America is in the midst of an addiction plague, one that leaves even the medical professionals astounded and baffled. By now, we all deeply understand the perils of our current opioid epidemic, with studies showing that more than 115 people die every day from overdoses. Moreover, alcohol-related incidents ... Read More
Healing from Trauma and Addiction at the same time is possible
In my work as a therapist, I witness gut-wrenching pain on a daily basis. I sit with clients as they unpack horrendous stories of abuse and trauma and hopelessness and despair. Ask a room full of addicts if they endorse a history of trauma, and most everyone will raise their hands. Human pain knows no bounds- ... Read More
Sobriety & Friendships: Is Your Squad Helping or Hurting You?
When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends. I once worked with a client who shared that her greatest fear of sobriety was losing all her friends. She had built a squad of sorts- a team of people who, in her opinion, had her back no matter what. She lived by these principles of ... Read More
5 Healthy Habits Worth Adopting in Sobriety
Sobriety isn’t just about the abstinence from mood-altering substances. That’s too simplistic. Sobriety embodies the evolving mind-body approach that people take to heal their well-being. In my work assisting clients throughout their sobriety stages, I have found that a few habits stand out as being pivotal ... Read More
Sobriety, Rebirth, and the Daily Weather
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”- Anne Bradstreet. When most of us think about spring, we think about flowers and rebirth and sunshine and new beginnings. A promise of hope dangles in front of us, and ... Read More
Why Hope Always Matters in Sobriety
When I first began working in the addiction field, sobriety almost seemed like this mathematical formula. We had withdrawal timelines, psychiatric diagnoses, length of treatment episodes, and insurance authorizations. It seemed like a perfect equation for explaining the calamity taking our unsuspecting ... Read More
Why Hope Always Matters in Sobriety
When I first began working in the addiction field, sobriety almost seemed like this mathematical formula. We had withdrawal timelines, psychiatric diagnoses, length of treatment episodes, and insurance authorizations. It seemed like a perfect equation for explaining the calamity taking our unsuspecting ... Read More
Can I Still Drink Around My Sober Partner?
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding eye contact with his wife, the woman sitting less than a foot away from him, holding sixty days of sobriety after a multi-year spree of frenzied alcohol-induced chaos. It was our first couples therapy session. They had both cried and pointed fingers at one ... Read More