Thoughts on Disease and Recovery – Addiction and Cancer

Disease and Recovery – most people do not understand addiction to be a chronic disease like other chronic diseases. In today’s guest post, John M McNamara shares his thoughts on disease and recovery – his own (cancer) and his wife’s (addiction) – to emphasize his point that addiction is a disease, as is cancer, and that…

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Yogic Tools for Recovery – New Book by Kyczy Hawk

Yogic Tools for Recovery is Kyczy Hawk’s latest book (November 2017), and it is powerful on so many levels. Not only for its significant contribution as a tool to help those recovering from addiction*, but also for Kyczy’s ability to paint a picture – a feeling – with words. And it is in the latter,…

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Addiction Relapse Triggers

drinking more during Covid-19

Many readers may be surprised to know that addiction relapse is common — something I discussed in my post, “5 Reasons People Relapse After Years of Sobriety.”  As David Sack, MD, explained in his October 19, 2102 article,” Why Relapse Isn’t a Sign of Failure, As with chemical addiction, patients with chronic illnesses such as…

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Working the 12 Steps With a Little Help From Brain Science

Millions struggling with addiction* have found their pathway to recovery through the 12 Steps — AA and NA, as examples. Millions of their loved ones have found their recovery from secondhand drinking | secondhand drugging (SHD)** through 12 Steps, as well — Al-Anon and Nar-Anon, as examples. But there are many more who report having a problem with the…

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Tough Love – Harmful or Helpful?

For some family members, it's difficult to forgive and forget a loved one - even after years of sobriety.

Tough love – does it hurt or help a person with an addiction to alcohol or other drugs, aka substance use disorder (SUD), get the help they need? I regularly get some form of this question – generally because there’s so much confusion about what it means. Unfortunately, there is no single definition of tough…

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The Mindfulness Practice of Just Looking

Having a mindfulness practice can be an integral part of recovery – whether that’s recovery from a substance use disorder or from secondhand drinking | secondhand drugging. But it can seem a daunting task – clear your mind and focus on the present – HOW?! Especially when your mind is bouncing from thought to thought…

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Meditation Can Help With Addiction – Debbie Hampton

Meditation can help with addiction — really! And who better to write this post than today’s guest author, Debbie Hampton, creator of the immensely popular blog and website, The Best Brain Possible, whose own brain recovery story is sure to inspire readers. After taking care of her brother as he wasted away and died from…

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