Pathways Real Life Recovery News

When people think of the addiction recovery journey, they usually focus on detox and rehab. However, breaking the chemical hold on the body is just the first step. If someone you care about is going through this process, you can help by motivating them in the next steps to a life free of substance addiction.

New Year’s resolutions are never about perfection, but rather making progress. It is difficult for many people to make New Year resolutions and abide by them for 365 days in a year, especially when their resolution concerns changing a habit they are used to or that is addictive. People need to realize that making a New Year’s resolution is only a tip of the iceberg. The whole iceberg emerges when it comes to the implementation of the resolution.

Resolutions are particularly a dilemma for people looking to enter recovery from certain addictions. Drug addiction, habit addiction, and any other forms of addiction defy the very nature of a person’s willingness, motivation, and determination to quit. Addiction does not listen to you when you make that New Year resolution to stop using drugs, drinking alcohol, or even stopping the habit of watching pornography.  The resolution only holds for a while until the discomfort and urge to get back begins.

Addiction is a deceptive by nature and addicts as well as their loved ones often fail to recognize it as the debilitating disease that it is because it lacks the more clearly defined perimeters of diseases such as cancer. It is often easy for everyone involved to dismiss addiction issues as moral failings or personal weaknesses, and addicts frequently lose their sense of self-worth as a result of this type of judgmental reaction. Interactions with friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances involving anger and frustration over the addict's behavior further erode their self-esteem. 

With Mother's Day weekend nearly here you will see a lot of advertisements for gifts and flowers and other tokens of affection. But if your family is struggling with drug addiction or alcohol addiction, one of the best gifts you can give is the dedication to staying sober. Whether your mother is your inspiration for remaining sober, or you are a mother (or father) wanting to stay sober for your children, there are many reasons on this Mother's Day to choose sobriety. Pathways Real Life Recovery is here to help.

For 100 years, the so called “war on drugs” has waged. Thousands and thousands of people have lost their lives, few of that number being actual addicts. Billions have been spent, yet the rates of addiction and drug sales are going nowhere but up—Why? Every day in Utah, another loved one of an addict finds themselves asking that question, “Why?” It is the same question asked by the world renowned author of the book “Chasing the Scream”, Johann Hari, when she set out on her eye-opening 30,000 mile journey around the globe to find the answer. What she found was astonishing. Everything that society has been taught, everything that people think they know and everything that is believed about the “war on drugs,” as well as addiction, is wrong.