It’s not easy to realize and accept that alcohol abuse has become part of your partner’s life. Are they a functioning alcoholic? You may see it more quickly than your partner does. You may recognize that drinking is increasing in frequency and amount. Your partner may seem irritable or nervous when they haven’t had a…
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The importance of nutrition is often overlooked in the recovery process. If you’re eating enough to maintain your weight, you may assume you’re getting everything you need, but that may not be true. “Recovery” means gaining back what you’ve lost, and in addiction, one of the things that people have often lost is nutritional balance.…
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When you think of alcohol abuse, what comes to mind? Your understanding of alcoholism might miss people who hide their harmful alcohol use. A person you know could be hiding their alcoholism in plain sight. Many people with alcoholism have jobs and parenting responsibilities. They take part in society and may include people you would…
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One of the standard therapies used for addiction recovery and mental health treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). There are many versions and forms of CBT, but they share the principle that thoughts and core beliefs affect feelings and actions and that paying attention to our thoughts can help us change unwanted feelings and behaviors. The…
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Treating all co-occurring mental health conditions simultaneously in a coordinated way makes addiction treatment most effective. When someone has both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and addiction, addressing both leads to lasting healing. Understanding OCD A study reported in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders found that 27% of people with OCD had a substance use disorder…
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Alcohol abuse is a pervasive issue, affecting people from all walks of life. It’s easy to think you would know for sure if you or a loved one had crossed the line and become addicted, but it isn’t always obvious. If you’re keeping up your daily responsibilities, it’s easy to make the argument that your…
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Many people think of ADHD as a problem for little kids. But ADHD affects over 8% of all adults, with half of them developing severe impairment. Also, ADHD has a connection that may surprise you: an increased risk of addiction. People with ADHD are three times more likely than their peers to have addictions. …
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There’s often more to addiction treatment than just treating addiction. Addiction frequently co-occurs with one or more mental health conditions, and treating them together in a coordinated and integrated way, leads to the best outcomes. Sometimes multiple conditions arise independently, but they’re often connected. There are different ways that substance use disorders and other disorders…
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Stigma involves negative stereotypes, labels and discrimination against a group of people. Although people can be stigmatized for many reasons and in a variety of settings, health-related stigma can be especially problematic. An article in BMC Medicine notes that it affects all quality care elements: diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. The authors note that stigma about…
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Addiction is challenging, and the stigma that surrounds it makes it even harder to manage. Social stigma, sometimes called public stigma, occurs when people have negative prejudices and stereotypes about a particular group, and unfortunately, people with addiction often find themselves in that category. Of the 18 most stigmatized conditions, illicit drug use disorder tops…
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