Understand How the Body Processes Alcohol – Reduce Secondhand Drinking
Understand how the body processes alcohol and reduce secondhand drinking – where’s the connection between these two concepts? Secondhand drinking is a term to describe the impacts another person experiences as a result of trying to cope with a person’s drinking behaviors. These are the behaviors a person engages in as a result of drinking…
Read MoreEnd Stigma | Shame Surrounding Addiction
Not until we end the stigma | shame surrounding addiction can we take the first steps to effectively treat it. Why? It is the stigma and shame that causes the people who suffer with this chronic, often relapsing brain disease (and those who love them) to believe they just don’t want recovery badly enough. And…
Read MoreHow Do You Know if Someone is an Alcoholic
I often get this question, “How do you know if someone is an alcoholic?” [aka “How do you know if someone has a severe alcohol use disorder?“] Generally, the person asking continues with something like, “I mean, my husband (or wife or sister or…) drinks about a six pack a night – more on the…
Read MoreAddiction Relapse – Do You Have to Start Recovery Over
There is a perception that addiction relapse means a person has to start their recovery from the beginning – day 1. In some groups, this practice is followed as part of the group’s guidelines, and for some people – especially those who’ve found their recovery through these groups – this practice is critically important to…
Read MoreSetting Boundaries With Addicted Family Members
Setting boundaries with addicted family members – Why do we keep moving them? And how do we know they’re an addict or alcoholic? Does that even matter? I remember those days… If you drink, again, I’m leaving. If you get another DUI, I’m done! OK. I can go along with you only drinking on Wednesday,…
Read MoreHow Do You Trust an Addict | Alcoholic
So how do you learn to trust an addict | alcoholic? [And by the way, there is new language to talk about a person with a severe alcohol or other drug use disorder (what we used to refer to as an addict | alcoholic), as well as alcoholism or drug addiction. Please click here to…
Read More5 Reasons People Relapse After Years of Sobriety
This post was first written in 2014, but the 5 reasons people relapse after years of sobriety are still important to understand. So I updated with current information in 2020. I was driven to write this post after receiving phone calls and emails following the news of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death and an outpouring of…
Read MoreLoving Someone Who Drinks Too Much
Loving someone who drinks too much is not fully understood by most people. As a result, nearly 80 million Americans (not including the millions more worldwide) grapple with secondhand drinking. And the consequences of that can be significant. So what should a person who loves someone who drinks too much do? The short answer, “Help…
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