Blog
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Addiction in the Family: Boundaries, Enabling and Recovery Support in Johannesburg
Addiction may be experienced in one person’s body, but its consequences seldom remain contained there. Over time, a family can begin organising itself around uncertainty. People learn to listen for changes in tone. They become alert to unexplained absences, financial problems, shifts…
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What Addiction Treatment Really Involves: A Guide to Residential Rehab in Johannesburg
People do not usually begin addiction treatment at a neutral point in their lives. Something has brought them there. Sometimes the consequences are visible: a relationship has ended, employment is at risk, finances have become unstable, health has deteriorated or the family…
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Signs of a relapse in addiction – what can you look out for?
A relapse doesn’t start when we pick up the substance of our choice, it starts with thoughts and with behaviors, picking up the substance is the end result of the relapse. Here are some of the behaviors to look out for, you…
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My 6-year-old is driving my car!
We have all acquired certain beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. Many people struggle with understanding the battle of “knowing” their parents love them, and yet deep beliefs of feeling unloved. It is too painful, almost impossible, for a young…
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Am I an addict or alcoholic?
Have you asked yourself (or another person you care about) that question more than once? Are you concerned about your behavior, but not sure if your use has turned into abuse? please consider the questions below, they will help you identify if…
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Five days in the life of an addict
(A modified version of Autobiography by Portia Nelson) Day one I walk down the street There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I feel lost… I feel helpless. It isn’t my fault! I’m not responsible. It takes forever…
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“Secrets keep you sick”
This is a common statement that is used in recovery, but do you know what it actually means, or why we say it? Secrets create the breading ground for shame. However, the more shame you hold, the more secrets you’ll keep the…
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Why go to rehab?
Its easy to have preconceived ideas, fears, and concerns about things we don’t know or understand. The unknown can seem scary, and we can get overwhelmed with doubts and worry. At a time when so much is already out of control, painful…
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Why are Boundaries with your addict so important?
If you throw a frog into a pot of boiling hot water, she will jump out straight away, but if you put her into a pot of water and slowly raise the temperature, she will stay in that water until she is…
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There is always hope
So often in addiction we lose hope that recovery is possible, every relapse feels like a failure, and we lose faith that things will ever change. “Why can’t you just change, just make a decision, you just need to STOP!” How many…