Getting Honest: Is Marijuana Addictive?
Is marijuana addictive?...
Meth Psychosis: The Critical Details
In the heart of Arizona, our community faces a growing challenge posed by substance abuse, with methamphetamine being a particularly potent and destructive force. One of the most alarming consequences of methamphetamine use is the emergence of a phenomenon known as “Meth Psychosis.” Read on...
Understanding the Stages of Addiction
In the realm of addiction, the journey toward recovery is a complex and multifaceted process. Whether it’s the subtle recognition of an issue or the profound consequences that follow, the stages of addiction shape the path towards healing. Read on as we explore the various...
Fentanyl’s Deadly Grip Finding Hope and a Way Out
In the complex landscape of addiction, Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, has intensified the challenges in the ongoing opioid crisis, casting a daunting shadow over the path to recovery. With unmatched potency, Fentanyl has become a formidable contributor to a devastating increase in fatal overdoses...
Dopamine Addiction: Are We All Suffering?
In an age dominated by screens and the constant minor excitement of pinging phones, we are suddenly hearing a lot about so-called “Dopamine Addiction.” But what exactly is dopamine addiction, and do we need to be worried? According to the surge of social media hype,...
The Connection Between Alcohol Blackout and Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol blackouts are a terrifying reality for many problem drinkers. “Blackouts” – or memory loss during or after drinking, are often a sign of a deeper issue related to alcohol abuse or addiction. These episodes can be alarming and risky, leading people to make questionable...
How to Detox from Alcohol: What You Need to Know
While alcohol is a happy social lubricant for many, for others it is a poison that can lead to chaos and sorrow. When a drinking habit takes a dark turn, it can lead to a dizzying range of physical, mental, and emotional problems. Here is...
Remembering and Healing on Overdose Awareness Day
With the end of August comes a significant day of remembrance and reflection – Overdose Awareness Day, observed on August 31st worldwide. This day calls us to remember the lives tragically lost to drug overdose, raise awareness about the ongoing opioid epidemic, and extend our...
Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms: What You Need to Know
In a world grappling with the opioid crisis, Fentanyl stands out as one of the most potent and devastating opioids out there. Its grip on individuals suffering from addiction is relentless, leaving a trail of crisis in its wake. Fentanyl withdrawal symptoms are a formidable...
Identifying Co-Occurring Disorders
Battling addiction or a mental health condition is a challenging, life-altering experience. But what about those who have both? Co-occurring disorders, or dual diagnosis, as they are also known, are relatively common among people seeking treatment. It is estimated that approximately 30 to 50 percent...
Dazed and Confused? How to Detox from Weed
For those seeking a fresh start and clear eyes, learning how to detox from weed might be essential information.With legalization sweeping the nation, attitudes toward cannabis have dramatically changed in recent years. And while some may bill it as harmless, or even medically necessary, those...
Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms: What You Need to Know
Cocaine withdrawal symptoms can be powerful, devastating, and ruthless. What may begin as a hapless good time can devolve into a toxic merry-go-round. What’s worse, with the rising surge of fentanyl that’s found its way into the nation’s drug supply, dabbling can be deadly, and...
Rehab Center Roommate Benefits
When you first enter a rehab center, it’s natural to feel a wild mix of emotions—fear, uncertainty, and maybe some loneliness, too. However, there’s a hidden gem in the recovery process that often goes unmentioned: the connections built with others in treatment. In the early...
Fentanyl in Cocaine: Essential Information You Need to Know
In recent years, overdose deaths have continued to rise in the US – surpassing the combined total deaths that occurred in the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars. Partially underpinning this lethal wave is the prevalence of fentanyl in the drug supply, particularly fentanyl in cocaine....
Phone Addiction: Master How To Give It Up
Smartphones – and the wonders of information and distraction they contain – are powerful tools that were supposed to make our lives better. In theory, having the world at your fingertips and the ability to instantly connect with people everywhere is helpful. Yet, more and...
Is it Time for a Digital Detox?
To start, let us say this: if you are new to recovery and just getting your life in order, first things first. In this case, recovering from substance abuse or alcoholism should be a top-shelf priority. But if you’ve been around a little while, and...
Do You Have a Shopping Addiction?
Ah, ‘tis the season. Yes, for holiday celebration, but also for an unbridled consumer free-for-all, when most of us overindulge in our national pastime, shopping. Could you potentially have a shopping addiction? Here we will talk about ways to deal with a shopping addiction if...
Is it Time to Visit a Rehab Center?
