The Phoenix · Don't Love Them to Death. Get Help. Intervention is a highly effective way to get someone into addiction treatment. When it’s led by a professional interventionist, that is. Plenty of people try on their own to convince the addicted person to stop using and go to treatment. They might even stage their| The Phoenix Spirit
A real friend is the gift of a lifetime. It is special someone who is in your life in a significant way. Good friendship is a sacred two-sided connection with a person we have much in common with yet also respects differences with each other. A real friend knows our worst qualities and challenges us| The Phoenix Spirit
As a woman in long-term recovery and a regular contributor to The Phoenix Spirit, I have written about my experience finding sobriety, struggling with and addressing cross-addiction, and being a part of a 12-step program. What I have not yet shared is that I am a trauma survivor, and how addressing my trauma has been| The Phoenix Spirit
We reached out to several providers in the Twin Cities to check in about their successes and challenges. All of them are seeing an increase in utilization of their services. What types of substance use (SUD) / mental health (MH) disorders are you seeing more of? Jeremiah Gardner Hazelden Betty Ford We are seeing more| The Phoenix Spirit
The news that Minnesota will host the 2021 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic is a brass-ring opportunity to celebrate all things State of Hockey, from pond and muni-rink pickup games to high school and college rivalries, to pro-level playoff runs. This “big tent” is part of hockey’s great appeal. And with nicknames like Gump, Rocket, Moose| The Phoenix Spirit
A new year has begun, and I hear deep yearnings for hopefulness in the people I connect with in and out of the recovering communities. This has led me to reflect upon hope and what can help us both develop and maintain hope. Consider these three dimensions: Imaginative, cognitive, and supportive. My reflections upon hope| The Phoenix Spirit
Elise abruptly stopped using her brown crayon to color the space between the lines of a puppy. She brushed her wispy blond bangs from her eyes and, with a dead-serious expression, blurted out, “I have to go potty.” My wife, our twin 5-year-old daughters and I walked to the steel door. The counselor unlocked it.| The Phoenix Spirit
It’s hard to imagine myself drinking or using again. It’s been so long since the last time I got drunk or high that it seems like an alternate life. The old me is a far away, distant memory. No more hangover headaches punishing me for the previous night. That past life of alcohol and drugs| The Phoenix Spirit
A closer look at 10 common phrases used in recovery Addicts and alkies are often skeptical about the brief, pithy sayings we throw around in 12-step programs. The slogans seem to dilute the complicated issues of recovery down to stock, almost clichéd phrases. Yet, if you spend any time in Alano Club rooms, or even| The Phoenix Spirit
"God speaks to us every day only we don’t know how to listen".— Gandhi Unfortunately, too many of us don’t believe in a Higher Power, let alone actually listen to that voice within ourselves. It’s the guidance that summons us to bring out the better part of ourself and connect to others in ways that| The Phoenix Spirit
Older people can find plenty of reasons to drink alcohol or use other addictive drugs to excess. Pain relief. Isolation and loneliness. Feelings of boredom and uselessness after retirement. Loss after loss after loss. For some, it’s simply a decades-old habit. What’s hard to do is to stop using addictive substances when they are ruining| The Phoenix Spirit
