“Twelve and a half years ago I was in active addiction . . . and eventually I ended up in a hospital for mental health. I am now 7 1/2 years clean and sober. For anyone who wakes up thinking ‘oh god not again,’ I promise you there’s a way,” tweets Stranger Things actor Jamie Campbell Bower. His story of addiction recovery and mental health is one that resonates far and wide. Addiction affects about 22 million Americans. What most people don’t realize is the chances for healing are [...]

I was at work and as usual, we were very busy on the unit. I work in a program named Miracles in Progress. It is for unhoused men challenged by life adversities. I received a call on June 26, 2021, from my niece. They told me that Ty was in the emergency room. He had stopped breathing.  My heart raced. I immediately left work and caught the bus, switched to the train, and got off at the transportation center and raced for six minutes to get to the hospital's ER. [...]

Addiction is such a stigmatized topic – yet people are so uninformed about it. Most of us were taught that “drugs are bad,” but that is about the most education we get or tend to remember. I am here to discuss the concept of the disease of addiction which goes far beyond the common stigmas about who “addicts” are. Yes, addiction is a disease due to the fact it is ongoing, not curable (only treatable), and a condition associated with signs and symptoms.  Just like other diseases, it may run [...]