Erin has a master’s degree in management from University of Maryland, University College, and a bachelor’s degree in special education from Townson University. Prior to entering the substance abuse and mental health field, Erin was a Special Education Teacher for 10 years. While sobriety is the crucial first step in overcoming addiction, recovery is the ongoing journey that supports long-term well-being and personal growth. Emotional and Mental Health Recovery plays a pivotal role in your overall well-being. These therapies can be custom fit to your individual needs, aiming to provide you with the tools to maintain sobriety and handle life’s challenges healthily.

To achieve full recovery, consider your motivation for change, including being a better parent, improving your marriage or simply leading a healthier lifestyle. Learning to identify and talk about your feelings is the first step toward living with them. You may have found it necessary to subdue your feelings with alcohol or drugs in the past. Talk therapy (even with an understanding and compassionate friend) is the beginning of welcoming feelings back into your experience. There is tremendous freedom in admitting that feelings are new to you and uncomfortable, even pleasurable ones. Learning to identify what is being felt can be an empowering and exciting new way of beginning.

Shannon decided to switch careers and went back to school to obtain his Addiction Counseling degree and certification in Human Services in 2022 from Anne Arundel Community College. Over the past several months, Erin has worked with our team to create a strong clinical program for our residential location in Buckeystown. In addition, she has enjoyed decorating and preparing a safe, comfortable environment for clients and staff. With her passion and drive to bring success to our residential program, Erin is excited for the opportunity to lead our team in Buckeystown as the Program Director. Erin is grateful to be a part of the dedicated, caring and compassionate Freedom Center Team. With the right support and unwavering commitment, you can create a life that transcends the limitations of addiction, opening doors to new opportunities and deeper connections.

Let’s Take the Next Steps Together

• If you’re having difficulty maintaining sobriety in the community, you may benefit from checking into an inpatient rehab program.
• These programs require you to live on-site at a facility, so you’ll be removed from the triggers in your daily environment.
• By understanding the different stages, individuals and their loved ones can better navigate the recovery landscape, accessing the right support at the right times.
• Tattoos that directly depict drugs or alcohol should generally be avoided as they can trigger past feelings.
• During this phase, individuals often acknowledge their addiction and begin to plan actionable steps towards recovery.
• Learning to identify and talk about your feelings is the first step toward living with them.

If you wish to contact a specific rehab facility then find a specific rehab facility using our treatment locator page or visit SAMHSA.gov. “You don’t blame, you don’t shame, and you don’t make any assumptions. We partner with most major insurances, enabling you to access premier therapy services. How 12-stepp…overy across groups.” Addiction Research & Theory, 2019. Check out the Sober Powered Podcast to learn more about how alcohol affects the brain.

And I know I thought I’d lost that, and people at Section Yellow thankfully said ‘We don’t have to lose this,’ and we’re gaining that back,” Farley said. Plageman is a massive music fan, and he may be an even bigger Packers fan. He’s a fourth-generation Packers fan, and his first Packers game was in 1993, when Reggie White played his first game against the Eagles. Today, Plageman is the caretaker of season tickets his Aunt Rosemary had since Lambeau Field was built.

If any area of your life is out of control, it will not help you maintain lasting sobriety. Once you do return to work, it’s important to create a budget and take steps to safeguard yourself as work stress can be a relapse trigger. Having a chaotic or disorganized lifestyle can also hinder your recovery. It’s important to develop a structured daily and weekly schedule and stick to it. If PAWS is severe or if you’re experiencing prolonged https://ativanx.com/2019/07/04/finding-parallels-between-and-life-4/ symptoms, a medical professional can help you work through them and remain in recovery without relapse.

The Role of Emotional Support Animals in Mental Health Care

Being sober empowers you to take control of your relationships, physical and mental health, and ambitions. Having a consistent daily routine and regular structure that tends to both obligations and prioritizes time for self-care can empower individuals to stay consistent and set healthy expectations each day. Despite any doubts or reservations, sobriety has many benefits for your physical and mental health. The most important thing is to have the right resources to pull yourself back up and build up your resilience to triggers, cravings, and stressful situations. Finding the right fit in a treatment program to overcome substance use disorder is vital to your recovery.

