Only You Can Change You – MOTW

Although we need the help of other addicts, healthcare professionals and therapists to show us that there is an enjoyable life to be lived in recovery, and to realise that healing from active addiction is possible, only we can change what happens to us today, tomorrow, next year or over the next decade.

If you don’t like your current situation, only you, and you alone have the power and creativity to shape it into whatever or whoever we want to be, what we want to do or how we go about getting there…

Change Your Perspective On Your Life And Circumstances

Changing your perspective on your situation also helps to change what outcomes and possibilities are open to you.

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a solution or conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously by one or more people.

This great tool will help you to realise potential solutions or options to overcome your current circumstances and get you to where you want to go or achieve things that you want to achieve.

On Second Thoughts – Thought Of The Day

We all have had those times when thoughts of using or drinking come to mind, sometimes with real ferocity. For example, those days after lockdown has started to take one step back toward normality, you might find yourself wondering down a high street, past a pub and you suddenly glance at the cold sweat running down the outside of a freshly poured pint of beer or suddenly get a waft of that distinctive cannabis smell from someone else nearby.

Happy Easter Everyone

Happy Easter everyone! Today is an occasion to celebrate not only Easter, but also the work and determination that you’ve been applying towards your recovery.

Make Today Your Day To Say No!

45 Nicknames For Hangovers – Which Of These Do You Know?

Whether it’s the stinging headache that feels like a thousand hot knives behind your retinas, the 3 am kebab sitting just below your epiglottis threatening to make a reappearance, or the fact that any sort of sympathy is nowhere to be found, a hangover can feel like an awful time to be alive, and responsible for plenty wishing they bloody well weren’t!

Have some fun, how many of these 45 nicknames do you use? Are they new to you? Do you have any that aren’t on the list? Let us know by commenting or by emailing us.

BE AWARE THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND/OR SWEARWORDS THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE, READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED…

Where Are Young People Getting Drug, Alcohol And Addiction Information From?

The drug, alcohol and addiction education children, teenagers and young adults are receiving in schools, colleges or universities are severely lacking to put it mildly. So, in the absence of high quality education about drugs, alcohol and addiction, where are our young people getting their information from? Are they getting answers to questions they may have? Is the information they’re reading accurate and true?

In this article, we will be looking at these questions and many others to see where our upcoming generations are getting their information, advice and support from and why this isn’t always the best idea, in an attempt to prevent our young adults developing substance use issues or even full blown addictions and deaths which could have been avoided if they had the proper information, help and support from the beginning.

The Dangers Of Ritualised Behaviours In Addiction And Recovery And How To Overcome Them

When someone has a drug or alcohol addiction, substance use often becomes a ritual of its own. There might be a time of day or location where they typically use or drink, or they might always perform a certain routine before using or drinking. These behavioural patterns then become strongly ingrained over the course of a person’s life in active addiction.

Being able to recognise these rituals and knowing how to change and overcome them is a really important skill to be able to use if you want a long lasting, happy recovery journey.

They aren’t hard or complicated, but understanding them, recognising them and doing something about them by making little changes repetitively is the key to making these new, healthier changes to stick.

Thoughts Are Simply That… Thoughts!

Our minds can be a powerful force which can cause us to do both good or bad things. Our minds know just what to say to you and at just the right time for your mind to achieve whatever it is focused on. As addicts, we know this extremely well in the form of cravings

Addiction and Personal Responsibility: Who’s Problem Is It?

The definition of personal responsibility is the idea that human beings choose, instigate or otherwise cause their own actions. A corollary idea is that because we cause our actions, we can be held morally accountable or legally liable.

There are also various types of responsibility. Some are obvious types and others that are more subtle to identify.
In this article, we look at the various models and common arguments for both sides of the “argument” that are used to understand the role accountability and responsibility plays in active using or drinking, those in recovery and the family and friends of those afflicted by addictions.