In the spring of 2015, after a stay in a psychiatric ward, I was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder. For a long time, I struggled to accept my illness. I was ashamed of it. The very idea of talking about it to anyone was embarrassing to me as if having a mental illness made me [...]
Oops, I Left My Anxiety At Home When you have had anxiety for as long as I have, it kind of becomes a part of your identity. Life without it feels great but strange and unfamiliar at the same time. My most recent episode of crippling anxiety resulted in being prescribed a ~very~ effective medication. [...]
I was lucky enough to grow up in a household with two loving parents who did their best to ensure my sisters and I had everything we needed. We had opportunities that many kids didn’t, and we always knew love and safety. Our home was not a broken one, and I never–not in a million [...]
The disease of addiction is to a certain extent like others disease where the person afflicted is required to do something in order to overcome their illness. It can be thought of in the same vein as other illnesses that are linked to unhealthy lifestyles, such as diabetes or hypertension, and like these illnesses, in [...]
Neural Plasticity in Recovery The old adage “once an addict always an addict” was the dominant mindset of society for much of our history. Then came the advent of 12 Step Programs starting with anonymous programs like AA and then NA. This came with an increased understanding within the medical and scientific communities about the [...]
Returning to Medications It was sometime in my early teens. Finally reached some sort of diagnosis for whatever the hell it was that consumed me. I was put on whatever might have the potential to work. My therapy at the time was a combination of help from my general practitioner, psychologist and psychiatrist. The psychiatrist [...]
A Bicycle Saved My Life…. By Gene Bowen – Founder of Road Recovery I still relish memories of my first bike, a 1972 yellow Sting Ray Schwinn with a banana seat, and as a 8 year old kid, I certainly relished the independence it gave me. Long before I learned to drive, riding meant freedom [...]
