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Boundaries for Recovery: Mental Health and Stress Management

Boundaries for Recovery: Mental Health and Stress Management Setting healthy boundaries is essential for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). Many people in this process need support identifying when and how to set boundaries, often feeling disempowered due to shame or guilt about their past. It’s crucial to remind them that regardless of their history, everyone deserves dignity,...[ read more ]

The Science of Resentment and Forgiveness: Take Back Your Power

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 ]

Cross, Transfer, and Process Addiction

Cross, Transfer, and Process Addiction The “Whack-a-mole” of substance use recovery Process and transfer addictions are often called the “Whack-A-Mole of Addiction” because they “pop up” as soon as you put down your drug of choice (which I will call DOC for the rest of this blog). The Foundation of How Cross, Transfer, and Process Addiction Happy DOC is determined...[ read more ]

Grief Awareness Day

Where did Grief Awareness Day Come From? I wanted to mention that today, August 30, 2024 is Grief Awareness Day. Grief is an experience after a loss that has mental, emotional, and physical components. It’s important to recognize when you are in grief and to be mindfully and intentionally aware. National Grief Awareness Day, also known as National Bereavement Day,...[ read more ]

Avoiding Romantic Relationships in Early Recovery

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

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 ]

The Surprising Stress of Sobriety on Families

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 ]

Relapse Prevention Thru the Lens of Immunity

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 ]

The #1 Reason People Relapse (and how to prevent it)

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 ]

Sobriety is More than Stopping. You Need to Build a Better Brain.

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 ]



24618 Kingsland Blvd 2nd Floor, Room 8
Katy, TX 77494
On the left hand side of the CLS building

recoverytherapist@joanneketch.com
(281) 740-7563


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