Tough love is Nonsense and Only Worsens Drug Addiction

July 28, 2017

Whether you’re a parent, partner or friend, you might be told that a drug or alcohol addicted person you care for needs tough love. Don’t believe it. Love has always been understood as the gentlest of emotions. You might have to be tough in war, politics, business or some other place, but love is the wrong place. Love is a place where you can drop your guard, care unconditionally, and show your softer side. Isn’t that right?

Yet today we hear time and again that love ought to be tough. Of course, this “wisdom” is typically directed at the most vulnerable members of society: a seventy-year-old wino, a drug addicted working girl, a street kid or a welfare single mother. Funny how our culture is much less inclined to get tough with those who could handle a hit: the CEO, the pro athlete, or even the one advocating tough love.

Why Tough …

“Just One More Time” – Drug Addiction

July 7, 2017

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Center / Addiction Treatment Centers / Addiction Vs. Dependency / Best Treatment Centers Nationwide / Call to Action / codependency / Disease of Addiction / Drug Rehab / Family & Friends of Heroin Addicts / Heroin Addiction / Heroin Epidemic / New Age Recovery / Protecting Our Children / Recommendation / Relapse Prevention / Understanding Addiction / Xanax

There’s no way you suffer from drug addiction, at least that’s what you tell yourself. “Just one more time” you will say in attempt to convince yourself and others that you’ve got this under control. And you honestly believe you do, but after a while it becomes evident that “just one more time” has become an excuse to continue using masqueraded by the belief that you are not addicted to heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines like Xanax and Klonopin, etc. But it’s time for a reality check, if you are continuing to tell yourself and others that you will use this one more last time, you are very likely addicted to drugs.

How did you become a drug addict?

A lot of people think declaring addiction a disease gives drug addicts an excuse to engage in illegal activity without personal responsibility or accountability. But if people understood the depths of the disease and …

Do Relapse and Drug Dreams Come True?

June 8, 2017

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Center / Addiction Treatment Centers / Best Treatment Centers Nationwide / Call to Action / Disease of Addiction / drug dreams / Drug Rehab / Family & Friends of Heroin Addicts / Heroin Addiction / Heroin Treatment Options / NAATC / Recommendation / Relapse / Relapse Prevention / Understanding Addiction

A relapse or drug dream is often a very terrifying nightmare experienced by those in recovery from addiction and substance use disorder. Typically, an individual will dream of using drugs that they fought fervently to recover from. These dreams can be so terrifying and vivid even to the extent that the individual wakes up believing they truly relapsed and/or that they’re still lost in the darkness of addiction. Instantaneously upon waking, feelings of distress, regret, and shame come into play. For some, it may take a significant amount of time to recoup from such a dream. In some cases, it takes hours or even days. These dreams may even become triggers for a recovering addict, facilitating the urge to use. So do these drug dreams come true?

What is the Meaning of a Relapse Dream?

Let’s start with the meaning of the word “dream”. Have you ever tried researching it to find …

We Don’t Always Get a Second Chance – A Poem About Drug Overdose by Chanda Lynn

February 23, 2017

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Center / Addiction Treatment Centers / Best Treatment Centers Nationwide / Call to Action / Drug Rehab / Family & Friends of Heroin Addicts / Heroin Addiction / Heroin Epidemic / Heroin Treatment Options / Memorials / Overdose / Poetry / Protecting Our Children / Recommendation / Relapse Prevention / Understanding Addiction

Poetry has a way of penetrating deep within, stirring emotion and cultivating change like no other form of writing. It’s through imagery and words that poetry reaches and reminds us of deep rooted unfulfilled longings. Poetry helps individuals understand the topic it touches and relate to individuals on a much more personal level. Below, Chanda Lynn our newest recovery advocate, editor and writer allocates an alluring masterpiece that touches on the very serious subject of drug and heroin overdose.

Many members, followers, visitors and readers may be desensitized to the words “heroin overdose” because it’s seen and discussed frequently. But the seriousness of the subject can’t be emphasized enough. We are talking about a loss of life, the death of someone’s son or daughter, husband or wife, mother or father. The thought of a drug overdose may not scare you if the heroin and addiction epidemic has not yet reached your family. …

Does Taking Xanax or Klonopin for Anxiety Make you an Active Drug Addict?

February 8, 2017

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Center / Addiction Treatment Centers / Addiction Vs. Dependency / Avoiding Triggers / Best Treatment Centers Nationwide / Depression / Depression / Disease of Addiction / Drug Rehab / Heroin Addiction / Heroin Treatment Options / Klonopin / Recommendation / Relapse Prevention / Triggers / Understanding Addiction / Xanax

Statistically speaking many men and women who suffer from the disease of addiction have some other type of mental health condition or disorder. Similarly, addiction may be the resulting disease of ongoing drug use that started as a result of wanting to escape some of the feelings associated with other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, etc. Much like the controversy surrounding the effectiveness and safety of medicine assisted treatment options Methadone and Suboxone, there are some who believe that taking controlled substances, even if prescribed and regulated properly by a mental health professional for certain mental health conditions are keeping individuals enslaved to drug addiction. But does treating a mental illness with medication make those who take it an addict? What about medications like Xanax and Klonopin?

