When Is It Safe to Start Dating Again?
Coincidentally, the age when someone is most likely to develop a substance use disorder–between 18 and 25–is also the age when they are most actively …
Six Tips to Celebrate New Years Sober
With the end of December comes New Year’s Eve. For those of us in recovery coming up on our first sober New Years, it’s important …
3 Tips for Repairing Relationships After Treatment
Addiction is incredibly hard on relationships. When you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, you prioritize those things over everything else. Your personality may change, making …
Focus on the Process
The road to recovery from addiction is long and full of challenges. It can be hard to persevere in the face of setbacks and stay …
3 Ways to Improve Your Self-awareness
Self-awareness is the beginning of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence, broadly speaking, comprises self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. All of these parts are important …
Why Journaling is a Powerful Recovery Tool
Journaling is a deceptively powerful tool for addiction recovery. In some ways, it plays an organizing role in your overall recovery. That is, journaling can’t …
Why the Holidays Are Hard for Recovery
The holidays are often a challenging time for people recovering from addiction but with a little awareness and foresight, you can stay sober and have …
How to Resolve Conflict in Recovery
There are several reasons learning to resolve interpersonal conflict is a valuable skill for addiction recovery. First, interpersonal conflict is the primary source of stress …
3 Tips for Dealing with Loneliness in Recovery
Loneliness is often a challenge for people starting out in addiction recovery. It’s typically a good idea to distance yourself from friends who drink and …
What to Eat for Better Mental Health
Addiction and mental health issues often go together. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than half of adults and more than 60 …
3 Major Benefits of Group Therapy
Group therapy has long been a central feature of addiction treatment programs. This worries a lot of guys who are thinking about entering treatment for …
Do Positive Affirmations Work?
For decades, positive affirmations have been a tactic espoused by self-help gurus to help people make positive changes in their lives. The idea is simple: …
How Grounding Can Relieve Anxiety
Substance use disorders and anxiety often go together. One large study of more than 43,000 people found that nearly 18 percent of respondents with a …
Breathing Is a Powerful Way to Regulate Emotions
One major challenge of recovering from addiction is regulating your emotions. Negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, depression, and feeling overwhelmed are common triggers of …
Do You Have to Hit Rock Bottom To Beat Addiction?
One of the most persistent myths about addiction and recovery is that you have to hit rock bottom before you can recover from addiction. This …
3 Tips for Dealing with Shame
Shame is a common feeling among people with substance use issues. Many substance use issues begin as a way of self-medicating emotional pain or other …
What Do You Do When Life Feels Out of Control?
Everyone feels out of control sometimes, whether they have too much going on, aren’t feeling great, or are just lost amid the general confusion of …
Should You Be Drinking Coffee in Recovery?
Coffee and cigarettes have always been associated with sobriety. There’s an old joke that if you can’t find your AA meeting, look for a church …
When Feeling Good Is Dangerous
Most people with substance use issues use drugs and alcohol to cope with some kind of pain. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, …
How Reading Can Strengthen Your Recovery
There are certain things you see mentioned all the time when you research addiction recovery. These include 12-step and other treatment programs, psychotherapy, medication, exercise, …
Soothing Family Conflicts During the Holidays
Holidays are already stressful for many people. You have more financial stress, more social obligations, and more travel plans. Compounding these, we often eat worse …
Investing in Yourself
Many men have a curious blind spot when it comes to investing. We’ll spend months trying to figure out the perfect car or house to …
The Power of Small Improvements
When you think about turning your life around, you probably think of the big things–getting sober, getting a better job, finding a better relationship, moving …
Should You Worry About Relapse Dreams?
Relapse dreams are a common part of recovery. In a typical relapse dream, you might find yourself in a familiar situation where you have an …