Adderall, an amphetamine meant for treating ADHD, is abused everywhere, especially on college campuses, where students share with friends—sometimes for last-minute exam cramming, sometimes for partying. When abused, Adderall acts similarly to methamphetamine and cocaine: it dramatically increased the activity of dopamine in the brain, causing a long, intense high–followed by a debilitating crash. How…
There exists a strong relationship between healthy eating and positive mood regulation. Sticking to three healthy meals per day, with few snacks in-between, is a great way to keep your body’s functions in check and boost your spirits in the process. After eating fresh fruits, veggies, and meats, we feel good and refreshed. Tryptophan is…
We come up with all kinds of stories to convince ourselves that we don’t really have to do something. It’s called self-sabotage. We don’t believe we are worth accomplishing whatever it is we have set out to accomplish. Even years into our recovery we can still act in this self-sabotaging way, which harms our…
A quick and flippant answer to the question “how does heroin work” might be “all too well”. Heroin and medical morphine have the same effect on a person’s brain and metabolism, and a person’s body converts both heroin and medical morphine into the same form of morphine after it is administered. The primary difference is…
Recovery goes through peaks and valleys, growth periods and plateaus. If you are feeling stuck in your recovery, ask yourself these three questions. What are your values? When we aren’t living according to our values, it can really bring us down. Suppose you really value fairness, honesty, and transparency but you work for a company…
We have to gain emotional intelligence in order to stay sober. Many treatment centers start their group therapy sessions with a chart. This chart is full of “emojis” faces that are expressing different emotions. Underneath the face is the emotion. The chart is passed around the group of people so everyone can “check in” and…
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This is a popular saying in recovery for people learning to live without addiction to drugs and alcohol. Radical acceptance is a tool that is spiritual and clinical,…
You’re in treatment, working hard every day to learn how to stay sober. Each day- you’re doing it! You’re staying clean and sober while gaining invaluable tools for living a lifestyle of recovery. Though you experience physical cravings and occasional psychological cravings, you really don’t want to use. You’re finding value in recovery. At…
Acupuncture can be used specifically for detox purposes. The ancient practice operates on the belief that the body is full of pressure points which are connected to channels that communicate with different organs and have different emotional meanings. When a certain point is tender, for example, it could simultaneously mean that you are struggling to…
Green energy comes from green surroundings. Immense amounts of research and personal experience has been paid to discovering how being around green environments might create a green mind. Rich in oxygen, pretty to look at, and relaxing, nature has a way of restoring the human spirit, as well as the human body and the…