No one sets out to be dependent upon alcohol or an illicit drug. Everyone has a family member or a friend with an alcohol or drug problem. How does it happen? I asked ten people who are currently in substance abuse treatment how this happened to them. What were the beliefs that made it okay […]
You can’t read the news without hearing about a celebrity who was charged with drinking and driving. Bad boy, Robert Downey Jr., is in the news again. This time, for receiving a full and unconditional pardon from California Gov. Jerry Brown. He was convicted in 1996 of a number of substance abuse related felonies, including […]
Elvis fans are familiar with the song, Blue Christmas. “I’ll have a blue Christmas without you I’ll be so blue just thinking about you Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree Won’t be the same dear, if you’re not here with me.” And when those blue snowflakes start falling And when those blue memories […]
When I was a child, I felt safe. I didn’t have a curfew. I just came home at dark when all the other kids went home. And as a teen, if my car broke down, a good Samaritan invariably came to the rescue. Perhaps the world was never safe but I never would’ve believed I […]
There is a segment of the population who doesn’t drink or use drugs. But many do. A small percentage of drug users become addicts, while the majority of people who use drugs do so responsibly. I’m not advocating for the use of drugs, but there is a misunderstanding about people who abuse them. Drug addicts […]
One can’t read the news without learning of trauma. This week, 43 people were killed in Beirut, Lebanon on Thursday, November 12th and at least 239 others were wounded. Paris was attacked by terrorists on Friday, November 13th, killing 129 people and wounded more than 350 others. The Islamic terror group ISIS claims responsibility for […]
I just finished reading “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction” by Patrick J. Kennedy and Stephen Fried. As a mental health and addiction counselor, I found this book right on target with the need to destigmatize illnesses of the brain. He opens with his hope […]
Motivational speaker and author Jim Rohn said “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Your income, weight, habits and even marital satisfaction is tied to some degree to the significant people in your life. Think for a minute about who influences you. Are your good friends, co-workers and […]
Some decisions are difficult to make. We can be stuck in a quandary of right and wrong, good and bad. Let’s consider tough issues such as whether to purchase and carry a gun. Or, decisions on how to respond to your friend who is a bully. Do you take a stand against bullying, or does […]
Drug overdoses from heroin or pain medicine happen more often than you’d think. Just last week, 74 people overdosed on the west side of Chicago within a 72-hour period. They likely overdosed on tainted heroin. I’ve written before about the high rate of overdoses in our local community. I surveyed a group of ten people […]