Early Birds Enjoy Improved Mental Health

I will admit to being a card-carrying early bird. I am known for greeting house guests at 5 am with a hearty “good morning” when they stumble to the bathroom or drink water before returning to sleep. Twilight till noon is when I feel most productive and alive. Watching the sunrise on a deserted beach, […]

Loneliness, Isolation a Mental Health Hazard – U.S. Surgeon General

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has released an advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection. It says loneliness fundamentally affects mental, physical, and societal health. The subject is personal to Dr. Murthy, who wrote the bestseller Together: The […]

Mental Health Awareness Month – Join the Community

  May is Mental Health Awareness Month, the time to bring attention to mental health and its importance to overall health and well-being. At the same time, we are also experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States. In a new Surgeon General’s Advisory, Dr. Murthy raises the alarm about the impact of loneliness […]

5 Benefits of Alcohol Detox Treatment

Alcohol addiction is a serious and complicated issue. It affects not only the person struggling with alcohol addiction but also their friends and family. Thankfully, treatments are available to help those dealing with alcohol use. One of these treatments is known as an alcohol detox treatment program. Sanford Behavioral Health offers alcohol detox programs that […]

an adult male sits on couch talking to his therapist about the benefits of alcohol detox

Real Life Recovery: Day Treatment for Addiction

  A standard directive in 12-step or addiction recovery meetings is, “Go to 90 meetings in 90 days.” They say this to encourage anyone new to recovery to immerse themselves in recovery in the same way they immersed themselves in their addiction. Recovery is the most important thing a person can do. But what if […]

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Michigan Alcohol Abuse Statistics [2023]

  The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS) has published current Alcohol Use Statistics [2023]. Not surprisingly, 60% of adults in the U.S. say that their alcohol consumption increased during the pandemic. 34% admit binge drinking, and 7% report extreme binge drinking. Men still comprise 62% of those diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder, […]

5 Family Therapy Goals

If your loved one is struggling with substance abuse, you likely have a good idea of how impactful the disease of addiction can be on the broader family unit. Rarely if ever, does only one person suffer when addiction is present. Instead, entire family or friend groups typically feel the effects of an individual’s addiction […]

a therapist takes notes on a notepad while discussing with the family sitting on the couch about family therapy goals

Ask Rae: Adult Children of Alcoholics Breaking the Cycle

Dear Rae: I am an adult child of an alcoholic (ACA), and I am in a relationship with someone who drinks too much and is abusive when he does so. I keep trying to “fix” the situation and drink more to make myself less anxious. This is not my first time falling for someone with […]

father and daughter holding hands to depict adult children of alcoholics

What is a Hangover? Why Aren’t Hangovers a Deterrent to Drinking?

Ahh, the morning after. Those who have overindulged the night before rise like zombies holding coffee cups to their foreheads. They dig in messy purses and junk drawers for painkillers and stomach settlers, piecing the previous evening’s events together like tattered scraps of paper. No one with a hangover wants to see the sunrise or […]

man with alkaseltzer and water for hangover

The “Big Game” Hangover. Have You Heard of Super Bowl Monday?

  According to a yearly study by the Workforce Institute, nearly 20 million Americans will miss work on Super Bowl Monday this year. Not surprisingly, the top reasons for planned absenteeism are fatigue, nausea, and hangovers. In years past, 34 percent of individuals over 21 stated that drinking too much during the game was a […]