It is true that addiction has a better chance of creeping its way into your life based on genetics and the area that you were raised in. Just because both of those factors affect you does not mean that you need to let it spiral into an addiction. It is important not to give into…
Depression can change the outlook of how you see the world where you feel sad all the time and think it will not get better. It is important to realize that it will always get better for as long as you are alive. By surrounding yourself with positive people, tasks, and finding reasons to live,…
When we are approaching the recovery process, some of us for the first time, others after multiple tries, one of the things we fear most is the struggle we’ll have to endure. We may have already experienced how hard it can be to recover. We may have survived the withdrawal process. We might have felt…
Having a personality disorder is still misunderstood because there is a giant stigma around it. People would just prefer to think that those with a personality disorder are choosing to be this way and will never change. It is important for those who know someone with a personality disorder to practice empathy and compassion so…
Many of us struggling with addiction have at one time or another been confronted with all of the stigmas around addiction and the negative stereotypes about addicts. We ourselves may have been negatively stereotyped, judged, ridiculed or rejected because of our struggle with addiction. With addiction so common and widespread, why is it still so…
One of the most popular and effective approaches to addiction recovery is the Twelve Step program, originally created as the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous that is now used by multiple addiction programs around the world. It can be hugely helpful to follow the guidance of the steps, and one of the most powerful ones…
As we move through our recovery, there are various processes we have to go through in order to feel totally healed. Even if we’re able to abstain from our addictive substances and behaviors for a time, we don’t feel fully recovered if we still feel like they hold power over us. One of the first…
Many of us have a way of repeating our patterns unconsciously without realizing it. We perpetuate toxic and self-destructive patterns in recurring cycles. Our issues repeat themselves until we’re able to learn from them. Until we realize this, we tend to blame our issues on other people, or we feel victimized by life, powerless to…
When we undertake the recovery process, there are many fears we have to confront and move through in order to come out on the other side of healing. One of our fears is the loss of our independence. We might be worried that asking for help makes us weak and dependent upon other people. We…
Self-forgiveness can be one of the hardest but most important things we learn in the recovery process. We don’t feel deserving of forgiveness, and we replay memories of our mistakes and regrets constantly as evidence of our unworthiness. It’s almost as if we want to keep reminding and convincing ourselves that we’re bad people. Our…