You’ve probably heard the old joke, “What do you do if you can’t find your AA meeting? Look for the church with people smoking outside.” The chain-smoking, coffee-drinking recovering alcoholic is a familiar stereotype and there’s even some research suggesting it has a valid basis. The Research A study of AA members in the Nashville [&hellip…
Read moreAA meetings, and recovery in general, have long been associated with coffee and cigarettes. One study of AA members in Nashville, Tennessee found that there is quite a bit of truth to this stereotype. The study found that 88.5 percent of AA members surveyed drank coffee daily, compared to about 64 percent of Americans overall. [&hellip…
Read moreWatching a loved one struggle with a substance use disorder is painful and confusing. People who have never struggled with addiction typically have a very hard time understanding the behavior of people who do. It’s hard to understand why someone doesn’t just ask for help. It doesn’t help that there are a lot of misconceptions [&hellip…
Read moreAn intervention can provide the motivation your loved one needs to get treatment for addiction. Although many people believe someone has to hit rock bottom before they can seek help, that’s not true and sometimes rock bottom means death. A well-run intervention has a good chance of convincing your loved one to at least give [&hellip…
Read moreGetting plenty of quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for both your physical and mental health. In terms of physical health, a chronic sleep deficit increases your risk of many conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, heart attack, and stroke. For those that have a history of substance use [&hellip…
Read moreWe all know that exercise is good for our physical health but an increasing volume of research is showing that it’s great for good for our mental health as well. One large study looked at data from more than a million people and found that those who exercised actually had 43 percent fewer days of [&hellip…
Read moreRecovery from addiction isn’t only a matter of abstaining from drugs and alcohol; it’s about feeling good about your life without drugs and alcohol. Recovery is a holistic process that involves mind, body, and spirit. Psychotherapy plays a major role in recovery, as do healthy lifestyle changes such as getting plenty of quality sleep, eating [&hellip…
Read moreFor many of us, we simply wanted an escape. Whether it was to stop feeling our pain or simply to feel better, our first drink or pill or smoke or whatever was an effort to escape our reality. Which was maybe great the first time. Or perhaps for any number of times after that. But [&hellip…
Read moreThe effects of addiction can be overwhelming. Not only are our bodies completely consumed by our substance use, but our minds are, too. Addiction impacts every aspect of our lives – our families, friends, social life, school or work, and our self-esteem. And addiction even eats away at our souls and our spirituality. Given that [&hellip…
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