Reputable, research-based treatment programs select therapies and interventions to match your personal needs. For example, a Veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who misuses https://snm-mebel.ru/mebel-dlja-spal-39-ni/komody/komod-mdf-3-163-detail cocaine, doesn’t have the same needs as a stay-at-home mom struggling with alcohol use. This can involve friends, family, and professionals who encourage healthy behaviors. Supportive relationships contribute to positive emotional health and provide encouragement during challenging times.

How relapses inform better recovery strategies

The five phases of recovery include pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. This article presents 8 proven methods to help you stay sober in 2025 and beyond. From building a strong support network to giving back to the recovery community, we’ll explore practical steps you can take today. For many, returning to daily life after treatment means returning home to family, which is why family can be the strongest social support system. However, relationships within the family may have been impacted by substance misuse and therefore, require mending.

How to Manage Social Anxiety in Recovery

These daily recovery behaviors will help you stay on the path to lifelong sobriety. A successful recovery program is made up of many different elements and it looks different for everyone. A person in recovery is continually making an effort to work through the issues that caused alcohol or drug use to occur in the first place. When someoneattends rehab, they quickly learn that substances are not the only problem. Whether you are struggling with addiction, mental health or both, our expert team is here to guide you every step of the way.

Furthermore, therapeutic sessions provide tools to cope with addiction and self-destructive behaviors. For some, sobriety means complete abstinence from all substances, including alcohol, drugs, and sometimes even nicotine and caffeine. This strict definition is commonly upheld by groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), where the focus is on total abstinence to avoid any potential triggers for relapse. In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive guide to understanding and navigating https://www.errefom.info/author/errefom/page/101/ sobriety.

I then pursued my Masters in Clinical Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Social Work. While pursuing my masters, I also received my BCAT certification which allows me to work with clients with Autism. I have experience working with all age groups and backgrounds and have worked in hospitals, inpatient, outpatient, and partial hospitalization programs providing clinical social work services. Currently enrolled in a master’s program for Social Work, he is committed to expanding his knowledge and providing comprehensive care. Inspired by his upbringing in Bolivia, marked by poverty, unaddressed mental health, and substance use, he brings a unique perspective to his role as a Primary Therapist at the Freedom Center.

CT each day they’re hosting a gathering where people can just come and talk about football and learn about the organization. They’ve got a table and a trash can set up outside, and all they ask is that you don’t bring alcohol into the tent. Whether it’s recovery or mental health or both — because they’re inextricably linked — there’s long been a stigma around seeking help. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many of us being more introspective about our relationships with alcohol and mindful about drinking, which has led to more people seeking help. Tom Farley is the Community Outreach Director for Recovery.com, and his brother, Chris Farley, was a Saturday Night Live legend and arguably the best physical comedian of my generation. Chris suffered from substance use disorder and it took his life in 2006.

By understanding the five key stages of addiction recovery, individuals can set realistic expectations and develop effective coping strategies for long-term success. When you are sober, you have eliminated alcohol and drug use from your life. Though you no longer live under the influence of substances, this doesn’t mean that other unhealthy aspects of your life have changed. For example, you may still have poor or damaged relationships and behavioral health issues that need to be addressed. Acknowledging and celebrating the hard work of recovery is helpful for keeping you motivated and reminding you why you took this brave step toward sobriety in the first place.

• The Recovery Village at Palmer Lake offers comprehensive addiction treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions.
• An affirmation such as, “I am learning from every experience and moving forward with strength,” shifts the focus to resilience and perseverance.
• Keep an open mind, stay committed to your recovery goals, and don’t hesitate to seek help when you need it.
• “Recovery affects both people in the relationship—not just the one with addiction.
• Deirdre graduated in 2012 from Pace University and completed her bachelor’s at Columbia University in New York and has her Master of Science in Family Nurse Practitioner.
• Reach out to connect with a knowledgeable and compassionate admissions navigator, who can answer your questions, explain your options, and help you begin your journey to sustained sobriety.

Relapse, often perceived negatively, can serve as a crucial learning experience in recovery. When individuals experience a relapse, it highlights the need to reassess their coping mechanisms and support systems. Each relapse can uncover specific triggers, whether they are emotional, mental, or environmental, that led to a temporary return to substance use. By understanding these triggers, individuals can develop targeted strategies to avoid similar pitfalls in the future.