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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Stressful situations come and go throughout our lives and it affects each of us differently. Some of us are resilient to higher levels of stress while for others it is more of a challenge. Our innate “fight or flight” response to stress helps p
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I dare you to read this without thinking about an orange gorilla. Now, think of anything you can without thinking of the orange gorilla and count to 10. No matter how hard you tried, you thought about the orange gorilla, didn’t you? No matter how h
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Vibroacoustic therapy is the use of low frequency sound waves and therapeutic music to heal people from pain, addiction, and other medical issues. Not many people have heard of vibroacoustic therapy or are aware that it exists, but we all know how mu
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Facing Addiction in America, reveals important findings on the neurobiology of substance abuse; prevention programs and policies; early intervention, treatment and management; different paths to recovery; and health systems for substance abuse di
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As humans, we all have a natural need to connect and bond with others. When that bond breaks or is under-developed, there’s a greater tendency to develop unhealthy and destructive behaviors. In our hyper-individualistic and hyper-competitive societ
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Making the decision to go to treatment for your drug or alcohol dependence is an important first step towards living a healthier life. It is a difficult decision and there are typically some common barriers that prevent people from seeking the trea
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October 2nd-8th marks Mental Illness Awareness Week in the United States. During the first week of October, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) raises awareness of mental illness. Each year, NAMI and participants all across the nation figh
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At a visit to The Strip, one of Surrey, British Columbia’s most notorious drug hangouts, investigative journalist Eric Ranklin interviewed Kati Mather, a 22-year-old fentanyl addict. Ranklin, reporting for CBC News, describes Mather as seeming as t
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For firefighters, police officers, combat veterans, and EMTs, witnessing violence, abuse, and death are daily occurrences. In order to cope with the stress of their jobs, many first responders turn to drugs and alcohol. First responders have high
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