Posts by Julie Katz
Benefits of Pets During Addiction Recovery
Loneliness is one major challenge people often face early in recovery. It’s usually a good idea to distance yourself from old friends who drink or use drugs since they can be a major trigger of cravings. However, you may not yet have any friends to replace them. People typically find loneliness stressful and depressing. Chronic…
Read MoreCreating a Recovery Community
After completing a treatment program, one of the most important things we’ll want to do in our recovery is create a community for ourselves based on sobriety, mutual support and connection. While living with addiction, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, many of us grew accustomed to completely isolating ourselves from our loved ones,…
Read MoreGratitude in Recovery
Being grateful in life, and in recovery specifically, is a gift in and of itself. Gratitude allows you to find beauty in everything you see and experience. Gratitude turns painful experiences into lessons that we can appreciate and apply directly to our healing progress. Being grateful helps us to see the good in everything. Having…
Read More8 Tips for Living with Someone in Addiction Recovery
Finishing inpatient treatment for addiction is a great beginning to recovery. It creates a solid foundation to build on. If you have a loved one who struggles with addiction, you will play a role in building on that foundation if you want your loved one to succeed. Recovery is challenging for both the person in…
Read MoreResilience in Recovery
The process of recovering from our addictions challenges us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Recovery shows us just how strong we truly are. It puts us to the ultimate test. Recovery from any addiction or mental health issue requires certain skills– willpower, resilience and resolve being some of the most important. Resilience is our ability…
Read MoreIs There Any Such Thing As an Addictive Personality?
The idea of an addictive personality is misleading. There are many aspects to addiction and so far no one has identified a single personality profile for people who develop substance use disorders. What’s more, only about half of people with a substance use disorder have more than one addiction, excluding smoking. If an addictive personality…
Read More8 Subtypes of Depression
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 16 million American adults suffer from depression every year. Although we typically talk about depression as if it were one condition, it is actually an umbrella term that includes many related conditions. It may be helpful to know something about these different subtypes, since they often…
Read MoreIs This the Year You Get Sober?
Sobriety may seem like the biggest decision you’ll make all year, but it’s more achievable than you may realize. When alcohol becomes the centerpiece of our lives, for a while there it feels like everything is fine. We go out more, we have fun and socialize, and we drown out any of the pain that…
Read MoreWhy Goals Are Better Than New Year’s Resolutions
Around this time of the year, it’s common to hear people talking about New Year’s resolutions. Weight loss, fitness goals, smoking cessation, travel plans and more fill the air as friends and family share with one another what they hope to complete within the next 12 months. For years, New Year’s as served as a…
Read MoreApplying the 12-Step Program to Your Recovery in the Upcoming Year
With the New Year having just taken a turn, many people are looking to change their lives for the better. If you’re currently in recovery, you may plan to become stronger in using the coping skills you’ve learned, or to continue to remain diligent in your sobriety. It’s quite an accomplishment to have sought treatment,…
Read MoreWhat Are Some Mantras to Inspire Me This Upcoming Year?
Around this time of the year, you may find yourself wanting to add some enriching, meaningful activities to your daily life so that you can take your recovery to an entirely new level. This upcoming year holds so much hope – for many, it’s like a clean slate. As you reflect on 2018, we hope…
Read MoreTips for Celebrating Holidays Sober
Holidays in the US is always quite the production with high expectations and a need to have the picture perfect holiday experience. Drinking figures heavily in most Holidays celebrations, which can make it a trying time for someone in recovery. If you want to celebrate Holidays this year, here are some ways to do it…
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