It’s Time to Quit Smoking, For Real!
Last week, the US government issued a statement that it’s time to stop vaping because of the health risks associated with it. This warning stems from the recent outbreak of illnesses around the country related to vaping. So far,there have been over 450 people diagnosed with vaping-related lung issues and 6 deaths, leading the government […]
Ride that Wave with Urge Surfing
Confession time … I love bagels. As a native New Yorker, it’s in my DNA to be pulled towards them. Unfortunately, it’s also in my DNA to metabolize carbohydrates poorly, so bagels aren’t really something that I should be eating regularly (according to my doctor, at least!). And yet, every day on my way to […]
Re-Thinking Communication
Human beings are social creatures; we are wired to communicate with each other for survival, for companionship, and for progress. After practicing this skill for all of human history, talking to another person seems like it should be easy for us. Yet somehow we seem to struggle with it, especially when we are trying to […]
Change is Hard!
If you are trying to change a habit, like drinking too much, eating too much, or taking too many pain pills, you have probably realized that changing behavior patterns is a complicated and often a very difficult process. Sometimes you may find that engaging in the behavior feels “compulsive,” like you can’t quite resist the […]
Let’s talk about Reinforcement
People spend a lot of time trying to change behaviors. Everything from changing your diet, exercising more, spending less, and changing your substance use is behavior change. In many ways, we’re so used to trying to change our behaviors that we don’t focus on the basics anymore. We just want to change better and faster! […]
The Willingness to Change
If you or someone you love is considering making a behavior change, you may want to spend some time thinking about the concept of willingness. It’s something you’ve likely heard before, the idea of being willing to change or willing to engage in something that is difficult. The dictionary definition of willingness is the state […]
Drug Addicts Simple Can’t be Trusted?
We are quite sure you have heard the phrase “drug addicts can’t be trusted” in the media, from someone you know as they talk about someone with a substance use problem, or maybe even your doctor or a treatment professional. Have you ever paused to consider the impact uttering that phrase could have on someone […]
When Substances Aren’t The Only Issue
For many people who struggle with mental health conditions like mood disorders, substance use is a common co-occurring problem. Studies have found that 47.3% of people with any bipolar disorder will have a substance use disorder at some point in their lifetime (that number goes up to 60.3% if we limit it to just Bipolar […]
No Pain, No Gain
People don’t use substances because they’re crazy. People don’t use substances because they’re bad people. People use substances because they get something they like, or want, or need out of it. As human animals, the things we do are motivated by what happens next: we repeat or increase our behavior if something good happens. These […]
Finding Your True North
If you’ve ever used a compass, you know that the little metal pointer inside is always pointing north. This is how people throughout time have been able to find their way through the wilderness. If you know where north is, you can orient yourself and get where you want to go. Even in the most […]
