Do resolutions work? The short answer is not usually. The long answer has more to do with understanding how we form habits and what motivates us to replace old habits with more progressive expressions of intent. The practice of setting New Year’s resolutions is connected to the belief that entering a new year is like...Read More

Breaking the Mold While advertising campaigns and the media often portray the holiday season in the same merry ways every year, sometimes people in recovery feel there are more complications than joys during this time. They might find it challenging to talk with relatives about where they are in sobriety, or struggle with a sense...Read More

A Connection Many people who experience anxiety are also challenged by substance abuse. Additionally, researchers have reason to believe that anxiety—and other mood disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—contribute to the reasons why someone may become addicted to alcohol or drugs. It’s critical for healthcare providers, rehabilitation professionals, loved ones,...Read More

Video games date back to the 1950s. A British professor created a simple tic-tac-toe computerized game as part of his dissertation in 1952. To demonstrate the abilities of the latest analog computer and oscilloscope screen, a researcher in New York designed a tennis game in 1958. A few years later, a professor at MIT invented...Read More

You Want to Help When someone you love is in pain, it’s a natural impulse to want to help in any way you can. If you feel you’ve contributed to this misery in some form, the urge to absolve yourself and take away feelings of guilt or shame—even if you’re really not part of the...Read More

You’re working through recovery. You take a look around you and notice all that you have. How did you get so lucky to make it through this life-changing situation? You know what it feels like to be on the other side, fighting for your life and wondering how you are going to get your next...Read More

Americans love to shop. In 2018, overall retail spending in the United States exceeded $3.6 trillion. Retail e-commerce purchases in America totaled $517.36 billion—more than any other country. In addition, more people use smartphones to shop rather than laptops/desktops than ever before because of convenience—46 percent of online shopping orders are placed with phones.* There’s...Read More

An Overview Our culture has many misconceptions involving sex addiction. Sex makes us uncomfortable, and we attach to it aspects of morality that make it even more difficult to talk about. All of this makes it challenging to recognize the differences between a healthy sex life and a damaging, compulsive one. Compulsive sexual behavior disorder,...Read More

About Compulsive Behaviors All of us have particular habits and characteristics, so what classifies something as a compulsive behavior that may be harmful to you or others? Simply put, Psychology Today reports that someone exhibiting compulsive behavior does so “to relieve underlying anxieties or negative emotions. While the behavior doesn’t necessarily lead to any end...Read More

When you go through substance abuse rehabilitation, your body and mind receive a bit of a reset. Detoxification may help your system purge harmful chemicals, and an introduction to proper nutrition starts the rebuilding process at the cellular level. Cognitive behavioral therapy and other forms of psychological awareness provide a road map for new understanding...Read More