Two Schools of Thought: Does Taking Psychiatric Medication Make you a Drug Addict?

Some believe that taking prescribed medication as directed by a physician …

Understanding Addiction: Nature Vs. Nurture

January 26, 2017

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Center / Addiction Treatment Centers / Addiction Vs. Dependency / Best Treatment Centers Nationwide / Disease of Addiction / Drug Rehab / Heroin Treatment Options / Myths About Addiction / Nature Vs. Nurture / Recommendation / Relapse Prevention / Stigma / Understanding Addiction

Our online recovery community talks a lot about heroin and drug addiction and covers many topics related to it. But how many of you really and fully understand drug addiction? How does one become an addict? Is being addicted to a mind-altering substance like heroin the same as being addicted to gambling? Is addiction genetic or is it the environment that initiates the onset of addiction? Is addiction curable? Do addicts have a choice not to use? This article is an attempt to fully explain drug addiction in a way that’s easy to understand for everyone.

What Exactly Is Addiction?

Despite all the information available on this heroin addiction and recovery website and online, many still think addiction is a choice. People who use drugs choose to use them so we must also choose to be an addict right? Well, one thing I’ve learned during my research and by starting this blog is …

What Not To Say to a Grieving Parent Who Lost a Child to Heroin Overdose

January 7, 2017

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Centers / Avoiding Triggers / Depression / Heroin Addiction / Heroin Epidemic / Memorials / Relapse Prevention / Stigma / Triggers

People have strong opinions about heroin and addiction. And while the Kill the Heroin Epidemic Nationwide community and family encourages and supports open discussion and sharing genuine opinions good or bad, there are certain things that just shouldn’t be said to a grieving parent who lost a child to a heroin overdose. While most men and women know how to be tactful and a certain amount of couth and diplomacy should go without saying, it’s unbelievable just how many uneducated individuals have made a grieving parent feel ashamed and ridiculed for having a son or daughter who previously suffered from heroin addiction. This article is meant to provide some support and encouragement to the grieving parent along with advice to individuals they come in contact with related to what and what not to say about their lost child.

A Grieving Parent is In More Pain Than You’ll Ever Know

lost a child Unless …

Overcoming Depression & Developing a Positive Attitude in Addiction Treatment and Recovery

January 4, 2017

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Centers / Depression / Depression / Disease of Addiction / Family & Friends of Heroin Addicts / Heroin Addiction / Recommendation / Relapse Prevention / Stigma

As a heroin addict in long-term recovery, you may have been stigmatized and shamed by numerous, uneducated individuals – including some less than encouraging friends and members of your own family. Though others may not understand the disease of addiction, no one will understand its devastation more than a recovering drug addict and those closest to them. Many suffering from addiction also experience depression. In this article, we help you understand the purpose of emotions, how to overcome feelings of depression and how to develop a positive attitude about addiction treatment, recovery and life in general.

It doesn’t always feel like it, but life is full of balance; day is to night as night is to day. If you are lucky enough to have found a community to support you in your sobriety (like our heroin addiction and recovery forum) then it’s likely easier to cope with those who fail …

6 Tips For Making a Better Recovery and Life for Yourself in 2017

December 30, 2016

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Call to Action / Depression / Depression / Disease of Addiction / Family & Friends of Heroin Addicts / Heroin Addiction / Heroin Treatment Options / Long Term Recovery / Rebuilding Relationships / Relapse / Relapse Prevention

For many, 2016 has been riddled with addiction, grief, heartache and devastation. For those who spent the majority of the year living in active addiction, regardless of their drug of choice, 2016 was likely full of consequences. Even for those in recovery didn’t get away completely unscathed. For me personally, I’m still trying to repair my damaged and get a foothold on my finances even one year into long-term recovery. As a result, most individuals are ready for a chance and thankful that 2016 has now come to an end. For many, 2017 represents a year of hope, new beginnings and reinvention. Thus, below, we’ve provided 6 important tips and strategies for a successful recovery and life in 2017.

What is Recovery?

The answer is simple isn’t it? Just stay away from drugs and you’re in recovery, right? Well, that’s part of it but true recovery is so much more. Try and …

Why Relapse Isn’t a Sign of Failure

December 27, 2016

Category:Addiction & Recovery General / Addiction Treatment Centers / Call to Action / Disease of Addiction / Heroin Addiction / Recommendation / Relapse / Relapse Prevention

Addiction relapse can be a frightening concept for anyone, especially family and friends of a recovering addict. A recovering addict may relapse for a number of reasons. It may be due to some overwhelming stressor, grief or pain. Or an addiction relapse may occur because of some overpowering trigger that transformed into a using thought or reservation (plan to use drugs on a particular day and/or time). But does this mean you’re a failure and that recovery is simply not for you? Are you destined to be an addict forever?

Addiction Relapse is Very Common

Studies suggest that approximately 50% of all individuals in addiction treatment and/or long-term recovery return to heavy use of drugs. 70 to 90% of recovering addicts experience at least one mild to moderate “slip”. See “Relapse – Is it a Part of Recovery?” to learn the difference between a relapse and a slip. Very few people walk …

Find a Prescreened Addiction Treatment Center

Relapse Prevention