Wondering if it’s time to go to a rehab center? Chances are, if you’re reading this, the answer is yes. Jokes aside, here are some guidelines for those who are unsure if their “partying” has crossed a line. You Are Having Health Issues If you...
Recovery Revitalization: Education After Addiction
School After Recovery Many of us who have recovered from alcoholism or drug abuse reach a point when we are struck by a strong urge to rebuild our lives and make up for time lost. For some, this leads to a decision to go back...
Benzo Withdrawal Symptoms
Benzodiazepines—often known as “Benzos”—for short, is the class of drug that includes Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin, among others. Benzo withdrawal symptoms are common as these act as central nervous system depressants that work by slowing brain activity. They are generally prescribed to treat alcohol withdrawal,...
Overdose Symptoms: Every 5 Minutes in America
For the last few years, we’ve kept a close eye on the annual overdose stats and faithfully reported what we have observed. Understanding overdose symptoms allows for potentially saving lives. Each year in America, the deaths associated with ODs rose, surpassing the deaths from AIDS,...
Addictive Drugs: The Family’s Role
The old adage is true: addiction is a family disease. Those who have fallen into addictive drugs typically need family for support. As such, a family can play an essential role in a loved one’s treatment and recovery. As addiction to addictive drugs and alcohol...
Signs a Loved One May be Suffering from Addiction to Pills
Prescription drugs – much like anything else – can be lifesaving when used as intended but can often turn into an addiction. No one should have to suffer from extended pain or other debilitating conditions. When over-the-counter drugs won’t cut it, such as when recovering...
Symptoms of Drug Withdrawal
What Is Withdrawal and How Does It Work? Withdrawal is a phrase used to describe the physical and psychological symptoms that occur when a substance is reduced or abruptly stopped. After stopping consumption, symptoms of drug withdrawal occur. When someone has depended on drugs or...
Managing Co Occurring Disorders in Recovery
Co occurring disorders are defined as having a substance abuse disorder as well as one or more mental health issues. These can be tricky to navigate while still in the throes of addiction as one issue often amplifies the other. Many people resort to self-medicating...
The Do’s and Don’ts of Early Recovery
If you are just starting out on what is, hopefully, a lifelong journey of recovery, discovering the do’s and don’ts is complicated. it might seem like tough going. We get it and have been there. Early recovery can be marked by anxiety, depression, regret, and...
Pink Cloud Syndrome? Early Recovery Challenges
If you’ve been “overusing” drugs and alcohol for years, your life is probably in pretty rough shape. Early recovery was not easy, and we wondered where the so-called “pink cloud” was. It’s easy to think that simply putting down the booze and drugs is the...
Clean and Sober: Take Slowing Down Seriously
When I stumbled into a 12-step program in my twenties considering getting clean and sober, in an effort to salvage what was left of my life. I found myself overrun by feelings of panic, remorse, and general anxiety. I sought out help because I was...
Detox for Alcohol: Is it Safe to Do at Home?
At home detox for alcohol or benzodiazepines (drugs like Valium, Xanax, Ativan), can seem easier, less expensive and more comfortable, but can also pose serious health risks. Most people are unaware of the potential dangers of withdrawal and are often surprised to discover that abruptly...
How to Help An Addict
To anyone wondering how to help an addict, here is the bottom line up front: You can’t fix them—there is no magic solution. Your support is helpful. Your indulgence is not. However, you can make the situation better for everyone by helping yourself. We know...
Signs of Addiction
Oddly, it can be astonishingly difficult to diagnose oneself as an alcoholic or an addict. Being able to see the signs of addiction becomes nearly impossible when we are in the cycle ourselves. Our lives can be burnt to the ground, in smoldering flames all...
Current Opioid Crisis
We are in an opioid crisis that is taking lives relentlessly. Tragic Deaths Due to the Opioid Crisis Swainson Brown was a beloved chef at a restaurant on Shelter Island, near New York City. One night in August, he consumed cocaine, which authorities said he...
How Long Do You Need to Stay in Treatment?
Let’s be honest—choosing the right treatment center for the right length of time can make the difference between life and death for someone struggling with addiction. And figuring out how long you should stay for the best chance of success can be confusing! Here are...
The New Meth Addiction Crisis
For years now, we have heard about the seemingly never-ending scourge of the opioid epidemic. In fact, on this blog, we have written extensively about the soaring rates of overdoses associated with opioids that break records each year. Turns out, a parallel crisis exists, but...
