of stress, improve health, and even promote longevity. This is why it’s important to make space for friendships in your life, which can get more and more challenging as we grow older and […]