Blog

Some people enjoy going to the casino and playing the slot machines or betting on their favorite team to win the game. Gambling can be harmless when a person has the ability and control to know when to stop. Unfortunately, many people cannot stop and become addicted to gambling. Compulsive gambling leads to devastating problemsRead More

The first answer to the conundrum of alcoholism and drug addiction was the twelve step program outlined in Alcoholics Anonymous, often referred to as “The Big Book”. Until the 1930s when founder Bill Wilson and founder Dr. Bob Smith were uncovering the reality of alcoholism, there was no answer for this disease which seemed toRead More

Depression is a debilitating mental health illness that affects everything in your life. Depression causes you to decline invitations to social events, family gatherings, and special occasions with friends. It feels like a thick, dark cloud that blankets you from enjoying things you once had fun doing. Relationships are affected by depression and you canRead More

Step nine of the 12-step program originally created by the group Alcoholics Anonymous in their primary text, Alcoholics Anonymous is focused on making amends. After completing the “moral inventory” of step four, reading it to another person in step five, looking at defects of character in step six, becoming willing to let those character defectsRead More

International Doctors in Alcoholics Anonymous is, according to their website, “a worldwide fellowship of more than 9,900 healthcare professionals, and their families, who strive to help one another to achieve and maintain recovery from addictions. The organization is membership based. Memberships are open to: “doctorate level health care providers, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified registeredRead More

We went to school, we went through trainings. We studied, we interned, we worked hard for hours of our lives working toward a single goal: our profession. Upon graduation, upon certification, upon passing boards, passing tests, and passing examinations, we sigh a great sigh of relief. For a moment, we might have felt a momentRead More

One of the most powerful parts of being in a recovery community like a 12-step organization is finding a sponsor with whose story of alcoholism and recovery you can identify. They say in recovery circles that you should look for someone who has “what you want” as a result of their recovery. Professionals in recoveryRead More

In our previous blog we discussed mindfulness and what mindfulness is. Here, we will discuss what mindfulness is not. Mindfulness is not a stand alone treatment method Mindfulness is being offered as an evidence based treatment method. Mindfulness is even supporting traditional evidence based treatments and therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy. Though the evidence supportingRead More

When your loved one is addicted to drugs or alcohol, he or she can be in denial of their problem. Addiction to drugs or alcohol not only affects your loved one, but family, friends, and coworkers are impacted as well. His or her addiction increases their risk of developing serious health complications, overdose, or earlyRead More

Mindfulness is one of the great buzzwords of the second millenium, particularly in recent years. The eastern tradition has gained much western attention as the effects of mindfulness are touted as transformational. Mindfulness is many things and mindfulness is not many things. Here we will discuss what mindfulness is. In our next post we willRead More