National Recovery Month Matters
September is National Recovery Month—a time when people whose lives are touched by addiction, alcoholism, and substance use disorder come together to raise awareness of the problem and celebrate stories of hope and change. Scottsdale Providence is proud to join in the celebration of National...
America’s Overdose Problem
As we’ve written about before on this blog, America is in the midst of an overdose epidemic of epic proportions – and it seems to be getting progressively worse. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just released their annual statistics on the country’s overdose deaths,...
EMDR: How, Where, and When to Try it
EMDR, also known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a powerful treatment modality often used with people who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related distress. Research indicates that trauma and addiction often go hand in hand, making EMDR a natural addition...
What is an Addict?
What exactly makes someone a drug addict, an alcoholic, or a substance abuser? For those struggling with substance abuse habits that are causing problems, figuring out how to get your life back on track can be overwhelming, especially when doing it on your own. We...
Overdose Crisis: A Battle for Survival
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published its ever-more grim overdose statistics, and it’s not looking good. The data set is published annually and tracks the previous year’s deaths attributable to overdoses as well as where those ODs occur and what drugs...
Record Setting Drug Overdose Rates
Drug overdoses are again on the rise as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. As we reported earlier, fatal ODs surged in tandem with the arrival of COVID-19 and its associated interference with routines, jobs, recovery activity, and essential health services. Recent research suggests that trend...
The Hidden Epidemic: Pandemic Spike in Overdoses
New data is pointing to a dangerous nationwide uptick in drug overdoses since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. Recent reporting indicates the spike is being driven by myriad social and economic factors – including a loss of funding for treatment programs, increased social isolation,...
How Addiction Affects the Brain
First things first: understanding what drives addiction is not generally enough to beat it. However – an understanding of the way addiction hijacks the brain can help to explain why so many people who want to quit find themselves totally powerless. Cognitive researchers have made...
Overdose Deaths Have Dropped But Remain Shockingly High
Recent figures released by the Centers for Disease Control indicate that 2018 saw the first decline in drug overdose deaths since 1999. Overdose fatalities dropped by 4.1%, compared to 2017, and the drop mostly involved natural and semi-synthetic opioids. Despite the improvement, the numbers remain...
Does Rehab Work?
As Shawn took a seat on his first day of treatment, the group counselor stood up and issued a dire warning: “Look to your left. Now look to your right. According to the statistics, two of you won’t make it.” Does rehab work? Shawn asked...
Fentanyl Overdoses Still On The Rise
For the first time in over three decades, the US in 2018 recorded a drop in the number of drug overdose deaths, according to the Center for Disease Control’s annual survey. The decline came almost entirely from a dip in the number of deaths associated...
Choosing the Right Treatment Center: 10 Things to Ask
Long-lasting recovery from compulsive and self-defeating behaviors is possible, and seeking treatment is a perfect place to start. Although, admittedly, choosing a treatment center can be a daunting and overwhelming prospect. Here we offer some guidance you can trust to help you find your way...
Finding Peace with Neurofeedback Therapy
By Megan Krause Neurofeedback Therapy Believe it or not, your brain really does want to be healthy. It might not always seem like that, we know. Sometimes it seems like our brain is attacking us from a million different angles. We’ve been there, too. Our...
Fentanyl and The New Face of the Opioid Crisis
The Opioid Epidemic The opioid epidemic continues to rage across the country, with a record 72,000 drug overdose deaths estimated in 2017, up sharply from the previous year, which itself was record-breaking. The statistics are heartbreaking, and often leave us feeling powerless in the face...
How CBT Changed Cherie’s Life
Cherie McMahon had always been a nervous kid. Her anxiety increased in her 20s, compounded by bouts of depression and obsessive-compulsive behavior. She was plagued by stress and self-doubt. She had insomnia. Her relationships began to suffer. Last summer, the 34-year-old Phoenix native finally had...
How We Are Celebrating National Recovery Month
September is National Recovery Month—a time when people whose lives are touched by addiction come together to celebrate stories of hope and change. Every year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sponsors Recovery Month to bring attention to substance use disorders and honor those...
Opioid Epidemic Evidence Overdose Stats for 2017
An Opioid Epidemic Early estimates suggest that 2017 is the deadliest year yet for drug overdoses in America. Some 72,000 people died—that’s 200 people a day or one death every eight minutes. This means drug overdoses in 2017 killed more people than guns, car crashes,...
Substance Abuse Recovery: Getting Your Life Back
After a long period of struggling with substance abuse disorder, finding a job can be difficult in substance abuse recovery. This is leaving you with nothing to do with your spare time but continue the job search and hope for the best. At least, that’s...