Do Men and Women Crave Alcohol Differently?
There has long been a complicated relationship between alcohol drinking and stress. On the one hand, alcohol has anxiety-reducing properties and can actually relieve stress. However, alcohol also acts as a stressor, activating the sympathetic (stress response) nervous system. Stress is also associated with poor outcomes or relapse for those in treatment and recovery, […]
Women’s Addiction Treatment – Take the Tour
Sanford House at Cherry Street for Women is a residential treatment facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founders, David and Rae Green, recognized the need for gender specific addiction treatment in 2014. To this end, they restored a historic home in Heritage Hill to serve as their base. And since that time, Sanford House at […]
Drink Like a Man – The Science of Women and Alcohol
Women and Alcohol I spent a lot of time in The Bahamas, on a small island called Staniel Cay. I will admit I was not a saint while living there. The collective, benign tolerance to extreme drinking was certainly a factor in my misuse of alcohol. But I was often shocked by the drunken antics […]
Girl Restarted – What It’s Like to be Out of Rehab and Back to College
Apartness is such a common thread in the stories of alcoholics and addicts. It seems to plague us; the feeling of being an utter misfit, of not belonging and having to pump ourselves full of booze just to feel a part of things. I donโt ever remember feeling comfortable anywhere. I was squirmy and […]
Hangovers, Sober Mum and Cupcakes – the Best of the Sanford Blog…
In case you didn’t see them, these are the three most popular articles we have posted on the Sanford House Blogย in the past three months: Hangovers: Why Doesn’t the Morning After Deter the Night Before? May 3, 2016 by Marilyn Spiller My favorite part about being sober is the morning. Especially […]
What is Recovery? We Asked the Experts – Women in Rehab.
There is no “correct” answer to the question, “What is recovery?”. In fact, the definition of addiction recovery is so subjective, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) uses 10 Guiding Principles of Recoveryย and a “working definition”. It reminds me of the pirate Barbossa, in The Pirates of the Caribbean. When […]
Mummies’ Night Out – Booze Soaked World
I went out with a bunch of girlfriends last night. A big group of us mummies hitting the town for dinner and a comedy show. Pretty unusual for me to be out and about in town – let alone on a Wednesday night! – but yes it definitely happened. Walking through town I […]
Crying in Rehab – The Emotional Thaw
It’s springtime in Michigan. Early yet – the trees are budding, but there is still snow on the ground in places where the sun doesn’t reach. We all tiptoe around, hoping it isn’t a false spring, but knowing there will probably be at least one more “surprise” snow storm between the Ides of March and […]