choice house blog

With COVID-19 vaccines available, the push for returning to “normalcy” has been the focus of the global community. Though, after a year of navigating the pandemic, you might feel exhausted, and the last thing you’re ready to do is to go full throttle back into how things were. There might also be many emotional and…

Rebuilding healthy relationships with yourself and others is essential in recovery; however, it is a process that will come with challenges, apprehension, and sometimes frustration. Remember, building self-respect will help you understand your limitations and pitfalls, therefore helping you understand the boundaries of what you or others can or cannot do regarding your recovery. However,…

When most hear the term Alcoholics Anonymous, they likely get a specific idea about AA in their head. It might consist of seeing a group of people sitting in a social circle and sharing their experiences about their life and alcohol use. However, because of how movies, television, and media portray AA, there is a…

If you are a parent managing recovery for a substance use disorder (SUD), your children might find life unpredictable, complicated, and confusing at times. Sometimes children even believe that your substance use disorder is their fault. Dealing with this can leave children feeling insecure and uncertain. For you managing recovery, the challenges of addressing your…

A significant component of managing recovery is taking time to listen and sit with your internal voices and feelings. The practice of mindfulness contributes to your serenity, health, and overall effectiveness in life and recovery. Therefore, if the distractions of the day feel as though they are pulling you apart and you’re becoming stressed, anxious…

A publication released by SAMHSA in 1914 estimated that 33 percent of the general public suffer from some type of insomnia-related sleep disorder, defined as difficulty with either falling or staying asleep. That is a little over one-fourth of the population who are operating on less than the CDC recommended seven-plus hours of sleep a night.…

Recovery is a challenging journey and sometimes can feel very lonely. Among the many obstacles you will have to face, isolation and depression are among the most difficult. Recovery is rebuilding yourself from within and rebuilding your relationships, though, at times, you might feel misunderstood and succumb to thoughts that nobody can relate to you.…

Experiencing a traumatic event that leads to PTSD can also lead to alcohol use. Drinking to cope with PTSD symptoms may be a form of avoidance as PTSD symptoms exhibit feelings of anxiety, stress, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. However, drinking alcohol and developing a dependency have similar effects on emotions and feelings. Therefore, in…

Although addictive disorders are mostly unique to each individual, recovery means an increase in leisure time as sober individuals. Clients in early recovery often report on the extensive amount of free time afforded them once efforts are no longer focused primarily on continued substance misuse. The question of what to do with this free time…