Addiction | Substance Use Disorders | Treatment
Cultivating Gratitude – Guest Author Fran Simone
Cultivating Gratitude – a powerful topic and the subject of today’s guest post by Fran Simone. Fran (Frances) Simone, Ph.D., is the author of Dark Wine Waters, My Husband of a Thousand Joys and Sorrows, a memoir that illuminates the heartbreaking story of a marriage compromised by the husband’s alcoholism. She wrote it to help the…
Read MoreStopped Drinking But Now Crave Sugar
“I’m an alcoholic in recovery, so I’ve stopped drinking but now crave sugar and am having a really hard time not bingeing on sweets. Why and what can I do?,” a woman asked at a recent community workshop at which I was the presenter. It was hosted by a chemical dependency alumni association and open to the public.…
Read MoreDealing with Opiate Withdrawal – Guest Author George Catlin
Dealing with opiate withdrawal is huge and often the basis for the calls I receive from those struggling and the family members who love them. George Catlin, founder of Withdrawal Ease – an outcome of his own struggle with opiate dependency following a surgical procedure in 2007 – shares his top 8 tips. George has written The Opiate Withdrawal Survival…
Read MoreBringing the Family Voice to Addiction and Recovery – Kathy Frasier
It’s not uncommon to learn of the ravages of the addiction from the perspective of the person struggling with this chronic, often relapsing brain disease. But hearing if from the family side – the moms, dads, sisters, brothers, cousins – is a less common occurrence. So when I read Kathy Fraiser’s FB share following the Christmas holiday,…
Read MoreCommunication is Important in Long term Recovery
“We all know how important communication is to relationships in general, but when you’re in a relationship with someone in recovery, it’s absolutely vital,” writes today’s guest author, Nadine Herring. Nadine is the owner of Virtually Nadine, a virtual assistant company that provides online administrative support and social media management to addiction specialists and social service…
Read MoreSurviving Family Gatherings When a Loved One Has a Substance Use Disorder
When a loved one has a substance use disorder, surviving family holidays can feel like just that, “surviving.” Author, speaker and radio host, Denise Krochta, has created a terrific tool to provide families with strategies and techniques to help them get through ANY family gathering. I contacted Denise to learn more and am sharing her…
Read MoreGrieving the Loss of My Alcoholism – Guest Author Regina Eversole
I deeply admire Regina Eversole, Human Resources Director for Change Addiction Now (C.A.N.) – United We Can, and was struck by her application of the Stages of Grief to her alcoholism and asked her to share her thoughts in today’s post. Regina was active in her addiction with alcohol for 20+ years and has been…
Read MoreIn Long-Term Recovery Fighting for Custody
A woman in long-term recovery recently contacted me about this issue. She’d voluntarily installed a breathalizer (aka ignition interlock device) in her car and a camera so it could be verified that she was the one who blew into the breathalizer. She’d also already agreed to and had been complying with random drug tests. Yet she still was…
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