A Vaccine Against Addiction: Miracle or Menace?

Imagine it, a world with no addiction – a world where you can roll up your sleeve, take an injection and not feel compelled to use a particular substance. This is what scientists have been working on for years. Gone are the days when vaccines were just for a handful of childhood diseases. Now researchers are trying to develop new vaccines for different kinds of addictions, heroin, cocaine and even nicotine for people who have tried and failed to quit smoking. and help them live longer.

Cocaine Rehabilitation

Cocaine Rehabilitation Centre Cocaine Rehabilitation is a challenging process. The psychological addiction with Cocaine is very powerful, the user has a deep relationship with the drug because of the “pay off”. People often seem confident and powerful when using cocaine. The challenge we face at Bethesda is trying to see why people don’t feel confident and self assured without the drug and from there we have a starting point for change. […]

12 Step Fellowships and other Support Systems

If you understand the fundamental foundation of Step One “We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable” you will understand the need for a dedicated support systems. The powerlessness they are referring to in Step One is one of will power, in and around the substance or behaviour a using addict has little to no power over the decision to use. With that […]

Triggers | Associations

Triggers and associations are strong reminders of the past. For people in early recovery, a trigger or association can be the influencing factor which leads to a relapse. A few triggers are easier to see than others, for example the bar you used to drink at is a blatant reminder of your drinking. Most triggers are a lot smaller but just as powerful. For example, that playlist that always played […]

Do and Dont’s for Early Recovery

DO – Ask for help from people you trust In Early Recovery this is probably the single most important piece of advice for someone who continues to struggle with drug or alcohol addiction. The reason such a person is struggling is because they are dealing with a problem all by themselves, and they are constantly battling with the fact that they cannot overcome their problem alone. Many of us are […]

Relapse and what to look out for

Relapse can and does happen. Relapse is more than just using alcohol or drugs. It is the progressive process of becoming so dysfunctional in recovery that self-medication with alcohol or drugs seems like a reasonable choice. The relapse process is a lot like knocking over a line of dominoes. The first domino hits the second, which hits the third, and soon a progressive chain reaction has started. The sequence of […]

Maintaining Recovery in early recovery

If you want to maintain recovery and keep running strong, you need to take the same approach a mechanic would take when tuning up a car. But what should you do in order to maintain your recovery successfully? How can you react to the little signs of risk when they appear, and prevent larger damage? How can you cope with life after getting sober? In this article, we explain what […]

Conflict Styles and Consequences

Here’s the dilemma; chemically problematic men and women don’t do well in ‘relationships’. An extremely high percentage of people who try to get clean and sober but then repeatedly find themselves relapsing, relapse because of relationship break-down and the subsequently overwhelming feelings of hurt, loss, and failure. For too many people, conflict in a relationships spells the end of the relationship. That’s one of the reasons why many counsellors and […]

Forgiveness-Letting go of grudges and bitterness

When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge — or embrace forgiveness and move forward. By Mayo Clinic staff Nearly everyone has been hurt by the actions or words of another. Perhaps your mother criticized your parenting skills, your colleague sabotaged a project or your partner had an affair. These wounds can leave you with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness […]

Conflict Management in Early Recovery

It appears to be internationally accepted counsel for new-comers into recovery out of an addiction, not to get involved in emotional and romantic relationships for a period of up to two years. The reasoning behind this suggested discipline lies in the hope that as you come into recovery you will start to change as a person, so in two years’ time, if you have joined a programme of change, you […]

Exercise Addiction

Are you dependent on exercising (in an unhealthy way)? Regular Exercise Or Compulsion? Regular physical activity plays a crucial role in health maintenance and disease prevention. However, excessive exercise has the potential to have adverse effects on both physical and mental health. While the scholastic and empirical discussion of excessive physical activity focuses on obsessive and compulsive exercising…how can we everyday people recognize the symptoms of an exercise addiction? And […]

Complacency/Self Sabotage

Complacency sounds like this, now that everything is better I can stop doing the things that made my life better in the first place. Like a person that suffers from depression, once they start taking anti-depressants they start feeling better. The depression lifts and they start thinking, well I’m not depressed anymore so do I still need to take these pills every day? What makes no sense is it’s the […]

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