How Can Meditation Help?The practice of meditation helps you to gain inner calm and greater self-awareness by focusing your mind, attention, and thoughts. When a person is in recovery from a drug or alcohol addiction, calming and focusing the mind through meditation can play an important role in restoring health. Although there is no right...Read More

Holistic therapy is a form of healing that addresses all aspects of the individual’s well-being: physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional. The goal of holistic therapy is to help the client achieve optimal wellness and health by bringing all parts of the mind, body, and spirit into balance. A Brief History of the Development of Holistic...Read More

Even though tramadol is a synthetic opioid, when it was approved in 1995 to treat mild to moderate pain, it was not considered an opiate even though it acted in similar ways to other opiates such as oxycodone or morphine. Therefore, the FDA initially classified it as a non-controlled analgesic. However, as more and more...Read More

When a person is in active addiction to drugs or alcohol yet seems to be able to function normally in their day-to-day lives, they are considered to be in “high-functioning addiction.” Sometimes, people with addiction are even able to function at a higher-than-normal level. Addiction affects everyone differently. But the truth is most people with...Read More

If a person takes a prescription medication in a way other than it was prescribed, they are misusing the medication. Can a person go from misusing a prescribed drug to becoming addicted to it? Yes, they most certainly can. Over time, the drugs create changes in the user’s brain, affecting their ability to make good...Read More

For many people, the holiday season is a wonderful and happy time of the year. For others, that joy is compromised by stress or loneliness. For those in recovery from a substance use disorder, the holidays can be an especially tricky time, with relapse triggers aplenty: stress, substance-heavy parties and events, loneliness, difficult relationships, and...Read More

You made the choice to get treatment for your substance use disorder. You went through detox and completed your rehab program. You received all the tools and learned the coping skills you need to live a clean and sober life in recovery. Things seemed to be going well, but you relapsed. You wonder why it...Read More

Whether you are well into your recovery or newly sober, giving back to others is an important aspect of the recovery process. Serving others will not only make you feel good about yourself, but it will also greatly increase your chance of long-term sobriety.Giving Back – The First StepThroughout the recovery process, many people have...Read More

Weighing approximately three pounds, the human brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It regulates all of your body’s functions and is at the center of all of your activities. It shapes how you behave and what you feel and think. In essence, your brain is who you are.The Brain and AddictionWhen...Read More

When a person takes their first alcoholic drink or uses their first drug, they are probably not contemplating suicide. But for many people, the first drink or drug use is the beginning of a life of substance abuse and addiction. When someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, they are at increased risk of suicide.SAMHSA...Read More