Holiday drinking deserves attention when it becomes difficult to control, causes harm or continues despite your efforts to change it. You do not have to wait for the season to end to ask for help, and you do not need…
Your first sober Thanksgiving is easier to plan when you decide ahead of time what you will attend, what you will say about drinking and where you can turn for support. You can participate in the holiday without agreeing to…
A sober Halloween starts with choosing a celebration that fits your recovery, arranging support and making it easy to leave. You can enjoy costumes, friends and fall traditions without committing to a party where drinking is the main activity. If…
Sober October is a month-long break from alcohol that can help you look more closely at your drinking habits. But if stopping feels impossible, or you feel physically unwell when you do not drink, the next step should be professional…
It is one of the hardest questions a family can ask. In Virginia, you generally cannot force an adult into addiction treatment just because they are struggling with drugs or alcohol. Involuntary treatment is possible only in narrow situations, when…
An intervention is a planned conversation where the people who care about someone ask them to accept help for drug or alcohol use. Today, the approaches with the strongest research behind them are non-confrontational ones that coach the family first,…
How long an ADHD medication stays in your system depends mostly on which drug it is. Amphetamine-based medications like Adderall and Vyvanse are typically detectable in urine for about 2 to 3 days, while methylphenidate medications like Ritalin and Concerta…
Over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aids feel low risk because you can buy them next to the cough drops. The main ingredients in OTC sleep aids are not considered addictive the way prescription sedatives can be, but tolerance builds fast, many people…
If you have been receiving ketamine for depression, whether through IV infusions, Spravato (esketamine) nasal spray, or an at-home program, you may be wondering what happens when you stop. For most people in supervised treatment, the bigger concern is not…
Alcohol poisoning, also called alcohol overdose, happens when there is so much alcohol in the bloodstream that the parts of the brain controlling breathing, heart rate, and body temperature start to shut down. If someone is confused, cannot stay awake,…
