Photo by 910416 © Igor Kharlamov | Dreamstime.com We don’t necessarily think of senior citizens having substance abuse issues, but about 17% are vulnerable to developing a problem because of life changes such as loss of spouse or friends, health restrictions or the changes of identify that retirement brings. Check out this guest blog by
By the time I was 15, my mother’s alcohol problem had become severe. My parents’ marriage ended. Divorced, no career skills, she was only able to find a low-paying job. She kept sliding downward financially. My dad wasn’t great about child support. Evictions, loss of a car, and domestic violence in her new relationship (and
By the time I was 15, my mother’s alcohol problem had become severe. Her marriage ended. Divorced, no career skills, she was able to find a low-paying job. She kept sliding financially downward. My dad wasn’t great about child support. Evictions, loss of car, and domestic violence in her new relationship all contributed to her
Let’s take judgment about opioids out of the picture and name it for what it really is: a public health crises. People struggling with opioid addiction (or any addiction) are people who need compassion and help, not judgment. “Most people who become addicted [to opioids), like me, do so after a prescription for a painkiller
Quitting drinking is like getting out from underneath a manhole cover. It’s a big, weighty thing that threatens to slam back down on us if we aren’t careful….
Joy training for the addictive brain? Yes, it’s possible I’m happy to say. I was at my brother Lee’s 12 Step N.A. meeting when he got his 1 year chip. Yeah Lee!! There were 100 people in the room celebrating each other for their hard work to stay sober from 1 year to 28 years.
Pills for problems – can’t take just one. Pills, pills, pills. By pills I mean Vicodin, Lortab, OxyContin. So many pills for so many problems. Got pain? Feeling sad or blue? Not happy enough? Or, do you just want to get high? Take a few pills. As an addiction counselor I’ve seen the number of
Is Dr. Drew Pinsky is responsible for the celebrity death of Mindy McCready, a 37-year-old country singer who appeared on his “Celebrity Rehab” television show?* No, not fully, but certainly he is partiaily responsible. Like Dr. Phil who has clients on TV for entertainment value, so does Dr. Drew. Dr. Pinsky says he hasn’t seen