There is a lot of stigma surrounding drug addiction. A lot of misinformation, as well. One of the misconceptions out there is that someone “chooses” to become an addict. As if someone woke up one-day thinking, “I’ll give addiction a try!”

We could go on and on about the stigmas surrounding substance abuse and every little way most people have this wrong. The focus of this post is not on the misinformation. Instead, we want to focus specifically on what can cause addiction.

Addiction is a disease that is really hard to manage on your own. What many don’t understand or even some professionals is that addiction goes far beyond just the usage. It’s the mental, emotional, physical, and interpersonal aspects as well.

Addiction wreaks havoc on the lives who are affected by it. Not only for the person who is going through the addiction. But for anyone else in their life who they are close with personally. Here are just some of the ways that substance abuse affects parenting.

The struggle with addiction is year-round. It doesn’t cease or stop being a very real thing for the people going through addiction and their family and friends

Awareness is important. Without national or international recognition, many people are unaware of the issues that many people face. Here’s what you should know about National Recovery Month and how it can help those who are affected by mental health and substance use and those who are not.

Substance use is a continuing problem through the world and the United States. In 2017 alone, close to 19.7 million adults were going through a substance use disorder. It is likely that the number is even higher now due to the pandemic and world events.

If someone is struggling with addiction, we often just think about the individual. After all, they are the ones who have the addiction. However, addiction affects more than just the person with the substance use problem. We may briefly think about the family or friends of the person who has an addiction. But, little emphasis is ever placed on how addiction also impacts the family.

When you have an addiction, you know how hard the struggle with it can be.  Even when you are in recovery, the daily struggle to stay sober can feel like an uphill battle that never ends.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. It is a campaign that helps to spread warnings about the effect of alcohol abuse. It may seem silly that there should even be a month about this - after all, everyone understands that drinking can be dangerous.

Having a nutritious and well-balanced diet is important for everyone. If you don't fuel your body with the nutrients that it needs, it can negatively impact all areas of life.

Life has a way of pulling us in many different directions at once. At times, it can feel like we are on a never-ending rollercoaster…