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If you mistakenly say “Parkay” (margarine) when you mean “parkour” (urban freerunning), then you’ll likely scratch your head when you see “Got skrill need wings A3” on your teenager’s phone. Those texting code words, which translate to “Got money; need cocaine; anytime, anywhere, anyplace,” are designed to fly under your radar. Yet they’re a clear signal that your child is involved in the drug scene.

Addiction is frequently considered a family disease – and for good reason. It affects the addict, their families, their friends, as well as anyone who is close to family and friends of the addict.

October is here which means scary movies are finally back in season. The visceral response to fear is absolute: the goosebumps from a person entering a dark room they should NOT be investigating, the semi-brave split fingers over the eyes to hide from horror, or even the overturned popcorn after an unexpected jump scare. Like […]

I put my mother through hell when I was bound by the crippling disease of addiction. I was in a dark place, full of terror and despair, but my mother was too. She would lay awake at night struck by the terrifying fear that the phone would ring, and this time, I wouldn’t wake up. […]

Denial can be experienced by anyone. It arises from events or circumstances that make people feel that their sense of control is threatened. However, those who suffer from addiction are far more susceptible to denial due to the brutal, invasive nature of drug and alcohol addiction.  Sometimes, denial is evident through bits of anger and […]

From the moment our newborns are nestled in our arms, we do everything in our power to protect our children. We brush off snarky terms like “helicopter parent” and “snowplow parent,” knowing in our hearts that our commitment to the well-being of our kids matters more than the perceptions of teachers and other adults in their lives. Yet it is that same devotion to our children that can blind us to the symptoms of substance use disorders.