Alcoholism Awareness Month: The Prevalent Dangers of Alcohol Misuse
Though alcohol consumption is considered more socially acceptable than the use of narcotics like cocaine or heroin, drinking is far from harmless. Alcohol can pose detrimental health and safety risks. According to the CDC, excessive drinking is the cause for more than 140,000 deaths each year in the United States. In acknowledgement of April being ...
A Journey to Acceptance: LGBTQ+ Client Story
Theia came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community on Christmas Day 2020. The lifelong struggle to accept and reveal her true gender identity went hand-in-hand with a dependency on drugs and alcohol that resulted in her first stint in rehab by the age of 16. Having battled substance addiction for over two decades, ...
Study Reveals Grim Toll of Alcohol & Drug Related Deaths During Pandemic
Across the nation, April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and a recent study drives home the importance of raising awareness of the tolls of alcohol and substance misuse now more than ever. A Tragic Increase New research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concludes ...
International Overdose Awareness Day – Where it Began and Its Impact Today
According to the CDC, the first-known wave of opioid overdoses began with the rise of opioid prescriptions in the 1990s. At the time, many pharmaceutical companies and prescribers did not have enough research about the potency and addictive nature of these medications. As methadone and semi-synthetic opioid usage began to increase in 1999 and into ...
Client Story: From Addiction to Recovery to Mentorship
Over 21 million Americans struggle with addiction, but only ten percent of them seek help. Despite drug and alcohol addiction costing the U.S. economy over $600 billion each year, there are many barriers to treatment including transportation issues, work and family responsibilities, lack of insurance, and more. The most significant, however, is the limited number ...
A Family Disease | 3 Tips for Loved Ones of People Struggling with Addiction
The impact of addiction spreads far beyond the person struggling with it. Too often, those closest to the person suffering are also going through their own struggle as a result, which is why we call addiction a family disease. If you have a loved one currently in early recovery or active addiction, you may be ...
Addiction and Long-term Care in the Construction Industry
Opioid use is uncommonly high in the construction industry, where workers face many physical hazards and are at an increased risk of getting injured. One study shows that construction workers are the most likely occupation to misuse opioids and cocaine. Compared to other industries in North America, construction workers are roughly six times more likely ...
The Importance of Language in Reducing the Stigma Often Associated with Substance Use Disorders
Words matter, especially when we as a society continue to fight the stigma against those struggling with addiction. As we learn more every day about drug and alcohol addiction disorders, we also have to contend with the fact that helpful and educational terms change over time. Sometimes it can be hard to keep up with, ...
Three Things Dax Shepard is Teaching the World About Relapse
Recently, actor Dax Shepard shared a big secret with the world: he had relapsed after sixteen years of sobriety. On his podcast, Armchair Expert, he explained that he had been keeping an “enormous secret,” that he had been prescribed painkillers after a motorcycle accident and ultimately started misusing them. What started out as a prescription ...
Slipping into Alcoholism: The Importance of Monitoring Your Intake During COVID-19
We’ve been talking a lot about the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic: the frustration of not being able to go out, the difficulty in trying to get certain items, and the simple boredom of being trapped inside day after day. But what we haven’t talked about is the fear and anxiety of everyday life and ...