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How Addiction Affects Families: The Far-Reaching Effects of Substance Use Disorder

March 3, 2020 / Addiction, Addictions, Recovery, Relationships, Uncategorized

It’s difficult to list exactly how addiction affects families. The repercussions spread outward like the rings from a pebble dropped in a pond. But experts have known for years that children who grow up in homes where drugs and alcohol are used often develop addictions, too. Sadly, even if these children do manage to skirt a […]

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Working with Families While Patients are in Treatment

February 19, 2020 / Articles>Early Recovery, Articles>Recovery at The Ranch, From Our Experts>Tennessee, Relationships, Treatment

Addiction impacts the entire family system. The addict typically experiences feelings of despair, hopelessness, guilt, shame, loneliness, and worthlessness. The family also experiences similar feelings. Families may have increased anxiety, loss of their own identity, diminished work functioning, isolation, and an overall decrease in life satisfaction. Working with families while patients are in treatment is

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Effects of Parent Drug Abuse on Young Children

February 15, 2020 / Addiction, Articles>Drug Addiction, Drug Abuse, Helpful Articles, Relationships, Substance Abuse

The effects of parent drug abuse on young children, ages 6 to 12 and younger, are detrimental and lasting. Young children with parents using drugs may experience traumas including abuse or neglect. They may see things that traumatize them or that are hard to understand. They may feel unloved, hurt and frightened. Traumatic events, neglect,

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Seven Ways to Help Yourself When You Love an Addict

February 13, 2020 / Articles>Drug Addiction, Helpful Articles, Relationships

Loving an addict can feel like you’re on a perpetual rollercoaster of emotions — anger, sadness, hate, love, fear, relief, guilt, disbelief — sometimes experiencing all within mere moments. It’s not surprising that research shows loved ones of addicted individuals suffer from increased stress, depression and poorer overall well-being. As much as our addicted loved

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Loved Ones Can Help Battle Addiction

January 1, 2020 / Helpful Articles, Relationships

Fighting addiction is challenging for everybody concerned, not just the individual with chemical dependency. Jim Sullivan has been that individual, and he shares his story in a recent article for Boston Herald, telling of the depths of his addiction and his recovery. The article was intended as something of a personal thank you to the

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Healthy Sex Life Versus Chronic Intimacy Disorder

February 2, 2017 / Articles, Relationships

An intimacy disorder is difficult to define, partly because there is no guiding verbiage from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). But “intimacy disorder” typically refers to difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships.

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Taming the Green-Eyed Monster Before It Gobbles You Up

January 5, 2017 / Articles, Relationships

Jealousy is an emotion that permeates many relationships and can drive a wedge between partners. It sometimes gets confused with its close cousin envy. They can be differentiated in this manner:

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Are You Amazingly Close, or Amazingly Codependent?

January 3, 2017 / Articles, Relationships

It’s natural to want to find a life partner you can bond with. Love is the topic of so many stories, books and songs that you are constantly reminded of the desire to share your life and the deepest part of yourself with someone else. When you get into a relationship that makes you feel

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Images of Being Loved, Cared for Reduce Brain’s Response to Threat

December 31, 2016 / Articles, Relationships

The brain’s fear-generating capacity is a vital mechanism of protection that allows humans to respond appropriately to potential threats to their safety. From a biological perspective, the brain’s threat response is mediated by the limbic system via a pair of rounded appendages known as the right and left amygdalae.

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Healthy Sex Life vs. Chronic Intimacy Disorder

December 26, 2016 / Articles, Relationships

Intimacy disorders are widely misunderstood, especially because there is no official diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Intimacy disorder refers to a person’s inability to form close interpersonal bonds with other human beings. This can manifest in troubles with being vulnerable or truthful, both with romantic partners and other people

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