Overcoming the Stigma of Addiction Stigmatization in our society is largely connected to the behaviors and concepts of our society, in part by the people that make up our community.  Many of us who struggle with addiction of any sort find it is often difficult to seek treatment out of fear of judgment, shame, or guilt.  There is an underlying fear of being given a stigmatized label.  Without this fear, individuals might feel more accepted and open to being vulnerable and asking family, friends or professionals for the help they need. Where does this stigma of addiction come from? The stigma is produced in the media, movies, television, books, and ultimately created characters that fit a description of an otherwise made up criteria.  The government continues to be active in creating ...

In addiction recovery, if your life is filled with non-pleasurable activities, you are more likely to relapse. The relapse will provide an intense, but only temporary, satisfaction. Perhaps the greatest risk for imbalance comes when we are too focused on what we “should” do and not enough on what we want to do. Of course, we need to do what we should do, but with balance! Lifestyle balance can be considered from a number of perspectives. Below is a list (taken from Dr. Horvath's book, Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocolate, page 191) that you might use to consider how balanced you are: Work and relaxation Activity and contemplation (self-assessment) Duties and fun Long-term projects and momentary pleasure Alone time and social time Routine household chores and ne...

Does acupuncture help in the treatment of addiction? Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture, has long been used to treat an array of illness. More recently, Eastern methods have become increasingly popular within many addiction treatment approaches, as a supplement to other therapies.  Acupuncture is said to help alleviate withdrawal symptoms and physical pain, cure insomnia, and even help soothe emotional problems. So what is acupuncture? Basically stated, it is Chinese therapy involving pricking the skin with small/thin needles. It is used to treat a variety of physical symptoms, improve mental health, balance emotional conditions and alleviate pain. Acupuncture is based on a theory of energy. As the theory goes, “chi,” also known as energy, flows through our body along pathways...

Too Much of a Good Thing: How Four Key Survival Traits Are Now Killing Us by Lee Goldman, MD A review by Tom Horvath, PhD Too Much of a Good Thing is packed with well-referenced scientific information to support the author’s suggestion that hunger, thirst and desire for salt, fear and anxiety, and ease of blood clotting, all originally crucial to human survival, have in the modern era turned against us and become significant causes of illness and death. Of course he is not proposing we give up any of these abilities and behaviors. However, unless we take more control of how they operate, or ameliorate their effects, we will increasingly suffer from them. The author is dean of the faculties of health sciences and medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, the author of 450 sci...

Forgiving yourself in recovery is essential. Learning to forgive yourself is essential as you begin to do more self-healing in your recovery.  We often have a tendency to hold ourselves to such strict standards that we find no reason or justification to forgive ourselves.  Maybe you’ve found yourself in a certain situation, able to forgive someone else for even the harshest of pains yet you may be torturing yourself over a lesser offense. It is common to hold on to past mistakes that we feel are not forgivable out of fear of forgetting the hurt and repeating the behavior. So, we torture ourselves by replaying the feelings, punishment or guilt over and over again.  Staying in this cycle keeps us stuck. It is nearly impossible to truly move through the stages of healing while holding ont...

Changing self-defeating behavior plays a major role in recovery and improved mental health. In life we find there are unavoidable difficulties we are bound grapple with.  It is absolutely normal to find yourself challenged in difficult situations, even making less-than-stellar decisions or find yourself in regret.  So what does self-defeating behavior mean? When we find ourselves repeating the same maladaptive behaviors over and over again we may describe the circumstance as being “stuck.” Any behavior you engage in that is self-sabotaging, that takes you away from what you want, or that distracts you from your goals is self-defeating behavior. These behaviors zap your vitality, leaving you exhausted and without access to the powerful energy you need to create your best life. You ...

In a unique move toward reducing opioid overuse, the emergency room of New Jersey’s St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, the busiest in the state, has decided to eliminate the use of opioids as the first defense against mild to moderate cases of pain. In an effort that has spanned a period of two months, the hospital’s Alternative to Opioids, or “ALTO,” program has managed to control the pain of 300 patients (that’s 75%) without the use of opioids. Through use of acetaminophen, ibuprofen and non-opioid pain blocking medications such as lidocaine injections, doctors and nurses have successfully been able to treat a number of different ailments such as kidney stones, chronic pain and other mild to moderate ailments. While the staff at St. Joseph’s still value the power of opioid...

The difference between self-confidence and self-esteem: Confidence and self-esteem are often confused with one another, when in fact there is something unique and different to be said about them both individually.  "Confidence" comes from the Latin confidere, meaning "to trust." To be self-confident is to trust in oneself, particularly in one’s ability or aptitude to engage successfully or at least adequately with the world. The more successful and positive experiences we have in a designated area helps increase our self-confidence in that skill or area of interest.  However, it is possible to be self-confident in a specific area such as writing or sports, yet simultaneously feel insecure in another area (for example, cooking). "Esteem" is derived from the Latin aestimare, meaning, ...

Revised and expanded from original Jan. 23, 2015 post on Addiction and Recovery Movies In early recovery, many people feel like they suddenly have a lot of free time that they aren’t sure how to fill. Movies can be a great way to stay entertained for a couple of hours… and there is no shortage of films that are recovery oriented, and even inspirational. Here are 14 addiction and recovery movies to add to your watchlist: 1. The Anonymous People This documentary explores how social stigma about addiction has kept people in recovery silent and anonymous, and how that needs to change. It features many real-life stories of people in recovery, including public figures such as former NBA basketball player Chris Herren and actress Kristen Johnston. You may also be interested in: 7 Boo...

Irrational beliefs are those that are untrue, don’t make sense, or are harmful to us. While we all have some irrational beliefs, we can learn to recognize them and challenge them. Here are some common types of irrational beliefs that can cause negative feelings and fuel addictive behaviors. 1. Demands—Telling yourself that you “must” or “should” do something often leads to frustration and emotional distress. Having overly rigid demands on yourself or others can lead to disappointment when those demands are not met. Instead, try telling yourself that you “want” or “would like” to do something. 2. Over-generalizations—This is also known as “all or nothing” thinking. Believing that you “always” or “never” do something may lead to feelings of frustration and helplessness. Instead, rec...