Using Alcohol To Self-Medicate

Teen stops self-medicating with alcohol.

Teens trying to mask or suppress pain caused by trauma, loneliness, social stress, insecurity, and anxiety can turn to a behavior whose negative consequences include addiction and even death: self-medicating with alcohol. Learn about using alcohol to self-medicate and how you can help your teen overcome this dangerous behavior. What Is Self-Medication? It’s not hard…

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The Treacherous Path of Meth Addiction

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Most of the time, when you choose a path in life, you can easily choose another path at any time. That is rarely the case with addiction, because addiction is a path that requires much effort to leave behind. One of the most difficult paths to leave behind is the path of meth addiction. Not…

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Protecting Yourself from Relapse

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After spending all of that effort in treatment, the last thing you want now is to relapse. But that is so much easier said than done. If you have used substances for any length of time, it can be very difficult to maintain sobriety. There are going to be times of stress, old friends who…

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How Marijuana Impacts Our Mental Health

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The legalization of marijuana in so many states has made the drug incredibly popular and even more accessible. There are so many different ways to ingest it, and it has become very normalized. However, we forget that marijuana is still illegal for anyone under the age of 21. There are a lot of reasons for…

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Can I Become Addicted to Marijuana?

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Marijuana is more commonplace than ever before, especially since there are so many places where it is now legal to carry and use for recreational purposes. Despite the fact that it is still not legal for those under the age of 21 to use marijuana, more adolescents are using it than ever before, too. However,…

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Double Trouble

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The fact that so many adolescents struggle with depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns is fairly well known. The fact that substance use is so prevalent amongst adolescents is not exactly news, either. However, much lesser known is what happens when someone with depression or anxiety also has a substance abuse problem. This is…

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What is a Co-occurring Disorder?

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You know you suffer from depression, you know that you also use substances. But did you know that there is a name for this? When you have a mood disorder or other mental health issue and you have a Substance Use Disorder, or SUD, then you have what is called a co-occurring disorder. More Than…

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Working on Two Fronts

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Dealing with mental health issues is difficult enough, but when you are also trying to maintain sobriety, it can feel like twice the work. When you have co-occurring disorders, such as depression and substance use, it might sometimes feel like you are fighting on two fronts.  That is not a reason to give up the…

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Having Real Holiday Fun

While chestnuts roast on an open fire, the added stress of the holidays can be hard to manage. Which makes it the perfect time to focus on our mental health and staying clean and sober. We want to have fun, enjoy good food, friends, and family, so this is a great time to do our…

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