The Aviary Recovery Center Blog
Tactical Recovery Can Help Veterans in Crisis
The brave people who serve in our country’s armed forces are often perceived as perfect, unflappable warriors—individuals who can overcome any obstacle while working to protect the freedoms Americans treasure. We rightly lionize the service members who make the ultimate sacrifice and regularly recognize the many other kinds of sacrifices...
The Importance of Your Mental Health in Recovery
From time to time, we all experience unpleasant emotions. We might feel sad or lonely or angry or bored or worried. All of those emotions—and many more besides—are perfectly natural and perfectly appropriate in any number of situations. Generally speaking, when you are feeling one of those emotions, you probably...
Smoking of Any Kind is Not Smart
You have probably heard the expression “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Generally, it is used to suggest that if something seems suspicious (that’s the smoke), there is probably something going on (that’s the fire). But when it comes to substance use disorders and the recovery journey, anything you smoke has...
Setting Boundaries Strengthens Your Recovery
Think of your favorite sport. Odds are good that the playing area for whichever sport you picked—whether it is baseball or football or tennis or basketball or soccer or what have you—are strictly marked. The area where the game can be legally played is said to be “in bounds” (or...
Identify Your Personal Power in Recovery
Do you watch the television show Ghosts? In the situation comedy, a collection of deceased individuals from across the centuries squabble among themselves and with the “livings.” Each of the ghosts has a unique power. One of them can flicker lights. Another can move objects. Some of the other powers...
Think of Recovery as an Art Form
In a previous blog post, we encouraged folks in recovery to explore the arts and artistic practice as a way to support ongoing sobriety. We suggested that fully engaging your creativity and sense of play supports your mental health, which in turn props up your sobriety. We stand by that...
Stories of Addiction and Recovery
Reading for Comprehension – And Inspiration One of the challenges that comes with a substance use disorder is a sense that you are alone in your struggles. The feeling that your troubles are unique to you can cause you to withdraw from others, which in turn can make it harder...
An Addiction to Xanax is Anything but Calming
Do you ever have the feeling that your brain just cannot slow down? It flits from one thought to the next, and you cannot seem to concentrate on any one thing for any length of time. Often, this feeling is accompanied by significant anxiety. You feel upset and wish you...
The Risk of Relapse is Real. Tips for Staying Sober.
There is a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip in which the boy (Calvin) and his stuffed tiger (Hobbes) are discussing monsters under the bed. Calvin’s mom has suggested an “experiment.” “She says the monsters under my bed might need me to think about them to exist. Her theory is that...
Our Family Wellness Program: Recovery for the Whole Family
A Substance Use Disorder is Never a ‘Just You’ Problem It can be easy to think of substance use disorders as an individual problem—especially if you are the individual in question. When you are struggling with drugs or alcohol, it can feel like you are all alone and that any...