Rebuilding Your Life in Recovery: Part 1
Rebuilding Your Life in Recovery: Improving Your Work Ethic Returning to the workplace after rehab can often be a scary transition. We worry about what people will think, what they know about where we were, and whether we will be judged. The reality is that re-entering the workplace is a vital piece of recovery as […]
Men and the Stigma of Addiction
Have you noticed the stigma that exists when it comes to men and addiction? It is no secret that the stigma of males in relation to addiction exists in our society today. While it’s widely understood that this is a complex issue, it’s often oversimplified and overlooked. The stigma may include anything from negative attitudes […]
Women and the Stigma of Addiction
Are women stigmatized by addiction? When we think about the person who works a full time job, travels, enjoys a beer with sports, or finishes a long day in the office by going out to dinner and cocktails with a friend, which may turn into a late night of drinking, what type of person comes […]
Prince and the Opioid Epidemic
Just how do Prince and the opioid epidemic come together? The death of Prince has left many wondering what really happened and whether circumstances could have been different. Prince’s use of pain killers came as a surprise and many found it hard to believe he had been struggling with prescription drugs for quite some time. […]
Real Recovery vs. Ideal Recovery
By Tom Horvath, Ph.D. How often have you heard the following statements? “Using buprenorphine (Suboxone, Bunavail, Zubsolv, etc.) or methadone is not real recovery.” “Harm reduction is not real recovery.” “Using psychiatric medications is not real recovery.” “Moderation is not real recovery.” “Real recovery” is widely viewed as abstinence from all intoxicating substances. You can […]
Overcoming the Stigma of Addiction
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 […]
Preventing Relapse: The Role of Lifestyle Balance
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 […]
Acupuncture and Addiction
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, […]
In-Network vs. Out-of-Network Providers
Why you may want to work with Practical Recovery, an out-of-network provider, rather than with an in-network provider If price is your primary consideration, then using an in-network addiction treatment provider is an easy choice. If you have flexibility on this issue there are other issues to consider. Of course, you may be fortunate and […]
Book Review: Too Much of a Good Thing…
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 […]