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I had just been released from detox and was starting an outpatient addiction treatment program for the ninth time. “One day at a time”, that saying in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, still sounded corny to me, just like it had 8 times before. I was afraid. I was 22 years old, sitting in my childhood room on my twin

This book was inspired by the author’s success helping his brother Henry, who had schizophrenia, accept treatment. Dr. Xavier Amador shares his own personal experience with specific tips and recommendations based on LEAP (Listen, Empathize, Agree, Partner). He designed LEAP to help family members with loved ones who don’t recognize they have a severe mental health condition like schizophrenia. The

What are the best strategies, big or small, to help a loved one find and sustain recovery? Author JasonCoombs offers practical guidance to empower and educate family members and friends. None of thetips offered by author Jason Coombs are new. However, Jason used them and watched family members(namely his mother) use them to success. So he logically details his recommendations

I was born and raised in a small town called Adams in upstate New York. Adams is locatedabout an hour south of Canada so it’s the REAL upstate New York and I am proud of it! I havetwo amazing parents and an older sister. I began drinking around 11 or 12 years old and drankalcoholically right away. My parents also

This book is a mash-up of specific and directed meditative exercises and the neuroscience of why,biologically, each exercise bolsters psychological health. The goal is to increase resilience–to change the brain to respond to the inevitable twists and turns of life. Author Graham describes what she calls the 5C’s of coping, and describes how different exercises will increase oxytocin and fully

My paternal grandfather shot himself to death the year I was born due to depressionand alcohol addiction. My paternal grandmother suffered from blackout drinking herentire life and was charged with DUI in her 70s. Both my mother and father had severeproblems with alcohol use that included frequent physical and verbal altercations in thepresence of me and my siblings. My mother

Rick Hanson, PhD is a psychologist, author, and expert on positive neuroplasticity, who developed thisbook from his popular online course called The Foundations of Well-Being. In Resilient, he discusses 12different ‘tools’ which help activate inner strength and resilience of character. Each tool is a separatechapter, so I skipped around to chapters I particularly liked such as “Courage” and “Aspiration”. Thebook

Five years ago, on Christmas Eve, my fifteen-year battle with addiction reached a critical breaking point. I was detoxing during a family gathering on my aunt and uncle’s couch after days of consecutive cocaine use, numbing myself with counterfeit pills I later discovered were laced with opiates, purchased from my dealer. My grandma turned to me and asked, “Are you

While Stephen Porges is considered the father of Polyvagal Theory (PVT), author and clinician Deb Danais considered the leader in putting PVT concepts into practice. She believes that we all benefit when wehave a basic understanding of the way the nervous system works. In Anchored, Deb guides the reader to“befriend” your nervous system and use your “vagal brake” through exercises

It is September 1 st of 2018; Labor Day weekend was meant to be spent in Rhode Island amongst longtime friends. Sun-soaked days at the beach followed by cooler nights around a fire pit. That was not how the weekend unfolded. Instead, it was spent lying in a hospital bed with pancreatitis. I would go on to spend almost a