Sober Living While on Vacation: Travel Tips for an Alcohol-Free Trip
It’s easy to let temptation rear its ugly head while you’re on vacation, but you did not work this hard and come this far to let a vacation cause you to stumble in your recovery. It’s okay to let loose on vacation as long as…
5 Inspiring Stories of Celebrities Who Have Overcome Addiction
When starting or restarting a sobriety journey, it can be helpful to hear stories of people who’ve been in your place before and made it to the other side. Understandably for many people, their sobriety is very private. There are also benefits to being open…
Why “Luxury” Treatment May Not Work for Young Adults in Recovery
Many rehabs and treatment centers offer “luxury” amenities such as extravagant pools, oceanside or mountain views, horseback riding, premier chefs, and large estates or mansions for recovery. While this may be a more suitable environment for more mature adults and professionals (in specific cases), this…
Utilizing Acute Care Vs. a Social Model
Acute care often refers to a fairly rigorous level of care for individuals needing treatment. It focuses more on the immediate needs during the late stages of active addiction. While acute care can be very appropriate for many, these care models are misdirecting for others….
Utilizing Post-Traumatic Growth to Transcend Mental Health and Substance Abuse Issues
As they say, trauma is the nightmares faced while awake, and it takes tremendous effort and perseverance to overcome and transcend, especially when compounding that with mental health and substance abuse issues. Post-traumatic growth empowers individuals to focus on self-improvement after experiencing life’s difficulties. Let’s…
What is “Weaponizing Mental Health?”
Weaponizing mental health is a common “defense” for doing something immoral or unethical when struggling with mental health issues, such as addiction. Sometimes, people may try to avoid accountability by using a mental health issue to justify their behaviors. While mental health issues are real and may…
How To Navigate Sobriety With a Family Who Likes to Drink
Similar to heart disease or diabetes, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a genetically distinguished condition. These genetic markers create a greater sensitivity to intoxication, increased tolerance, and alcohol-related organ damage. Often the environment plays little to no role in the onset of AUD. For example, a…
5 Lesser Known Facts About Drugs and Alcohol
March 20th through the 26th is National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW), an annual, week-long event that began in 2010 to help spread awareness about drugs and alcohol. Participants share the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and how addiction to these substances impacts the…
How Can I Stay Sober When I Live in a Party Town?
When you’re sober, feeling like there is pressure to party in the place you live can create a stressful environment. Even if it seems like you have to drink if you live in a party town and that “everyone is doing it,” there are always…
This is How Dry January Can Kickstart Your Sobriety Journey
Over the past few years, there’s been lots of talk about the potential benefits of a Dry January. Whether you want to improve your sleep, regulate your blood sugar, or need to save back up some of the money you spent on gifts, giving Dry…
Author – Chris Howard
Chris Howard is the Founder and Director of Ethos Recovery. He has a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and has served as a community advocate/mentor for men and women in recovery since 2010.