Teens Using More Dangerous Methods to Get Drunk
It sure is hard not to say, “those crazy kids today” when you hear about the newest trends in getting drunk being popularized on sites like YouTube. It seems today’s teens and young adults (and I’m...
View ArticleTools of Healthy Communication
We all have choices in how we communicate. When we first give up drugs and alcohol, healthy communication is often difficult to figure out. Understanding your intention and what you want to...
View ArticleTeens & Alcohol Awareness Month
As we blogged earlier in the week, April is Alcohol Awareness Month and the theme for this year is Help for today. Hope for tomorrow, which is designed to bring attention to the impact of alcohol...
View ArticleHow Do I Know if My Kid is Using Drugs or Drinking?
It’s important for parents and care givers to trust their instincts, but sometimes it’s hard to know what our “instincts” are telling us when it comes to teenage behavior. Adolescent use of drugs and...
View ArticleTop 8 Prevention Tips for Parents
There are many things parents and guardians can do to help prevent alcohol and drug problems with our children. With the research we have at hand, we know it’s more important than ever to at least...
View ArticlePeer Pressure Still #1 in Teen Alcohol Use
Alcohol remains the most abused substance by today’s teens and studies continue to show that the single greatest factor in whether a teen decides to use alcohol is pressure from friends. So, if you’re...
View Article5 Tools for Increasing Self-Esteem in Recovery
We all need to feel valued, but it’s difficult to take in positive messages when we can’t give them to ourselves. Self-worth or self-esteem is the ability to value yourself and to treat yourself with...
View ArticleRaising Optimistic Children
This month we’ve been discussing optimism and its role in getting (and staying) clean and sober from drugs and alcohol. Many of us in sobriety have children we’re hoping to raise in a healthy way, or...
View ArticleRaising Optimistic Children: Part II
Last week we posted part one of Raising Optimistic Children. This topic always raises quite a bit of interest in drug and alcohol treatment as individuals who are also parents look for ways to...
View ArticleAlcoholism: Is it in the Genes?
It’s long been said that alcoholism runs in families and that an alcoholism gene has been identified. This is all true, but not so simple. What we’re learning is that every alcoholic is, to some...
View ArticleHelping Someone You Love with a Gambling Problem
Here are four tips for helping someone you love who has a gambling problem: Don’t Enable: First things first. Don’t help your loved one to gamble. This means, that you don’t lend them money, cover or...
View ArticleAnother Sad Loss Due to Alcoholism
At only 55, Cuban-American actress Elizabeth Pena died on October 14th due to her alcoholism. You might remember this actress from her roles in La Bamba, Modern Family and Rush Hour. Her death...
View ArticleHow to be Alone, Not Lonely, on Thanksgiving
The holiday season is notorious for being a hectic and demanding time, but it’s generally even more stressful for those in early sobriety. In this two-part blog series we’re discussing how to feel...
View ArticleTop 5 Tips for Staying Sane and Sober this Thanksgiving
The holidays are often a challenging and stressful time, especially for people coping with drug and alcohol issues. Sometimes the stress is centered around feelings of loneliness (see our earlier blog...
View ArticleIs Digital Addiction Real?
An astonishing 40% of all American teenagers report having been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, according to a Pew survey. It’s not just teens creating...
View ArticleADD and Addiction: Part I
It’s long been known that the number of clients who have ADD/ADHD along with their substance abuse issues, is uncommonly high in drug and alcohol treatment programs. In this blog series, we’ll be first...
View ArticleGuilt & Shame: Sobriety’s Two-Headed Monster
Guilt and shame are two common themes in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. They’re common reasons for relapse as well as feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem. They’re also subjects...
View ArticlePoor Sleep Can Spell Addiction for Teens
Anyone who has a teenager or who sees the news knows that poor sleep patterns and habits are a common problem with adolescents. What you may not know is that there has been published research...
View ArticleCommunication in Sobriety
We all have choices in how we communicate, but for people struggling or recovering from drug and alcohol addictions, it can seem like there are no choices. This two-part blog will focus on what’s...
View ArticleAllowing Children to Sip Alcohol is a Bad Idea
There are many opinions when it comes to how to best parent kids around the issue of alcohol. One of the prevailing beliefs is that it’s a good idea to introduce alcohol to kids and teenagers by...
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