Have you heard of the Universe giving you three signs and when you see them, you need to listen? And listen hard. Shorts, bathing suit, dress for formal night, heels, check, check, check, check. Travel toothbrush, um, ah, dang it! Okay, keep going. Lipstick, check. I reach for my cosmetic bag in which to pack … Read More
I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office one day and overheard a woman talking about addiction…how it “impacts everyone” and how the addict “just keeps on using”. How she wanted to go to “those meetings” and tell “those addicts” just how badly they hurt others; how they need to listen to … Read More
“As a night nurse, I want to be able to tell clients that we are here not just for meds but also to listen to them” Rosemarie Stanton, RN, The Refuge – A Healing Place “Look at me. You called me strong. I always take care of you, my love, my family, my friends and yet I … Read More
When I work with younger people in their journey of recovery, one of the first roadblocks I encounter is combating their very destructive ideas about what fun and excitement looks like. I once had a mentor of mine describe insanity as changing our goals to meet our behaviors! To most individuals, running from police, getting … Read More
An addict can come to The Refuge and spend months, maybe even years, and do every assignment, attend every group and process their past trauma until their lips fall off, but they will still need to work hard at their recovery every day, starting the moment they leave our property. In my experience, it seems that once … Read More
By: Lisa Hicks, RN The Refuge – A Healing Place I am not writing this to tell you all the horrible details of smoking because you already have that information. We hear it on the television, the radio and the concerned relative. I am pretty sure it is common knowledge that smoking is harmful to … Read More
There is one thing the media and sports fans love: A comeback story. We’ve all seen the pieces: dramatic music, flashes of childhood pictures, a high school coach or two talking about “raw talent!” Fast forward to times of trouble, flashes of news clippings reporting an athlete’s DUI, public misconduct, violent behavior or all-around misbehaving. … Read More
By: Mark Rosen Case Manager, The Refuge – A Healing Place Clients with legal issues in treatment typically experience anxiety and fear about their current and future outcomes. Admitting to treatment alone can be an unnerving process, but imagine entering treatment with legal problems, and you believe that you might be facing incarceration after successfully … Read More
It’s hard to understand addiction sometimes. It’s really hard to understand when it’s someone you care for and they are looking back at you, clearly intoxicated by whatever their favorite form of controlled dissociation is (drugs, alcohol, sex, food/not eating food, gambling), and they are again lying, again manipulating and again doing all the things … Read More
Working with the human condition is like trying to solve all of those puzzles… There is a reason for human behaviors that are difficult to make sense of, but our behaviors always make perfect sense when we Unravel our story. Each piece of the puzzle that we discover adds to the story and ultimately allows … Read More
