Oh my grief by MaryBeth Cichocki

“Now he is gone, and I’m told I have to accept and go on. How does a mother learn to accept the death of her youngest child? There are no magic pills that will make my shattered heart whole again,” wrote MaryBeth Cichocki in her 2015 post, Coping With a Son’s Death by Drug Overdose.…

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What to Say to Someone With a Drinking Problem

wondering if you drink too much?

What to say to someone with a drinking problem? Where to begin! If you’re reading this post, you have likely been hurt, frustrated, concerned, angered, and/or scared by a loved one’s drinking. You’ve likely tried talking, yelling, cajoling, negotiating, looking the other way, believing their promise(s) to stop or cut down, but so far, nothing’s…

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Why Was His Abuse So Extreme?

“Why was his abuse so extreme?” was the question recently asked by a reader of one of my blog posts. She had described her loved one’s behaviors over the course of several years, a loved one who had a severe alcohol use disorder. His behaviors directed at her were so mean-spirited, despicable, and twisted, and…

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Emotional Sobriety – Guest Author Kate Adermann

Kate Adermann, explains the difference between sobriety and emotional sobriety.

Emotional sobriety vs. just abstinence is a significant piece to one’s success in “living” their lives in recovery from alcohol or other drug addictions (substance use disorders). As today’s guest author, Kate Adermann, explains, “[t]he only thing worse than being caught up in active addiction is to live an abstinent life without having emotional sobriety.” …

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Getting Sober While Also Grieving

It’s difficult to imagine trying to get sober from substance use disorder while also grieving the loss of a beloved parent. Grief, in and of itself, can be overwhelming and difficult to move through.  But to also be treating a sever substance order at the same — having to turn away from the “thing” that…

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