Dear Rae: How Do I Talk to My Spouse About Their Drinking?
Updated 1/2/25 Dear Rae: I’ll get right to the point. Lately, my husband has been using alcohol as a crutch. In other words, he drinks to reduce his stress, but it adds to the stress in our home. He drinks every evening (sometimes starting at lunchtime). It definitely impacts our relationship because when he drinks, […]
Myth Busting – Non-Drinkers Are Not BORING
Updated 12/6/2025 On a recent long road trip, I listened to the podcast Smartless for 17 hours. The podcast was my only entertainment, aside from noting the decor in rest area bathrooms and the displays in roadside gas stations (which morphed from Slim Jims and antifreeze to oranges and baby alligator heads). Smartless is hosted […]
Happiness in Recovery – Reset Your Day!
It has been a long winter, and some of us may be feeling a bit down lately. To be sure, there’s nothing wrong with feeling down. Happiness is not a prerequisite of recovery for our clients at Sanford Behavioral Health. However, we do teach coping skills to help our clients move through the rough patches: […]
Awe Walks for Mental Health
Updated 2/15/2025 I am a self-described, often awestruck, nature nerd. I have written about the joys of Michigan winter in late February (when most Michiganders are tolerating the dreary days until spring). Other topics I have covered are finding joy during the pandemic, how a $75 blowup kayak can change your life, and the mental […]
Women’s Binge Drinking Outpaces Men’s After Pandemic
During the pandemic in 2020, binge drinking among college-age students declined. The decline was attributed to the lack of gatherings and the isolation as classes went online. However, in the wake of the pandemic, overall drinking for young adults is on the rise. And in a Washington Examiner interview with Dr. George F. Koob, director […]
A New Look at 10 Addiction Relapse Triggers
You are new to recovery and innocently pushing your cart down the aisle at the local Fresh Market. Let’s say it’s a gloomy Sunday afternoon. You round the corner, and there in front of you is the alcohol aisle. Aisles more like it, all shapes and sizes of beer and wine stacked and displayed artfully. […]
The History of Women and Wine Culture
The United States is the largest wine consumer in the world, exceeding the wine-producing European countries such as Italy and France, which long dominated world markets. According to the Beverage Information Group, 52 percent of women prefer wine, compared to 20 percent of men. Women make up 59 percent of wine buyers. It bears […]
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 […]
Eating Disorder Awareness – Best of Gail Hall, LMSW, DCSW, CEDS-S
It seems fitting that Gail Hall, LMSW, DCSW, CEDS-S, is retiring during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Gail has been a therapist treating eating disorders and an eating disorder advocate since 1986. She founded Comprehensive Treatment for Eating Disorders (CTED) in 1998. Gail sold her practice to Sanford Behavioral Health two years ago, staying […]
Eating Disorder Awareness – 5 Questions for Dr. Anna Flores
In honor of Eating Disorder Awareness Week (February 27 – March 5, 2023), I took the opportunity to discuss a few key points on eating disorders with my colleague Dr. Anna Flores, DCN, MScN, CNSc. You do not need to be an expert on eating disorders to help prevent or recognize one of these potentially […]
