Why Dating is a Bad Idea When You’re New to Recovery

Why Dating is a Bad Idea When You’re New to Recovery

If you’re new to recovery, you’ve probably hear a lot of sayings by now. “Fake it Till You Make It”, “Easy Does It” and “Just for Today” are a few you’ll hear regularly. These sayings have been passed down from other people on the same path as you because they’re easy...

Be SMART with Your Goals this New Year

Be SMART with Your Goals this New Year

Everyone loves to ring in the New Year, and the world is often filled with talk of resolutions to stay fit, change bad behaviors, and otherwise improve themselves. In recovery, however, the focus is almost always on bettering yourself. Resolutions may seem like a...

5 Warning Signs of Relapse

5 Warning Signs of Relapse

Being in recovery requires vigilance, especially when you’re new, and you’re not accustomed to dealing with the stress of life without the use of substances. There isn’t one strict formula for recovery, and predicting relapse isn’t a straight formula, either....

Maintaining Your Sobriety (and Mental Health) During the Holidays

Maintaining Your Sobriety (and Mental Health) During the Holidays

If you’re in recovery from addiction, you may be anxious about the upcoming holiday season. After all, the holidays can be a difficult time for many people, even those who aren’t in recovery. But if you’re worried about coping with the upcoming weeks, you’re not...

How Families Can Recover, Too

How Families Can Recover, Too

When a loved one first enters recovery, it can be hard for a family to adjust. Family members are probably worried and a little wary when an addicted loved one first gets clean. If this sounds like you, don’t worry! You’ve been through a lot, which is why you also...

Angry? Learn How to Cope With It

Angry? Learn How to Cope With It

In recovery, you will learn a lot of new coping skills and tools for a new way of life. During this time, you’ll learn a lot about how to deal with emotions and live a healthier, more satisfying life. This feeling, however, can seem toxic when you first get into...

Keeping an “Attitude of Gratitude”

Keeping an “Attitude of Gratitude”

When you first start out on your journey in recovery, it’s easy to feel negative. After all, you didn’t get clean because life was full of happiness and joy. You hit a bottom, whether it was emotional or physical. But early recovery can be scary and full of ups and...

Making New Friends in Recovery

Making New Friends in Recovery

When you first got sober, you probably were told to stay away from old people and places. Hanging out with your old drinking or using friends is a temptation that’s usually not worth taking. (Old places are probably a trigger, too.) You can’t go back to the bar or the...

10 Simple Self-Care Activities in Early Recovery

10 Simple Self-Care Activities in Early Recovery

When in active addiction, one of the first things people lose is the ability to care for themselves. Whether it’s physically, emotionally, or spiritually, a substance abuse disorder takes up more and more time in your life. Other priorities fall away. Addiction lies...

Dealing with Triggers When You Get Home

Dealing with Triggers When You Get Home

Drug treatment offers a home away from home where you can grow as a person while you adjust to being substance-free. Recovery gives you new coping skills and the ability to use new tools when you’re in an uncomfortable situation. You’ve probably learned a lot about...

3 Signs You Are Enabling Your Loved One

3 Signs You Are Enabling Your Loved One

In recovery and the mental health community, the term "enabling" is often used to describe behavior that helps a person stay sick instead of getting well. For example, a person who has a mental health disorder may have somebody make excuses for them instead of...

Mental Health Disorders and Addiction

Mental Health Disorders and Addiction

People who become addicted to substances come from all walks of life and backgrounds. However, it’s common to suffer from mental health disorders and addiction at the same time. Many people who use alcohol or drugs to say that they started abusing substances as a way...