The rules state: We support everyone’s path to recovery, including Suboxone, Subutex, Methadone, Vivitrol, cannabis and kratom. We do not allow any debate as to whether or not being on maintenance meds means you are or aren’t clean.
Tag: Tessa Torgeson
When Treatment Professionals Relapse: Shattering the Stigma
We are treatment professionals: we are trained to help our clients navigate addiction and mental health crises. We aren’t supposed to relapse and have crises ourselves. In my last article about helping professionals who struggle with addiction and relapse, I wrote about how 37 to 57% of addiction treatment professionals are in recovery and 14.7% relapse over their… Continue reading When Treatment Professionals Relapse: Shattering the Stigma
"Dopesick Nation" Shows Reality of Treatment Professionals Who Struggle with Addiction
Dopesick Nation explores addiction treatment and the thin line between interventionist and client, recovery and relapse. Note: This piece contains spoilers for Dopesick Nation As a former social worker in recovery from addiction, I was initially skeptical of the VICELAND Series Dopesick Nation because I thought it would follow the familiar formula of A&E’s Intervention… Continue reading "Dopesick Nation" Shows Reality of Treatment Professionals Who Struggle with Addiction
How to Taper Off Suboxone: A Survival Guide
“Fear is common and normal for a number of reasons, but the fear usually gives way to a sense of confidence and optimism when a taper is done correctly…Be patient.” Note: This article is not intended as a replacement for medical advice. This is merely the experience of 21 people interviewed by the author who… Continue reading How to Taper Off Suboxone: A Survival Guide
In Praise of the Geographical Cure
For me, leaving was about survival and going back to supportive friends and family who had known me my whole life and who would give me a temporary place to stay. When I moved to the city of my dreams, I drove my Navy Subaru Impreza stuffed so full that I couldn’t see out of… Continue reading In Praise of the Geographical Cure
A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Finding a Suboxone Clinic
It took me 10 hours of phone calls, 20 voicemails, 3 chewed fingernails, and many packs of cigarettes before I found a Suboxone provider in my new town. This is the list I wish I had then. When I pulled a “geographic” a few years ago, leaving Portland for my home state of North Dakota,… Continue reading A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Finding a Suboxone Clinic
Let’s Get Real: How To Handle the Tough Stuff in Recovery Without Using
Of course, people had good reason to think that I couldn’t handle upsetting news. Every time a hardship, breakup, or something unsettling happened, I wound up in the psych ward, detox, ER, or a bloody, tear-filled mess. When I was drinking, I was the girl who took pulls of rail vodka right from the bottle.… Continue reading Let’s Get Real: How To Handle the Tough Stuff in Recovery Without Using
Embracing Pride and the LGBT+ Community in Recovery
“The sense of having two selves was the root of my addiction, especially in the beginning. It was exhausting to play a role I didn’t want.” Ten years ago, I was both terrified and ecstatic to go to my first ever LGBT Pride Parade. I knew that I was attracted to both men and women,… Continue reading Embracing Pride and the LGBT+ Community in Recovery
So You Want to Write About Addicts
At its best, addict lit satiates our quintessential human yearning for stories that may lead to salvation. We want warm fuzzies. We want sweet, sweet, redemption. We started each morning of residential treatment with burned muffins, a house meeting, and introductions. “My name is Tom and I’m a junkie here on vacation. My goal today… Continue reading So You Want to Write About Addicts
