With all that has happened in the world this year, life can be difficult to face. The level of difficulty goes up exponentially for those of us who have been using substances. With anxiety and depression levels so high already, substances just compound the issues....
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Recovery can be filled with all kinds of powerful emotions. As we make the switch from substance use, and behaving as people filled with overwhelming and compulsive behaviors to people who have more control over our impulses and emotions, we can also learn to cope...
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Sobriety is typically viewed from a physical point of view, as a complete abstinence from substances. This can be very difficult to achieve, as abstinence alone does not stop the overwhelming desires and cravings that we might still have for substances. When we become physically...
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Our thoughts are powerful. So powerful, that an entire style of therapy has been centered around how we identify and manage our thoughts. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an evidenced based treatment for substance dependence, and AToN's curriculum is centered on this treatment. Our residents learn...
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Many clinicians and treatment programs are talking about empathy these days. So what’s so important about this? I see a few values to empathy. First, it fuels connection with others. Connection increases a person’s sense of well-being and belonging. If you are going to community...
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Who’s this “we” that will rescue me From beneath this deep dark sea Not God nor Buddha will help me be To bring me back to sanity No, God or Buddha please let me be I need more time beneath the sea To find my way to restore me A healthy, balanced,...
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The struggle of daily life can seem insurmountable when people are unable to handle their emotions. A shortage of emotional maturity can make satisfaction a hard commodity to come by. This also makes it more likely that maladaptive coping skills such as substance misuse will...
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The "Should" statement. One of my duties at the AToN Center is to teach our residents to connect their thinking to their emotions and behaviors. One dysfunctional thought pattern that often arises is the "should" statement. Examples of this include "I should be sober by...
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Emotional Regulation is a key factor in sustaining sobriety. Recently, at the AToN Center, I have been working with a patient whose difficulties in keeping his feelings into some kind of manageable state lead to relapse after relapse. He discussed how when he would have...
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Isolation and loneliness have an overwhelming effect on drug addiction and alcoholism causing people to feel sad hopeless and abandoned. When we are actively using drugs to cope with depression, anxiety and stressful situations, we are doing so to avoid our feelings and reality. As the...
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