Addiction Blog. Insight and Advice
from Our Austin Area Addiction Recovery Experts.

Are you having to increase your Percocet dosage regularly for it to work? Does it seem like the drug no longer works at all? If so, it’s possible that you’ve developed a Percocet tolerance. This may leave you wondering — are you addicted to Percocet? Do you have a dependence? Is it time to start…

What can I do about prescription drug abuse as a college student? The situation for college students is getting more and more dire. Prescription drug abuse is growing and growing in popularity, with more and more college students in particular finding themselves battling addiction when they should be focusing on college. And this addiction can…

Although marijuana remains the most popular drug used today, prescription painkillers are found to be the cause of most overdoses. According to the first ever global survey of illicit drug use, prescription painkillers such as Vicodin, Oxycontin and Codeine kill the most people. The study also pointed out that men in their 20’s have the…

What can I do about prescription pill addiction? Right now, prescription pill addiction is one of the most rapidly growing – and one of the most deadly – of all forms of drug addiction. And even though it’s deadly, it still gets more and more popular. It’s gotten to the point where prescription pills such…

Occasional insomnia affects everyone, and it’s a rare person who has not experienced trouble falling sleeping or staying asleep through the night. If you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (”PTSD”), your sleep problems are likely beyond a diagnosis of occasional or standard insomnia. Sleep disruptions will occur at random, without predictable patterns. You might experience…

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can affect everyone. However, more vulnerable than most to PTSD are veterans. High levels of psychological stress in veterans can often pave way for alcohol dependency and other addictions. Problematically, this combination can lead to an exacerbated distress, acted out upon in different ways. A 2014 study published in the journal…

Military personnel are at high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. An estimated 11 to 30 percent of veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD – the exact statistics vary by service era. Exposure to combat, life-threatening missions and the stress of deployment all contribute to lifelong trauma after a tour of duty. Using a nationally representative…

My Heroes I had known that I was an alcoholic since I was 14 years old. I did everything alcoholically. As an aspiring artist, all of my heroes were either alcoholic or addicted to drugs.I remember reading a Hunter S. Thompson book while in middle school and becoming mesmerized by his drug fueled journeys. I…

If you are a regular or even an occasional cocaine user, the last person you are likely to discuss your habit with is your doctor. Cocaine addicts and habitual drug users often deny their substance abuse when confronted with it. Unless your doctor has detected evidence of your cocaine use, you are unlikely to voluntarily…

An addiction to methamphetamine is by far one of the most destructive of all chemical dependencies and can be one of the most grueling battles of your life when trying to quit. There is certainly no managing a meth addiction. It either consumes you entirely, putting you through some of the most disturbing physical deteriorations,…

Addicts and alcoholics who seek to recover their credibility after going through alcoholism or drug rehab will find that even the cliches are stacked against them. Consider, for example, the common warning not to throw good money after bad, or “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” A recovering addict’s…

As it stands in this moment, it’s near midnight on a Monday and I can’t sleep because, for whatever reason, I’m feeling compelled to write about two specific topics: Freedom and Happiness. Freedom (noun): the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action –Merriam-Webster, 2016 Before I got sober, I would have told…

Before getting sober, the idea of being in “recovery” was something I reserved for older people or squares. Of course, I could handle my drugging and drinking. Only losers or desperate sorts needed a support group and spirituality to endure life. The irony is that I didn’t evaluate myself in such low terms. Living on…

I’ve always been a social guy, and by consequence, I’ve always been surrounded by people. However, before getting sober, I had only a handful of relationships that had any depth. Nothing that I was doing with my life the few years leading up to me getting sober placed me in a position to establish any…

In & Out Of Treatment When I came into treatment I thought the nightmare was completely over. I was in a safe place. It was one of the best treatment programs in the area with some of the best odds for long-term sobriety. This was also my first contact with people who came in like…

FREEDOM IN RECOVERY Before I got into treatment and recovery one of the things (fears) that used to hold me up from even admitting that I had a problem with alcohol and drugs was the idea that entering into recovery seemed like a trap, like some kind of mental prison. I thought that once I…

RESENTMENTS One of the stumbling blocks for many people as they move through the early steps of recovery is that all important fourth step. I have known far too many people who got hung up on this weeks. I have known quite a few people who never followed through with this step and, predictably, they…

RECOVERY AND MEDITATION Drug and alcohol treatment and recovery often include various forms of therapy. There are group sessions for support and treatment. Some people have recourse to individual counseling. There are of course medical treatments for some of the symptoms of alcohol and drug withdrawal. But any of us can benefit from other methods…

INVENTORY We know from the steps that we must work through our resentments. “Resentment is the number one offender” as we are explicitly told. It is resentment that eats away at us and fueled our drinking. What better excuse for continuing a life drinking than the list of grudges and resentments we may have against…

PRACTICE THESE PRINCIPALS As we work through the steps of recovery, or the principles as they are alternately called throughout the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, things generally seem fairly evident as to how to proceed. Especially with the guidance of a good sponsor, each step prescribes a detailed course of action that leads us…

CEASE FIGHTING When I first came to treatment and recovery I was certain I was through. I had beaten myself up so badly that I thought I was absolutely resolved to give up the drinking and drugging life and do whatever I had to do to get well. I came into treatment, was handed my…