Mental Health

There is a significant correlation between addiction and mental health. One could even argue that in order to understand addiction, you must have insight into a user’s mental state. Learn more about the connection between mental health and substance use disorders.

How Impulse Control Disorders & Addiction Are Connected

Impulse control disorders (ICDs) are a specific kind of mental illness that regularly coincides with substance abuse and addiction. ICDs have also been linked to other problematic behaviors including gambling, pyromania, and kleptomania. However, long-term drug use...

Why Using Alcohol To Cope with Stress Doesn’t Work

Alcohol is often touted as a do-it-all wonderdrug that can fix any unpleasant situation, particularly, the stressful ones. Songs, movies, tv shows, and advertisements all perpetuate this notion that alcohol makes things better. While it can make you feel good at the...

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A Look at Bipolar and Alcohol Blackouts

Researchers and medical professionals have known for some time now that there are many connections between substance use and mental health. However, alcohol and bipolar disorder have an interesting effect in common: blackouts. In recognition of World Bipolar Day on...

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Guilt: The Heaviest Load You’ll Ever Carry

Guilt: The Heaviest Load You’ll Ever Carry

Not long ago, one of our staff had a friend post on Twitter to pose a difficult question. She wanted to know why, as bad as it feels to be accused of something which you have not done, it always feels worse to have actually done something wrong. The staff member in...

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Sex Addiction Is About More Than You Think

Sex Addiction Is About More Than You Think

We recently covered lust in our series on the Seven Deadly Sins, but we did not mention one seemingly related topic: sex addiction. To some, this would seem like a notable omission. That said, it was actually very intentional. We left it out primarily so that we could...

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Accepting Loss in Recovery

Accepting Loss in Recovery

We all lose things. Even people. These things and people may be quite dear to us, or they may be things without which we can live quite happily. But no matter what the circumstances, each and every one of us will encounter loss at some point in our lives. To expect...

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Emotional Disturbance: Highs and Lows

Emotional Disturbance: Highs and Lows

If there is one thing for which addicts and alcoholics are not widely known, it is our emotional stability. We may have our good days. We may spend years as high-functioning addicts and alcoholics, able to appear normal despite our intoxication. At times, we may even...

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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and Addiction

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and Addiction

This is a time of holiday cheer for many, yet there are some who react to the holiday season with absolute chagrin. While certain people may have various reasons for feeling a bit down as the winter arrives—separation from family, financial troubles that make it hard...

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The Disease Model of Addiction

The Disease Model of Addiction

We often refer to addiction and alcoholism as a disease, but what do we mean by that? We certainly aren’t talking about some airborne, Outbreak-style virus. Some non-addicts despise the disease model, as they believe it to be a mere excuse for destructive behavior....

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Five Stages of Grief: Acceptance

Five Stages of Grief: Acceptance

When we reach acceptance of our situation, we can begin to open up honest communications with those we love and stop trying to hide our emotions behind denial and emotional outbursts. (Dreamstime) This is the final article in our series on addiction and the five...

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Five Stages of Grief: Depression

Five Stages of Grief: Depression

Those of us who suffer from depression will, on occasion, need a literal shoulder to cry on. We cannot go it alone. (Depositphotos) We are winding down our discussion of addiction and the five stages of grief. Now that we have covered denial, anger, and bargaining, we...

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Five Stages of Grief: Bargaining

Five Stages of Grief: Bargaining

Our multi-part series on addiction and the five stages of grief continues with bargaining, the third stage. While the five stages do not necessarily occur in a specific order, feel free to read our articles on denial and anger for more detailed information on how we...

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Five Stages of Grief: Anger

Five Stages of Grief: Anger

There are healthy ways to express anger, but it takes a fair amount of understanding and self-awareness to realize just how unhealthy our general expressions of anger can be. (Shutterstock) This is the third article in our multi-part series on addiction and the five...

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Five Stages of Grief: Denial

Five Stages of Grief: Denial

Sometimes it feels as if a person in denial just won’t listen to reason. But we have to understand denial if we are to deal with it in a healthy manner. (Depositphotos) We recently published an introduction to our multi-part series on addiction and the five stages of...

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Addiction and the Five Stages of Grief

Addiction and the Five Stages of Grief

In the 1969 book On Death and Dying, Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross outlines five stages of grief that terminally ill patients must go through before they can begin to accept their fate. Less than fifty years have passed since this book was published, yet...

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