When people hear “Family History Day,” they often picture ancestry websites, old photo albums, or stories about grandparents. For professionals and executives in recovery, though, family history isn’t just sentimental—it’s neurological, behavioral, and deeply practical. Our families are our first blueprint: Our first models of stress. Our first teachers of regulation or dysregulation. Our introduction to connection, conflict, avoidance, celebration,...[ read more ]
The Science of Resentment and Forgiveness: Take Back Your Power This week I am going woo. Don’t swipe away; there is science behind a lot of woo. This week I am talking about resentment and forgiveness. There is peer reviewed, valid research that shows the negative health impact of resentment and the positive health impact of forgiveness. There are ideas...[ read more ]
People, Places, and Things A support network is not synonymous with romantic relationships. Our problems, and our solutions, are usually found in relationships. Whether at work, home, or community, our sources of joy and stress include people. Relationships and their quality have a direct impact on the quality of substance use disorder recovery. Romantic love is a complicated topic in...[ read more ]
Managing Co-Occurring, Mood, and Mental Wellness in Early Recovery Successful recovery and sobriety demands that people identify and treat any co-occurring mental health issues. Maintaining and managing our mental health is part of a comprehensive recovery program. Without a plan for managing mental health, people in recovery are vulnerable to the symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, or other mental health...[ read more ]
Sobriety, the very thing that friends, family, and other loved ones have probably been praying and wishing for is stressful on relationships. A healthy sobriety is worth it, but it's important to know that the transition into sobriety is not a breeze on the individual or the people close to them. This entry has an emphasis on romantic relationships, but...[ read more ]
Substance Use Disorder is Like Other Illnesses I’d like to discuss relapse prevention using the analogy of disease or illness immunity. I’m going to show how substance use disorder and alcohol use disorder function like other illnesses and how the concept of immunity applies to recovery from substance use disorder. In recent content, we discussed how a substance use disorder...[ read more ]
Relapse and Stress The #1 reason people relapse** to alcohol or drugs or other unhealthy coping is stress. It’s a complicated and multidirectional relationship that we are going to break down and understand through the science. Stress is a known and quantified challenge and trigger in sobriety. Evidence strongly suggests that the neural circuits involved in stress and emotions overlap...[ read more ]
The Space Between There is a vital space between stopping drinking, using drugs, or over-relying on other unhealthy coping and being in recovery** and healing. In my last post, I posted about the science of what causes a substance use disorder. This week, I am talking about the science of recovery. Specifically, I am focusing on the space between stopping...[ read more ]
The Science of Addiction** Clients often ask me “why” they drink, use drugs, or behave compulsively with repeated unhealthy coping. There are 6 broad categories that inform the development of a substance use disorder. While “chemical dependency education” does not transform people or create lasting change, it is a necessary part of the treatment journey and it’s needed for lasting...[ read more ]
Uncle Apparently my life’s role is to provide information, support, and guidance for people who are taking charge of their substance use ** issue. It seems that It’s especially for people who are hoping to put together a plan that is based on current research and not cliche concepts or cookie cutter advice. I wanted to give an explanation as...[ read more ]
