In my early days of struggling with heroin, I decided to go see a psychiatrist who was an “addiction specialist”. He had been recommended by a friend. During my first appointment with him, he prescribed me heavy doses of both Klonopin and Adderall. I hadn’t even asked or gone there seeking drugs. I took the…

Many people have heard the term “rehab” before but few actually understand what it really means. This can be a difficult topic to address as rehabs tend to vary depending on where the treatment is being received and also in the programs they offer for the different stages of recovery. For individuals suffering from an…

This is part three of the recovery pitfall series and it’s all about romantic relationships. Compared to working out and money, romantic relationships are more likely to cause problems for a recovering addict. More than physical appearance and material wealth, relationships affect our hearts, egos, and sense of self-worth. In rehab and in the rooms…

When a loved one is experiencing the pull of addiction, family and friends often feel the need to intervene. With this also comes a lot of questions such as “how can I help my loved one stop?”, “why do they keep using despite their consequences?”, or “how do I really know if they have a…

Addiction can be a hard disease for non-addicts to understand. Often there is the expectation that if an addict really wanted to stop using, they just would stop purchasing and using substances. At the same time, an addict’s behavior and thought patterns often seem random and incongruent, leaving family members and loved ones confused as…

In part two of this recovery pitfalls series, I’ll be talking about work and careers in recovery. As I discussed in the first part, anything that we try to replace a program of recovery with will lead to trouble. Nothing external to the self can fix whatever internal spiritual problems exist. For most people, work…

Substance addiction affects the lives of many people and has been around for centuries. Despite how commonplace addiction has always been, it has only been in the last 50 years or so that it has been considered to be a serious disease. Technology and research are still on the lookout for a cure. This begs…

A common pitfall for recovering addicts is basing our recovery on something outside of ourselves instead of on internal change. The three most common culprits are probably work, working out, and romantic relationships. These are things that most people want to have success in and that do enrich our lives but none of them will…

When an addict decides to get clean and abruptly stops using their drug(s) of choice they experience negative physical and psychological conditions known as acute withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms and their severity vary depending on the type and amount of drugs being used, how they are taken, and the length of time of abuse. These…

If we are a loved one of an alcoholic/addict, we must consistently be asking ourselves this question: Am I helping their recovery or am I helping their addiction? We all know the words: codependent, overly attached, loving them to death, etc. For many alcoholics/addicts, us “loved ones,” as difficult as it may sound, are the…