Drinking Problem? How Do I Know if I Have One?
Our Admissions Specialists regularly take calls from people on the fence about whether they have a drinking problem. The caller is often in trouble, but they don’t see it. Or don’t want to see it. We appreciate these calls because they provide a non-threatening forum to discuss addiction and the treatment options available in […]
Alcohol Use is Down, Cannabis Use is Up – Is There a Correlation?
A recent Gallup poll found that 54% of US adults drink alcohol. The latest data represents the lowest percentage since Gallup began tracking in 1939. In 2024, 58% of adults drank alcohol, and in 2023 62% indulged. The perceived reason for the decline is that beliefs about the health risks of alcohol have changed. More […]
Announcing 24/7 Easy Admissions – Because Crises Do Not Happen 9 to 5
Mental health crises often happen at night for several reasons. Factors may include intoxication, nighttime anxiety or depression, secretive eating or purging, lack of daytime distractions, circadian rhythm disturbances, lack of empathy or argumentativeness from family members, or even the need to urinate (alcohol is a diuretic). Nocturnal anxiety makes everything seem more problematic. Likewise, […]
The Consequences of High-Intensity Drinking
In an old Ella Fitzgerald song that has stood the test of time, she sings, “You say either, I say either. You say neither, and I say neither. Either, either, neither, neither, let’s call the whole thing off!” It springs to mind when we talk about a new category of alcohol consumption called “high-intensity” drinking. […]
Worried About a Loved One’s Drinking During the Holidays? 7 Ways You Can Help
Updated 11/19/ 2025 At Sanford Behavioral Health, we get feedback from the loved ones of previous clients this time of year. They tell us about the difference between holidays in recovery versus the years prior when their loved ones were in active addiction. We hear, “It is such a relief. I used to get so […]
How Do I Talk To My Loved One About Their Drinking?
Updated 7/7/2025 One of the questions I get as an addiction counselor with an advice column (Ask Rae) is, “How do I talk to my partner, loved one, or friend about their drinking?” In fact, some of Sanford Behavioral Health’s most viral articles are about the subject of alcohol ruining relationships. It is one of […]
Glimmers – the Antidote to Triggers
I had a friend say to me this weekend, “Everything is hard.” We were talking about technology (the ever-changing virtual landscape triggers her anxiety), but it could apply to almost any subject in the year 2024. There is a reason why 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness. As a person in […]
The “Big Game” Hangover. Have You Heard of Super Bowl Monday?
According to a yearly study by the Workforce Institute, nearly 26 million Americans will be late or 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 […]
Do I Drink Too Much?
I used to live in The Bahamas, where drinking in the morning is called (somewhat facetiously) “Bahamian breakfast.” It was not shocking to see someone walking on the Government Dock at 7:00 a.m. with a beer in one hand and a power tool in the other. No one looked askance when a tipsy tourist slurred, […]
Gray Area Drinking – Socializing or Self-Medicating?
Gray area drinking (GAD) is the often difficult-to-define space between social drinking and damaging alcohol consumption. A couple of glasses of wine with your significant other after a grueling day or a cocktail from the roving golf cart bar on the links is acceptable, right? What about a stiff drink before a party to take […]
