Prevention | Intervention
The Words We Use Matter – Substance Use Disorder | Mental Health Disorder | Recovery
We all can agree that the words we use matter – regardless the subject – they matter. But as a person who has been working for over 15 years to use current scientific research to shatter the stigma, misinformation and shame that surrounds substance use disorders and mental health disorders (until recently, more commonly known…
Read MoreHow to Best Manage Stress in Addiction Recovery
Managing stress in addiction recovery can be one of the keys to relapse prevention. That feeling of “stress” is triggered by the fight-or-flight stress response kicking into gear without thought when triggered by emotions, sounds, sights, touches, smells, and the like. Often stress and substance use disorders go hand-in-hand because the chemicals in the alcohol…
Read MoreWhy the Secondhand Drinking – Adverse Childhood Experiences Connection Matters
Why is it so important to understand the secondhand drinking – adverse childhood experiences connection? Because experiencing secondhand drinking as a child most often results in adverse childhood experiences for that child. And experiencing adverse childhood experiences can result in toxic-stress related physical and emotional health consequences across one’s lifetime. Two of the outcomes of…
Read MoreNational Recovery Month 2018
September is National Recovery Month. It is a national celebration coordinated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA). The objective of this annual celebration is to increase awareness and understanding of mental disorders and substance use disorders and celebrate the individuals living in recovery. National Recovery Month – A Critically Important Objective “Only…
Read MoreAlcohol Use Disorders | Secondhand Drinking | ACEs – Trace Your Family ACEs Tree
Alcohol use disorders | Secondhand Drinking | ACEs — often, it’s a cycle. The behaviors of a person with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) cause secondhand drinking (SHD), and both AUD and SHD can change an entire family system. A changed family system can cause adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) for the current generation of children.…
Read MoreAlcohol Use Disorder Prevention – Raising Awareness About Brain Development and the Risk Factors | Alcohol Awareness Month
Alcohol Use Disorder Prevention – why is it that one teen or adult in a group of friends who drinks too much finds themselves struggling with an alcohol use disorder and the others do not? How is it possible that a teenager can develop a severe alcohol use disorder (aka alcoholism or alcohol dependence) —…
Read MoreUnderage Drinking Prevention | Intervention Tools for Parents and Caregivers
Underage drinking prevention | intervention efforts run a gamut from just say “no,” to teaching young children to drink by allowing them to drink at home, to a resigned “I drank as a teen and I’m fine; it’s just a phase all kids go through” to “the Europeans don’t have a problem because they teach…
Read MoreChildren of Addiction Awareness Week | February 11 – 17, 2018
Children of Addiction Awareness Week is an annual event celebrated around the world during the week of Valentine’s Day. It is sponsored by the National Association for Children of Addiction, NACoA.org. NACoA’s mission is to eliminate the adverse impact of alcohol and other drug use on children and families, and the theme for this year’s…
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