Maria Bamford
For years, comedian Maria Bamford has been making comedy about her mental health struggles. She has a (very funny) song about her compulsions, which are part of OCD. She has a whole YouTube series about living in her parents’ attic after a nervous breakdown.[1] She’s made comedy about her multiple stays in mental health treatment, […]
National Wellness Month
August is National Wellness Month! This is relevant to recovery, because recovery is more than just being sober. It’s about healing physically, mentally, and emotionally. Wellness, too, is about all these dimensions of well-being. We tend to see physical and mental health as separate things, but they are very much connected. If you are in […]
Intermittent Reinforcement and Addiction
Intermittent reinforcement is when a person gets inconsistent rewards for engaging in a certain behavior. This is often discussed in the context of abusive or toxic relationships where there is a lot of back and forth. People can feel “addicted” to a person who is unpredictable or abusive; they get a rush of dopamine when […]
Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
While May was Mental Health Awareness Month, July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. The reason for the specificity is to recognize racism’s enormous impact on mental health. Minority Stress Minority stress is the stress experienced by marginalized groups from repeated discrimination and oppression. Often, many factors compound on one another, making maintaining mental health […]
PTSD Awareness Day
Today is PTSD Awareness Day. People with PTSD may experience involuntary and intrusive flashbacks of a traumatic event where they relive a trauma. When we are in fight or flight mode, it significantly impacts our behavior; this is one reason it’s worth noting that you don’t know what the people around you are going through. […]
What are Psychotropic Medications?
Psychotropic medication is an umbrella term for meds used to treat mental health disorders. They work by adjusting levels of the brain’s neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. There are several types of psychotropic meds. Some of these are anti-anxiety medications, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors antidepressants(SSRIs), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (SNRIs), anti-psychotics, and […]
Using Things Outside Yourself to Cope With Emotional Pain
I’ve heard addiction described as—among other things—using something outside of yourself to cope with painful feelings. This can happen even after you quit using substances; it’s one of the reasons many people with substance use disorders also struggle with other, behavioral addictions. Looking to things outside yourself to “solve” your emotional pain often leads to […]
Sober Stories: Bailey*
How’d you decide to get sober? I knew that my drinking had gotten heavier in the pandemic. As I started getting better with my eating disorder, I didn’t have an outlet for anxiety. When COVID hit, I had recently started my business [as a therapist]. I had to change everything to telehealth and figure out […]
Sober Stories: Doug
What led you to get sober? The Drug Enforcement Administration, basically. I’d been drinking and drugging for about 30 years. The last two years, I was using crystal meth heavily. I had a $500 a day habit, and to keep that going I had to sell a lot of drugs. Eventually the DEA put me […]
What are the Types of Depression?
Depression is a mood disorder that affects how you think, feel, and go about daily activities. Some symptoms include intense sadness, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, and lack of energy. There are several types of depression. Persistent depressive disorder is depression that lasts two years or more. Atypical depression, also called depression with atypical features, […]