Guilt-Fear-Disgust-Failure
These four words are the words I hear the most from people in rehab. The first one, guilt, according to www.dictionary.com, is “the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially [...]
Looking Back, Going Forward
Sometimes my clients come to me directly from a session with their primary therapist. Almost every one of those sessions is an investigation into their past and trying to figure out where and how certain current [...]
Is Addiction Really a Disease?
The answer is that once addiction takes hold, it gets to be a disease. For example, if you are pre-diabetic and don’t do the things you should, you become a diabetic. If you continue to put [...]
What King Solomon Has to Say
King Solomon, the biblical king, was said to be the wisest man in the world. He wrote thousands of proverbs and sayings, and interestingly, many of them, if not most, are as profound today as they [...]
Part three: Introduction to the therapists, counselors, and all those in the trenches
Dear helping professionals: Some of you are in recovery yourselves. Congratulations! You are the shining examples that recovery is attainable. You are the role models, the rock stars. Some of you are not in recovery, but [...]
Will Cravings Diminish and How?
When the most powerful things in your life are not love, family, career, security, and health; but instead using is the most powerful, it is past time to say “enough.” As you know, I call “enough” [...]
Relapse Prevention Skills
You are vulnerable to relapsing, and you know it. You also know that you cannot anticipate every situation that would cause a craving. Additionally, you are full of fears and worries, real and sometimes imagined, and [...]
Let’s Talk about Relapsing
Let us not bury our head in the sand here. People relapse. In fact, lots of people relapse. Statistics tell us that 70 to 80 percent of addicts relapse after treatment. This is an astounding statistic! [...]
Lessons Learned from Relapse
We know that relapse happens. We know that multiple attempts are the norm. Certainly not for everyone, but certainly this is true for some. Why does relapse happen? It happens because you let your mind have [...]
Triggers You Are Unaware Of: What to Do
Even though you may not be aware of what caused your craving, the fact is there was a trigger. The trigger could have been as fleeting as an aroma of perfume coming from a woman you [...]