Glimmers – the Antidote to Triggers
I had a friend say to me this weekend, “Everything is hard.” We were talking about technology (the ever-changing virtual landscape triggers her anxiety), but it could apply to almost any subject in the year 2024. There is a reason why 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness. As a person in […]
Looking Forward to Spring Mental Health (10 Ideas to Anticipate)
I am preparing for the family egg hunt next weekend. An extravaganza that accumulates new participants each year. It means dragging bins of plastic eggs from the attic, buying candy and trinkets, and planning brunch. Looking forward to the gathering of family and friends, children running on the grass, and the inevitable sighting of the […]
Is Alcohol Ruining My Marriage?
In 2017, I wrote an article about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce and the role alcohol played in their relationship’s demise. Brangelina was secondary to the theme of the article, but it has gone on to garner more than 150,000 views over the years. I have updated it many times, and it remains […]
The “Big Game” Hangover. Have You Heard of Super Bowl Monday?
According to a yearly study by the Workforce Institute, nearly 26 million Americans will be late or miss work on Super Bowl Monday this year. Not surprisingly, the top reasons for planned absenteeism are fatigue, nausea, and hangovers. In years past, 34 percent of individuals over 21 stated that drinking too much during the […]
Damp or Dry Lifestyle? The Trend Toward Sobriety
Recently, I met a friend for dinner at a local restaurant packed with partiers. I arrived first for our reservation and ordered my usual recovery cocktail of gassy water in a wine glass with a splash of cranberry. Some therapists I’ve spoken with say the wine glass could be triggering, but after ten years of […]
10 Tips for a Thankful Sober Holiday
As a person in recovery, I am thankful every day. During the holidays, I am particularly aware of my blessings, and this is Thanksgiving, the time to be loud and proud about the things one is grateful for. I do remember the early days of recovery and how nervous I was that the festivities would […]
Holiday Anxiety – Women Feel It More Than Men
It’s almost the Thanksgiving holiday, a time for gratitude and reminiscence about holidays past, but my memories of Thanksgiving mostly involve my angst-ridden mother bustling about while the rest of the family watched the Macy’s parade and played cards. She used to do this predictable “thing” whenever I would indicate frailty, especially during the holidays. […]
The Healing Power of Laughter in Mental Health Treatment
I once heard a comedian say the least funny thing one can do is explain a joke or analyze why something is funny. That is probably because laughter signals a deep connection that is hard to explain. If you find yourself describing a joke, you are bombing as a comedian or missing the shared experience […]
The Isolation of Addiction
At Sanford Behavioral Health, we have a case study of a client in the final days of their isolation and active addiction. They were a smoker but not allowed to light up in the house. So, this individual would take a bottle of Jack Daniels to an unheated garage behind their house, sit on a […]
Do I Drink Too Much?
I used to live in The Bahamas, where drinking in the morning is called (somewhat facetiously) “Bahamian breakfast.” It was not shocking to see someone walking on the Government Dock at 7:00 a.m. with a beer in one hand and a power tool in the other. No one looked askance when a tipsy tourist slurred, […]
