Real people sharing real stories about their experience with substance abuse and mental health.
During my twenty-five year career in substance abuse treatment, I’ve frequently heard family members (and clients) insist that "Alcohol isn't his/her/my problem - drugs are!" and "Alcoholism isn't his/her/my problem - addiction is!" as if the same principles of recovery from chemical dependency don't apply to any dysfunctional situation where alcohol either isn't present or isn't present enough to be identified as the primary drug-of-choice.
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I was raised in a stable safe home, by a single mother that often struggled to make ends meet.
We didn’t have a lot but we always had each other and I always knew I was loved, a lot. My parents ended their very short lived marriage by the time
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In early recovery, I really struggled when looking back on my past. All of the errors in judgement I had made, the people I had harmed, it seems every choice I made was followed up with one that was worse. My own family called me the “dumbest smart
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Addiction is a powerful force that damages real families and claims real lives. The battle against the scourge of addiction has front-line soldiers—workers whose diligent efforts and quiet professionalism make a substantial impact on a recovering person’s progress.
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Making a decision to pursue addiction treatment can be difficult enough on its own, but even more so when it feels unaffordable. For those who have dealt with external obstacles and their own levels of internal resistance just to get to this point, the cost of addiction treatment can present yet another barrier to recovery.
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The 12 step Serenity Prayer is a prayer for everyone, not just alcoholics. The prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr and is specifically for people who want to break their bad habits, change their ways, and accept the things that cannot be changed.
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Imagine that you suffer a heart attack and collapse to the floor. Paramedics rush to your side. Examining you from head to toe, they find can’t find a pulse or breath.
From the way your wrist lies twisted on the floor, it’s clearly broken.
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“God is love, and God has no limits, therefore love has no limits.” – Anonymous
My disease took my hand and strolled alongside me long before I took my first drink. As far back as I could remember, I had always felt out of place, as though eve
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I think someone I love might be struggling with substance abuse.
What should I say?
…or should I say anything at all?
In certain situations, it is difficult for us to know what to say or if we should say anything at all. Having a convers
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It has been about almost eight months since I received a scholarship from the Mark Garwood Share Foundation. Returning to school to finish my bachelor’s degree has been a dream of mine since I first got sober. There were times when I thought it wou
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