[one_half_last]Welcome to this week’s Addiction Recovery Blog RoundUp. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you find this week’s selections useful.
Top 10 Questions To Ask Addiction Rehabs (Before You Go)
Here is a great “Top 10” list from Suzi Martel over at Addiction Blog. If you are thinking about going to a residential treatment facility for addiction treatment, these are all good considerations that should help to drive your thought process.[/one_half_last] I would add on to #4, when you are asking about success rates; make sure that you have the treatment facility define their meaning of success. Do they mean people that complete the program, individuals who are sober at 90 days or one year? Just be clear that you are both talking about the same thing.
Benefits of Moderate Drinking ‘May Be Overestimated’
For years we have heard statements about the research stating that moderate alcohol consumption might be good for your health. I have to say, I have been a doubter. Well, this week, Medical News Today is writing about a recent study supporting my doubting (smile). So this article is a research study finding so it may be a bit on the technical side. But I encourage you to read it as it has some good information. For those of you that won’t, I give you the summary at the end of the article: “…health professionals should “discourage” findings indicating that alcohol use – even at low levels – has benefits for cardiovascular disease and mortality.” As a side note, in a corresponding editorial, Prof. Mike Daube, of Curtin University in Australia states “Globally, more than 3 million deaths each year are attributable to alcohol.” That’s a lot.
Shame About The Past Related To Not Recovering In The Present?
Inside the Alcoholic Brain is writing about another research study this week that takes a look at shame. Remember, shame is “I’m a bad person” feelings versus guilt which is “I did something bad” feelings. So the theory here is that shame may be a risk factor for drinking as well as a predictor of relapse. For me, the key takeaway here is that therapists have to be working with individuals on shame issues. In order to move forward towards health, it is clear that individuals must work to identify how their shame is working in their addiction process and what beliefs and behaviors need to be changed in order to reduce the impact of shame. No small task really.
How My Notebook Helps Keep Me Sober (And How Yours Can Too)
Part of my job as a therapist, the way that I view it, is to give people new tools. Or help them learn and remember to use tools they already have. Many of us as kids learned to write in a journal, even if it was only for a few weeks. Remember the book you kept? Maybe it had a lock or maybe you hid it under your bed (or both!). And for a short (or long) while, you wrote some of your most inner secrets in there. As it turns out, journaling is good for you and can be another tool in your toolbox to help you get and maintain sobriety. Over at Sober Nation this week, there is a blog post about journaling as an adult, and in sobriety. The article identifies several ways that journaling can support your recovery. My favorite is: “Daily writing allows me to express the ugly parts of me, so that they don’t crawl out at the wrong time or explode all at once.” Couldn’t we all use a little more of that skill?
No Plan, No Chance
Here is another tool that is helpful for individuals, both those using moderation management, which is how this blog post at the The Moderation Manifesto is discussing the information, and abstinence. Moderation management may be appropriate for some people and that can be a discussion for another blog post. What I think is important in this post is the discussion about the plan. The author says: “You need a plan”. I couldn’t agree more. When you are working to change your drinking or drug use, plans are critical to your success. The concrete task of making the plans, saying the words out loud to others, writing the words down, and then following through with the plans helps to you to be accountable to others, set boundaries for yourself and others, and create new habits.
That’s all for this week! Have a great weekend!
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or codependency issues, Contact me today to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation to talk about how we can work together or find the right person for you.
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