Addiction Rarely Starts With a Substance People love to believe addiction begins the moment someone takes their first drink, smokes their first joint, places their first bet, or tries their first pill. But addiction almost never starts with the substance. It starts long before that, inside families, inside childhood memories, inside emotional patterns people don’t […]

The Home Kids Grow Up In When people talk about addiction, they usually focus on the person using, their behaviour, their denial, their treatment options, their chaos. But inside the home, the people most deeply affected are often the quietest,  the children. Kids living with an addicted parent experience emotional climates that adults would struggle […]

When Addiction Rewrites the Truth Gaslighting is one of the most damaging behaviours that show up in addicted households, not because people deliberately set out to manipulate their families, but because addiction demands secrecy, denial, distortion, and emotional control to survive. Addiction cannot thrive in honesty, so it bends reality. It bends conversations. It bends […]

Rehab saves lives, but not every rehab does. Behind the glossy websites and life-changing promises lies a truth few people want to talk about, some treatment centres fail. Not because people don’t want to get better, but because the system meant to help them is fractured, under-regulated, and, at times, more focused on filling beds […]

Anger is one of the most misunderstood emotions in recovery. We’re taught to fear it, suppress it, avoid it, as if rage itself were the enemy. But for many people who’ve battled addiction, anger wasn’t just a symptom, it was a survival mechanism. It was the fire that kept you alive when everything else went […]

No one tells you that recovery comes with mourning. You expect detox, cravings, maybe shame. You don’t expect grief, deep, bone-heavy grief for the version of you that lived inside addiction. It sounds strange at first. Why would anyone miss that life? Why grieve something that nearly destroyed you? But the truth is, addiction wasn’t […]

Unlike traditional forms of therapy that delve into past experiences, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) concentrates on present-day solutions and the future. It is a practical approach that helps individuals leverage their strengths to overcome current challenges. What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)? Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is a therapeutic approach that emphasizes the belief that individuals […]

About one in four Americans experience bouts of sleeplessness each year, which amounts to roughly 81 million people. Naturally, many people turn to medications to address their sleep issues. While this is understandable, as sleep deprivation can affect mood, memory, concentration, blood pressure, immune system, and relationships, certain sleep medications pose significant health risks, especially […]

Entering addiction treatment is a significant step towards recovery, and just as it is your choice to enter, you also have the decision to leave early. However, leaving before completing your program, whether it’s a 30-day or longer stay, is often not advised. Research indicates that the longer you remain in treatment, the better the […]