Recognizing the Rut: Escaping the Throes of a Depressive Episode

For those of us that suffer from depression or depressive episodes, recognizing when they are starting to affect our day-to-day lives in tangible ways can help us overcome them. If we start to notice that our living spaces are becoming dirtier or that we are ignoring our hygiene routines, calling out of work more often, […]

Relationships and Recovery: Maintaining Sobriety After a Breakup

Breakups can be devastating for anyone. For those who struggle with a substance use disorder, maintaining sobriety after a relationship ends can be a major challenge. Intense emotions such as jealousy, insecurity, and uncertainty can all be potential triggers. However, it’s very important that we do not give in to the negative emotions that are […]

On the Mend and Making Amends: The Step Nine Struggle

Making amends can be incredibly difficult and uncomfortable. How do we navigate potentially opening old wounds with old friends and family members? For many, this step can seem counterintuitive to growth in recovery. However, it is a necessary part of the process of working the steps. Step Nine allows us to let go of our […]

Newfound Sobriety and Loneliness: How We Can Build Better and Healthier Friendships

Shortly after we enter recovery, it can seem like we’ve lost a lot of friends in the process. Our “party” groups, the people we associated with, and the environments that we spent time in suddenly become triggers to avoid. However, it is important to remember that these friendships were built on the house of cards […]

Forget the FOMO: Adjusting to Sober Life After the Program

Whether you just completed an inpatient stay or an outpatient program, adjusting to life outside of treatment can be difficult. It is important that we try our best not to romanticize or obsess over the “Fear Of Missing Out” (FOMO) if we see people out partying or posting on social media about it. We know […]

Battling Boredom During Recovery

For those of us who associated “fun” with substance use for many years, boredom can be a leading cause of relapse, struggles, and anxiety. In order to cope with this, it is imperative that we restructure our idea of “fun” by building new hobbies and spending time with ourselves without drugs and alcohol. Sober Stimulation  […]

How to Normalize Mental Health Through Education

Mental health, once a taboo subject, has only been talked about openly for the past few decades. Mental health advocates and educators are working together to normalize mental health by sharing the facts about the importance of treatment. Throughout this process, we have gained a lot of knowledge about how mental health education has fought […]

The Truth About Climate Grief and Mental Health

The effects of climate change can be seen from coast to coast, but what is climate grief and how is it affecting your client’s mental health? Although climate grief is only in the early ages of studying, we can still learn from the information that’s available and what it says about the future of mental […]

Dealing With Grief Anniversaries

Loss is a devastating experience that can take a long time to heal from. What many people forget is that even if they feel healed now, they might not have the coping strategies needed to deal with reminders of their loss. Let’s take a closer look at grief, its close relationship with addiction, and how […]

The Real Harm of Toxic Positivity

Just look on the bright side, right? While some positivity can be good, too much positivity can ignore the healing that needs to be done. In recovery, your clients will not only need to understand the harms of ignoring negativity, but also how they can better support those who are in crisis (including themselves). Learning […]