Dealing With The Winter Blues

After the holidays, many begin to become aware of the long winter ahead. There are no more distractions of holiday festivities and entertaining family. It’s just you, work, and the cold weather. The short days, lack of sunlight, heavy snow, and wind can weigh down a person. The winter can feel isolating and exhausting. You […]

Single Dad in Recovery: How Do I Cope?

Being a single dad comes with its own hardships, but raising children while in recovery can be a completely different challenge. What are some ways you can maintain your recovery while still showing up for your kids? Getting Better for Them Early recovery can be challenging, especially if you have children. It can become even […]

How Can I Give Back This Holiday Season?

Service is a cornerstone of 12-Step communities. During the season of giving, you might wonder how you can help your community. The holidays bring plenty of opportunities to help your fellow man. You might even consider continuing these opportunities into the winter. Try out one of these ideas this year or research what is going […]

Why Don’t New Years Resolutions Work?

As the year reaches its end, we often begin to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and what we hope to achieve during the next. A common tradition to bring in the new year is to set resolutions. These are promises you make to yourself for the following year. Common resolutions tend to be “Next year […]

Avoiding Winter Isolation

It might be easy to hide in your winter cabin when your door is blocked by a foot of snow. However, isolation can become dangerous for people in recovery.  Even in the winter, we still need to reach out to members of our community. Although it might feel like a challenge to make an effort […]

How Do I Stay Sober During The Holidays?

The holiday season is filled with parties, stress, family drama, and potential isolation. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, there are plenty of things that could cause relapse if a person in recovery isn’t careful. How can you have a safe holiday without endangering your sobriety? Dealing With Holiday Stress A major cause of relapse […]

Maintaining Your Boundaries During Recovery

With the holidays around the corner, you’re bound to be bombarded with questions and expectations. Your extended family might ask inappropriate questions about your treatment. Your friends might ask you to attend parties where substances are present. Your loved ones might ask you to give up valuable time in favor of holiday shenanigans. This all […]

Partying or Problem?

Whether you’re in a college setting or not, sometimes you may find yourself asking the following question: Do I have a problem with alcohol? Young men are more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol than young women. This experimenting can involve the amount you drink or use and the types of drugs you use. […]

Socializing Without Alcohol

For some of us, alcohol makes us extroverted, fun, and the life of the party. People around us do not know we are struggling with a crippling addiction. As men, we may feel the need to mask our pain by essentially functioning as free entertainment for the party or patrons at a bar. Once we […]

Benefits of Clean Eating During Recovery

Recovering from addiction doesn’t only mean recovering from substance use. It also includes recovering from a previous lifestyle. During your client’s addiction, chances are they didn’t take care of their body. They might not have eaten foods that were good for them, and they probably weren’t overly concerned with a balanced diet. However, many substances […]