Staying Strong (and Sober) on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving marks the official beginning of the holiday season. It’s a challenging time of year for so many people – especially those living in recovery. Large family events are complicated, and serve as very common triggers and stressors for people struggling with substance use disorders. Luckily, those who have completed ...
Celebrating Progress and Looking Back at National Recovery Month 2017
Every September, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) sponsors National Recovery Month to raise awareness and understanding of mental health and substance use disorders, and celebrate people who are living in recovery. As we head into October, we wanted to reflect on Recovery Month and the ...
Heroin(e): A Harrowing but Optimistic Look at the Opioid Epidemic
A new documentary has been added to Netflix’s lineup and it's worth a watch. Heroin(e), directed by Elain McMillion Sheldon, follows three brave and compassionate women as they battle addiction in the City of Huntington, West Virginia – the overdose capital of the country. In 2015, the city’s overdose rate ...
Opioid Epidemic Declared a National Emergency
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 35,000 people across America died from heroin or opioid overdoses in 2015, and a study released by the University of Virginia on Aug. 7th concluded the mortality rates were 24 percent higher for opioids and 22 percent higher for heroin than ...
Is Binge Drinking Considered Alcoholism If You’re A College Student?
Fall is around the corner and for many young people, it’s almost time to ship off to (or return to) college. They pack up their rooms, kiss mom and dad goodbye, and venture to a campus where they are testing out the freedom of (almost) adulthood. For most colleges and ...
Help, Not Handcuffs: Finding an Ally in Blue
They’re some of the first to arrive at the scene when there is a critical overdose, a person in need, or a troublesome situation. While some find comfort with the men and women on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, it can be a contentious relationship for others. For ...
Fatherhood and Addiction
There has long been a stigma surrounding women struggling with addiction, and mothers in particular. Mothers are more apt to shy away from recovery treatment, in part because they are not aware of the problem they may have with substance abuse, but also because they feel guilty for leaving their ...
Shane’s Story: From Shame to Sobriety in Three Months
Shane’s first encounter with the law was at the young age of fourteen, when he was caught stealing a vehicle with his friends. This wouldn’t be the last time he would run into such trouble. By this point, he had already experienced a lifetime of ups and downs, including past ...
The Next Big Thing: “Grey Death” Heroin
The latest fatal heroin mix, “grey death,” is taking the streets by storm and its users in mere minutes. And it’s as ominous as the name suggests - the end result of using “grey death” is typically overdose or even death. According to a Georgia Bureau of Investigations lab analysis, ...
The Opioid Epidemic is Affecting the Nation’s Youngest and Most Innocent
The nation’s opioid epidemic is affecting everyone, and we mean everyone – even those not yet born. An increasing number of children today are born into families and environments that revolve around an addiction to opioids. These children often grow up in horrible living conditions while being raised by opioid ...
