The Outside-the-Box Recovery Relapse Prevention Plan Re-introducing the Outside-the-Box Recovery Relapse Prevention Plan. (This link will take you to the store, where you can download a clean and updated version for free!) The handout includes 4 pages: Page 1 is a checklist identifying warning symptoms and triggers, negative effects of drugs/alcohol, and the good stuff […]
Outside-the-Box Recovery Workbook
Addiction counselor, creativity guru, and humorist in one, THE OUTSIDE-THE-BOX RECOVERY WORKBOOK balances evidence-based medicine with that right-brained energy needed to survive addiction and create a life worth living.
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Hints for surviving psych meds
Taking medications can be the pits. Will they work? Do the side effects render people bed-ridden? Are the pills horse pills, too big to swallow? Do I turn into a pumpkin when I forget to take my meds? Understanding that few people like taking pills, here are some hints about keeping up with your medications. […]
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The Psychiatric Evaluation
You’ve arranged an appointment with a shrink, you’re not sure why, and your mind is astir with anxiety over the visit. You’ve never seen a psychiatrist before. The questions keep you awake at night. Can they read minds? Will they judge you right away? Will seeing someone even make a difference? The short answers: No, […]
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Addiction: Drugs People Abuse
Or: what do you know about the drugs people abuse? “Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self-esteem.” –Kurt Cobain Perhaps you’re here because you’re an addict questioning the safety of your drug, or your have a daughter or neighbor with an […]
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Autism and meltdowns
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the formal definition of meltdown is a “disastrous situation” where a nuclear reactor core overheats and melts, with potential for widespread harm. It turns out nuclear reactor cores and humans both have meltdowns when overstimulated. For humans, a meltdown is an “emotional breakdown.” These breakdowns are loud, angry, scary, […]
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DBT: help for borderline personality disorder (BPD)
“You are so good. So good. You’re always feeling so much. And sometimes it feels like you’re gonna bust wide open from all the feeling, doesn’t it? People like you are the best in the world, but you sure do suffer for it.” — Silas House.
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Psychoanalysis vs Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Or something about Freud and his followers… Most people remember Freud from his teachings on childhood “psychosexual stages,” unconscious conflict based on sexual and aggressive urges, and his infamous terms “penis envy” and “Oedipal Complex.” Most of it’s controversial, right? Maybe, but it turns out there’s more to Freud than penis envy and the Oedipal […]
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Addiction: 4 ways to battle cravings
You’re trying to escape an addiction. That could be food, drugs, alcohol, gambling, or smoking. One of the biggest challenges you’re dealing with, especially at the beginning of your recovery, could be those urges to “feed” the addiction. You’re bound to have cravings. It happens to all recovering addicts, and it isn’t easy. But remember, […]
