Brené Brown
Tomorrow, Brené Brown—research professor, NY times bestselling author, and celebrity in her own right—will be 25 years sober. When Brown was in graduate school, one of her last assignments was to develop a genogram, a visual map of your family history. After speaking with her mom for the project, she realized that a lot of […]
Sober Stories: Jamie-Lee
What made you decide to get sober? I didn’t like who I was when I was drinking. I became a belligerent, bad attitude type of person. I found that I was fighting with my partner only when we drank. I also hated losing memories. I hated waking up the next day and being like, “What […]
Staying Sober is the Best Way To Honor Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day! Whatever your situation, it’s a good time to be sober. If you have a good relationship with your mom, the best gift you can give her is your sobriety. Both of my parents were worried about me throughout my active addiction, and this is common. There is a lot of risk every […]
What is the Difference Between Curing and Treating?
Addiction and mental health disorders are treatable, but not curable. While these are both ways of alleviating suffering, they are not the same thing. Curing a condition means that you get rid of it entirely. Treating, on the other hand, is when you use methods to help control the condition and improve quality of life. […]
National Nurses Week
It’s National Nurses Week! The week ends on the birthday of Florence Nightingale[1], who is considered the founder of nursing. Nightingale was also the first to advocate for “recreation” as part of hospital care[2]; this was a precursor to recreational therapy, and an early acknowledgment that health includes physical, emotional, and mental well-being. National Nurses […]
Star-Studded: Ringo Starr
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, their drummer Ringo Starr spent almost two decades “lost in a haze of alcohol and drugs.”[1] “It got progressively worse, and the blackouts got worse, and I didn’t know where I’d been, what I’d done,” he said. “I knew I had the problem for years. But it plays […]
The Dangers of Holiday Drinking on Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo can be a fun holiday but also a dangerous one. It’s a day known for great Mexican food, holiday drinking, and, potentially, drunk driving. An alcohol addiction treatment program at TruHealing Centers can help many people with alcohol use disorder, but only if they survive party days like Cinco de Mayo. What […]
Releasing the Need for Control in Recovery
Sometimes I wonder how I spent so many years getting obliterated with alcohol and drugs, because in recovery, I struggle with a strong need for control. Active addiction seems like giving up control; your life becomes chaotic, and you can’t make clear-minded decisions. However, in active addiction, we’re often trying to control our emotions (which […]
Can Exercise Play a Role in Addiction Treatment?
Addiction recovery is different for everyone. Some people find 12-step groups helpful, while others might do therapy or meditation. Often, it is a combination of several methods. However, there are practices that tend to be helpful for many of those in recovery, and exercise is one of them. Working out releases dopamine and other neurotransmitters […]
Star-Studded Addictions: Sia
TW: Talk of suicide The night musician Sia wrote the song “Breathe Me”—a 2004 hit that was on the season finale of the TV show Six Feet Under—she tried to kill herself by taking 22 Valium with a bottle of vodka. Six years later in 2010, she again planned to kill herself. She had […]