Author Archives: Alta Loma

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep in Recovery

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep in Recovery

Getting plenty of quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. Many studies have found that too little sleep can lead to more feelings of anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Even modest sleep deficits can lead to poor concentration, less self-control, poor emotional regulation, and other cognitive […]

5 Ways to Keep Anger from Ruining Your Recovery

5 Ways to Keep Anger from Ruining Your Recovery

Everyone gets angry sometimes. Anger is a normal reaction to being attacked or being treated unfairly. It can even be healthy if you use it to motivate you to make positive changes. However, dealing with anger constructively is hard. Too often, we lash out or act impulsively. This can have consequences from alienating friends and […]

5 Tips for Staying Sober While on Vacation

5 Tips for Staying Sober While on Vacation

A vacation is a great time to relax and recharge. Everyone needs a break from time to time and traveling is a great way to have new experiences and come home with a fresh perspective. However, it’s important to remember that a vacation from your regular life is not also a vacation from your recovery. […]

What Happens During Opioid Withdrawal?

What Happens During Opioid Withdrawal?

The opioid epidemic keeps getting worse every year. In 2107, more than 47,000 people died of opioid-related overdoses. With growing awareness of the problem, there are now more treatment options than ever. However, for many people, fear of withdrawal is a major obstacle to seeking treatment. Opioid withdrawal is almost never fatal but it is […]

5 Things to Do When You Come Home from Treatment

5 Things to Do When You Come Home from Treatment

Residential addiction treatment is a great way to start recovery but it’s still just a start. In treatment, you learn healthy coping skills, you have time to break old habits, you get started making healthy lifestyle changes, and you get therapy for any co-occurring mental health issues that might underlie your addiction. After treatment, you […]

The 3 Stages of Relapse

The 3 Stages of Relapse

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 40 to 60 percent of people will relapse within a year getting treatment for a substance use disorder. Contrary to popular belief, a relapse isn’t something that just happens out of nowhere. Although some people may have a personal crisis that quickly leads to relapse, there are […]

What Do You Do After a Relapse?

What Do You Do After a Relapse?

Relapse is common in people recovering from addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, between 40 and 60 percent of people relapse within a year of receiving treatment for addiction. However, relapse doesn’t mean failure. Many people relapse several times before succeeding in recovery. What matters most is what you do after a […]

5 Ways to Handle Drug and Alcohol Cravings in Recovery

5 Ways to Handle Drug and Alcohol Cravings in Recovery

Cravings are one of the biggest challenges in addiction recovery. They are typically most frequent and intense early on and they get less frequent the longer you’re sober. However, they never go away completely. A craving makes you feel like you must use again, even if you know, rationally, that you don’t want to. Here […]

3 Common Misconceptions About PTSD

3 Common Misconceptions About PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a condition people sometimes develop following a traumatic incident. Symptoms of PTSD typically include re-experiencing the trauma, in the form of flashbacks or nightmares, avoiding things that remind you of the trauma, being unable to remember significant aspects of the trauma, being unable to sleep, startling easily, and becoming […]

How Do You Repair Relationships After Addiction?

How Do You Repair Relationships After Addiction?

One of the main reasons people decide to finally get help for addiction is that they see how it has damaged their relationships. Addiction makes you prioritize substance use above everything else in your life, including friends and family. You may cancel plans, ignore family obligations, or spend the rent money on drugs or alcohol. […]