Keeping it Fresh in Longer-Term Recovery

In the beginning of sobriety, after you’ve made it through withdrawal and detox, things can feel exciting. You go through fast, obvious changes. Some people experience the pink cloud, which is when you feel euphoria in early sobriety. Things eventually settle and you start to experience all the firsts in recovery. Then what were once […]
What Does it Mean to Thrive in Recovery

During the Q&A portion of a recent panel, I heard someone ask, “What’s the difference between surviving and thriving?” This is interesting to consider in general, but it made me think about the difference between white-knuckling recovery and thriving in it. What Does Thriving in Recovery Look Like? Like with anything, this is highly personal. […]
TruHealing Baltimore-Detox Now TRICARE-certified

We Are Pleased to Announce That We Are TRICARE-certified at TruHealing Baltimore-Detox TRICARE provides health coverage to 9.6 million active-duty service members, veterans, and their family members. It is part of the US Military Health System. This certification includes our detox level of care at TruHealing Baltimore. 1 in 10 veterans has a substance use […]
Self-Soothing in Addiction and Recovery

In recent years, the idea of addiction as an urge to self-soothe has gained traction. Addiction has historically been seen as self-destructive, but it can mean taking care of ourselves in the best way we know at the time. We think we’re protecting ourselves from emotional pain, but active addiction ends up causing more pain. […]
Memory and Recovery

Memory is a strange thing when it comes to recovery. Triggers are essentially memories-circumstances, people, places, or feelings that your brain has come to associate with drinking or using. But for many of us, memories from when we were intoxicated are distorted and fragmented. In recovery, we can feel grateful that we’re able to remember […]
Expressing Your Feelings in Recovery

Sometimes during active addiction, the only time we allow ourselves to express emotions is when we’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Then it comes out distorted, and we might say or do things we regret. We might not even allow ourselves to feel our emotions at all. In recovery, we have a chance […]
Why Are Basic Needs Important in Early Recovery?

When you first get sober, eating enough, drinking enough water, and getting enough sleep are extra important. The premise of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is that you must have these things in place before you can pay attention to higher needs like community, meaning-making, or self-actualization. This is true for everyone, and particularly so in […]
Making it Through Challenges Sober

When we get sober, our lives tend to improve significantly. I can’t think of any aspect of my life that hasn’t changed for the better since I entered recovery over seven years ago. Still, life is life; there will be hard times. Active Addiction Makes Life Harder Whatever you’re going through—whether it’s grief, stress, job […]
Emotional Age and Sobriety

Addiction impacts most aspects of life, so it can stunt growth on many levels. When our priority is alcohol or drugs, we tend to have less space to develop as people. In active addiction, we often blunt our emotions, which also blunts emotional clarity and personal growth. Changes in the brain make it difficult to […]
Coping With Anger in Recovery

Anger, like any emotion, is valid and nothing to be ashamed of. However, it’s an emotion that can feel overwhelming and make us say things we regret. A lot of recovery is about learning to both feel our emotions and respond to them in a healthier way. First, we typically need some distance when we’re […]