Hope & Restoration

Getting High: 11 Unassuming Household Items Parents Should Watch Out For

A teenage mind determined to get high is a breeding ground for creativity.  Everybody knows about the usual suspects: pot, alcohol, dad’s back pain pills, etc.  However, there are a number of ways kids can alter their consciousness even when access to the usual suspects is successfully restricted.  This week’s article, while far from comprehensive, covers some of the lesser-known ways kids find ways to stimulate their minds.

Is your loved one in recovery from substance use disorder? Healing your family in the process means mending the bonds, embracing each other’s flaws, and growing stronger in the shared journey of recovery. Here are six tips to help you as a family begin healing together:

For ages, communities have struggled with the complex issue of drug addiction, which has left a path of destruction in its wake. While there are many factors that contribute to addiction, one that has long perplexed scientists and academics is whether this harmful habit has a genetic component. Does the occurrence of addiction in families suggest a hereditary predisposition? Can we link certain genes to addictive tendencies? Investigating the complex link between genetics and drug addiction helps us to understand the fundamental causes of this condition and may have implications for prevention, treatment, and stigma reduction. Faith in Recovery explores the fascinating query: Is drug addiction genetic?

Addiction treatment arms you with the tools you need to recover. You learn how to manage triggers, cravings, emotions, and the dangers of relapse. Treatment centers provide a highly structured environment to help you focus on your recovery and a support system to help keep you motivated. But the actual test of your recovery starts when you leave the outpatient or inpatient rehab and enter back into your day-to-day routine.

Sobriety can be a long and challenging path. You may feel isolated and struggle to face old pain and trauma. Time in the company of animals can quiet your mind and help you to heal. Here are a few ways that raising animals can help you on your journey to sobriety.

Responsibility

If you have suffered verbal or physical abuse in the past, it can be hard to be on your own. You may find that the community that was most accepting of you also gave you access to addictive substances that were not good for your body, mind or spirit.

Addiction often has a hugely detrimental impact on all of the loving relationships in your life, from your parents to your spouse, children, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and even God. Many people who struggle with addiction question their relationship with religion and even turn away in anger and shame.

Reconnecting with God and spirituality can be the missing piece in the puzzle, and combining faith with religion often gives believers a new sense of purpose in life. It’s this new-found strength that can also help prevent you from relapsing.

The world of addiction is often misunderstood by those on the outside. From demonizing the addict to thinking they can just “get over it” or quit cold turkey, the range (and inaccuracy) of myths about addiction can be staggering.

If you have an addict in your life, it’s worth examining those addiction myths against the cold, hard light of day. Let’s take a look at the top nine:

Trying to help a friend with a substance use disorder can be challenging. It’s often difficult to initiate an effective conversation regarding their addiction and get them to open up to you.

While it may be difficult to find the right words to say and the right time to say them, it’s even more difficult having to watch them struggle. Substance use disorders are incredibly complex, and often worsen the longer they go on.

Myths About Substance Addiction

When it comes to substance abuse, many people have some preconceived notions about whom addiction affects, why a person struggles with substances, and the subsequent choices they make. The problem is that many of these ideas are entirely false and only further the stigma attached to substance abuse.

If you or someone you know has made the decision to stay sober – congratulations! You have taken the first step towards making a better life for your family, your friends, and most importantly, yourself. The journey will not be easy, but fortunately, there are many resources for you along the way.

One of the first things that you’ll want to take care of is making your home a safe space for staying sober. Your home should be a place of refuge and safety, but for many, it is also a place of temptations and failed attempts.