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RELAPSE SUCKS REFLECTION Relapse is part of the family systems illness of substance use disorder. When a family member relapses, the implications of that choice reverberate throughout a family. Statistics state that between 40 to 60 percent of people...

REFLECTION National Recovery Month celebrates recovery in the lives of those who have suffered from substance use disorder. It also helps to create better understanding that substance use disorder is a disease. This disease not only disrupts the life...

Reflection Your ride or dies are the friends that always have your back no matter what. Their loyalty, humor and insight companion you along the rough road of the family systems disease of substance use disorder. In the midst of an...

REFLECTION Setting healthy boundaries in the chaos of a family addiction crisis is a difficult thing to do.  The very nature of a substance use disorder enmeshes a family in a tangle of emotions, decisions and regrets that can...

Reflection In the last decade overdose deaths have doubled. More than 70,000 died of drug overdose deaths in 2017. Nearly 70 percent of those deaths were due to synthetic opioids. International Overdose Awareness Day was started 18 years ago,...

Reflection Shame is a by- product of the unpredictable and difficult nature of the disease of addiction.  Families fighting to help a loved one establish recovery need to recognize shame for what it is: a self- defeating emotion that...

Reflection Substance use disorder often creates a double bind in the lives of many family members. They feel heartbreaking concern for their loved one and simultaneously need to protect themselves from their addicted choices. Denial plays a big role...

Addiction is a disease that impacts all members of a family.  Isolation caused by addiction and depression wall off family members from relating well and supporting each other and maintaining positive relationships outside their immediate family.  Taking steps to share...

Living with a family member in active addiction can engulf your life with chaos. The concept of carving out time for self care may even seem ridiculous when you are in the midst of so many things going awry...

On the surface enabling actions look like a good idea. As parents we want to help our adult children find the best path for their lives.  And so, we roll up our sleeves and do what seemingly is in their...