choice house blog
Understanding the Difficulty of Holidays in Addiction Recovery
The holidays can be a difficult time for those in recovery from addiction. You may be exposed to triggers, such as friends or family drinking alcohol in your proximity. You might also feel stressed due to the holiday season, especially if you need to travel this holiday season. Individual family members may also be triggering…
How Do I Cut Out Old Friends That Encouraged My Addiction?
Recovery from addiction can affect your social life, as you find that some people may have been encouraging your addiction. As you take inventory of your friends, you may decide who to keep in your life and who to cut. Recovery can be challenging when you find that you need to cut people out of…
The Connection Between Nature and Mental Health
“The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Writer and Philosopher Being outdoors and in nature can be therapeutic for those seeking recovery from addiction. When you get…
7 Tips For Surviving a Bad Mental Health Day
Many people have days where their mental health state can keep them from getting out of bed or from being productive. Sometimes that little black raincloud just won’t go away, and it can be hard to imagine feeling the sunshine again. However, there are things you can do to help yourself get through these days…
What Are the Stages of Addiction Recovery?
Recovery is hard work; ask anyone that has gone through it. However, you’ll find that those who have gone through it and have been sober for many years will tell you that it was the best thing they ever did for themselves despite the difficulty they faced. Recovery is a daunting process. It appears as…
What Are Some of the Most Successful Relapse Prevention Activities?
Relapse prevention is critical to maintaining long-term sobriety following treatment. Creating a relapse prevention plan often includes recognizing triggers, managing cravings, practicing relapse prevention tools, and establishing a support group. It also includes contacting people for motivational reminders to stay sober. Taking part in appropriate prevention activities will help when it comes to those critical…
Defining Types of Trauma and Appropriate Treatment
Trauma affects people in different ways. A distressing situation may be traumatizing for one individual but not for another. The symptoms of trauma can vary, depending on the type of traumatic experience and how the person processes what happened. Mental health professionals need to understand the individual experience and the types of trauma that can…
How Does Getting Sober Help Heal Your Physical Body?
Addiction takes a significant toll on your body, especially in the long term. When you enter into recovery, you must go through the effects of detox and withdrawal and then begin healing. This can take time, but the physical changes will be a great motivator to continue the path to sobriety. Seeing the before and…
Understanding Dual Diagnosis Treatment
When a person has been diagnosed with a substance use disorder in addition to another mental health disorder diagnosis, this is called a “dual diagnosis.” Dual diagnosis treatment can be a little more difficult because the addiction and mental illness are being treated simultaneously. However, this form of treatment will give you the best chance…