Help for Families | Secondhand Drinking | Codependency
Important Questions to Ask a Teen Addiction Treatment Program
It wasn’t until the past 15-20 years that neuroscientists have had the technology they’ve needed to understand the inner workings of the brain – how it develops, how it’s harmed, what mental illness does to it, what addiction does to it, how it looks after substance abuse is stopped and addiction and/or mental illness are…
Read More7 Sound Bites to Update 2014 Conversations Around Addiction
If you are like the millions of Americans, you may have some long-held beliefs about addiction; beliefs like, “he has to hit bottom in order to get help,” “fix the addict and the family will be fine,” “no way is alcoholism is a disease – cancer is a disease – all s/he has to do…
Read MoreHow to Get Someone to Stop Drinking So Much
Drinking problems often seem to worsen around the holidays, or at least become more obvious, as families gather for extended periods of time and observe drinking behaviors that are too awful and/or too often to ignore or excuse. And then the questions and discussions pick up, again, centered around the search question, “How to get…
Read MoreWhat is Love When You Love an Alcoholic
If you love an alcoholic, you know the pain of watching your loved one continue their downward spiral as you try desperately to do anything and everything to help them. And what do you do when the treatment professional you’ve consulted tells you that you must “detach with love” in order to help your loved…
Read MoreWhat is Considered Normal Drinking
At your annual check up, your doctor asks, “Do you drink?” And if you do, you say, “Yes.” Then your doctor asks, “How much?” And you respond with some amount – generally in terms of, “now and then” or “a glass of wine with dinner” or “only on the week-ends.” And you wonder… “Is that…
Read MoreDisruptive Child – Could be Sign of Untreated Alcoholism at Home
Disruptive child? It may be their disruptive behaviors are the result of what’s happened to them, not “them.” And the “what’s happened to ‘them’” may be secondhand drinking. Secondhand drinking is the impacts of a person’s drinking behaviors on others, such as the drinking behaviors associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Children who grow up…
Read MoreDo You Have Reservations About Being Powerless Over Alcohol
Do you believe a person is powerless over alcohol? Do you have reservations about being powerless over alcohol, yourself? Do you worry you can’t find or sustain recovery unless you admit you are powerless? These are common questions and concerns I hear from the alcoholics I work with and their family members and close friends,…
Read More3 Powerful Words For Coping With Stress in Addiction Recovery
Coping with stress in addiction recovery, or secondhand drinking | drugging recovery, for that matter, can be key to avoiding relapse. Here are three powerful words – BREATHE, HAALT, THINK – that might be just what you need to give yourself a time out – that split second – to reel in your thoughts for a reality…
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