I learned to say No

Do I go cold turkey—to borrow a recovery phrase—or cut them off in baby steps? Do I continue to pay for things that support a drug-free lifestyle, like substance abuse counseling, sober living houses, rehab costs or sever all financial ties? What if they can’t afford to eat? What if they’re in withdrawal and ask

Addiction Treatments Past and Present – Repost

https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/treatments/ In the past, society viewed drug addiction as a moral flaw. Popular “treatments” involved imprisonment, sentencing to asylums, and church-guided prayer. Not surprisingly, these methods were generally ineffective. Today we understand that addiction is a brain disease characterized by fundamental and long-lasting changes in the brain. Modern treatments are based on scientific research. Treatment

2 Faces 2 Lives

I have found that I live with 2 faces, 2 distinct lives. There is the life as a mother of an addict and the life where I pretend everything is perfect. Until recently most people never saw the mother of an addict they only saw the mother of 3 with the great husband living a

FDA will broaden how it evaluates new addiction treatment drugs

https://www.statnews.com/2018/08/06/fda-expands-medication-assisted-treatment/ The Food and Drug Administration on Monday announced a shift in the way it evaluates drugs to treat opioid addiction that the agency says will give it more flexibility to approve new treatments. Now, rather than merely examining whether a potential treatment reduces opioid use, the agency will consider factors like whether a drug

It’s working!

I think that my son really has gotten it! Sticking to boundaries are easy though when they are working. It’s when they aren’t working that I feel the stress. But I am so very glad that I stuck to them about watching the kids at the last minute and every weekend. Once he took the

Boundaries Can Work

I really think it’s finally sinking in! Yes, boundaries do work if you don’t give up. I have been trying for so long to get my son to stop badgering me when I say I can’t do something for him. Recently it’s been watching his kids. Every day it’s another request and another outburst when

Recovery Doesn’t Equal Peace

I am finding that although my son is in recovery, many of his personality traits still reflect his drug use. He is very selfish, he only wants from others and isn’t giving. Everything he does has a motive behind it. He still tries to make others feel guilty and always has a million excuses. So

Repost – Understanding Addiction

https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/how-addiction-hijacks-the-brain.htm How Addiction Hijacks the Brain Addiction involves craving for something intensely, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences. Addiction changes the brain, first by subverting the way it registers pleasure and then by corrupting other normal drives such as learning and motivation. Although breaking an addiction is

Automatic Emotional Reactions

I’ve been thinking that there are times where I jump to conclusions with my adult son, times that maybe I overreact because I’m expecting him to have made a poor choice. But sometimes he hasn’t. If something is missing the first thing that pops into my head is that he did it. He took it.

Is Prison Healing?

Hebrews 13:3 New International Version (NIV) 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. As together with them – Feel for them as you would wish others to feel for you were you in their circumstances, knowing

Repost – 7 Tips For Mothers of Addicts

I am always looking for articles to give me guidance during times of stress and I came across this one to share with you. I hope you can gain something from this article by Suzanne Degges-White, PHD Suzanne Degges-White Ph.D. Lifetime Connections 7 Tips for Mothers of Adult Addicts Parenting adult children who abuse substances,

Family Love, Family First

Holidays can be both fun and stressful. Which was yours? I hope you were able to find a little bit of peace and relaxation for yourself. I was blessed to have all 3 of my children home and to share the day with friends and family. It was wonderful to see the little ones playing

Understanding Methadone

Repost – Article from Ashwood Recovery Methadone Treatment: The Good, Bad and The Ugly Home/Methadone Treatment: The Good, Bad and The Ugly He’s halfway sick and halfway stoned. He’d sure like to kick, but he’s too far gone. So they wind him down with methadone. ~ James Taylor, “A Junkie’s Lament” Methadone treatment for heroin

Repost -The Guardian, Russell Brand

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/aug/12/russell-brand-methadone-treating-heroin-addicts   Russell Brand: methadone is a bad way to treat heroin addicts Comedian backs abstinence as route to recovery Russell Brand has no compunction about calling himself a junkie. “When it comes to the disease of addiction I’m no different from any other addict,” he says. The 37-year-old comedian was hooked on heroin during