Treatment Cave

Have you said goodbye to drugs and alcohol and started a new path towards sobriety? Choosing a new, sober lifestyle is a courageous choice. At this point in your journey, you’ve decided to prioritize your mental and physical health and are ready to embrace your personal and professional goals! During this chapter of your life, it’s important to learn new life skills to help protect your sobriety and avoid relapse. And, discovering how to navigate social situations is one of the most critical. It’s worth noting that you can still enjoy spending time with friends and family. During this time of your life, invest some time and energy into learning how to navigate social situations without depending on the crutch of drugs or alcohol. If you’re newly sober, here are a few strategies you can use! (1) Be mindful of your social circle. If you’re newly sober, it’s a good idea to stick close to friends and family members who know your journey and won’t pressure you to use drugs or alcohol. They...

A sweeping, cultural shift has profoundly changed the perspective of clinicians in recent years. Addiction, once viewed as a personal fault, is now more accurately understood a disease – one that is influenced by environmental, social and genetic factors. In fact, earlier this year, the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued a statement that reinforced this new view of the disease of addiction. “It is not a moral failing, or evidence of a character flaw, but a chronic disease of the brain that deserves our compassion and care.” And, researchers have provided even more evidence that supports the link between these biological influences and addiction. In a recent study published in Nature Neuroscience, scientists used genetically engineered mice to better understand how biology influences the course of addiction. The scientists studied mice who had been genetically engineered to produce large amounts of cadherins, a protein that plays a prominent role in the brain’s reward circui...