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The Joys of a Spiritual Recovery
Being in a spiritual recovery means that I follow a way of life guided by principles such as honesty, perseverance, trust, humility, integrity, self-acceptance, steadfastness, willingness, patience and self-forgiveness. It also allows me to be of service to others. I help people who are unwell...
Increase in drug deaths is no surprise
This week I was invited onto Sky News for an interview with Kay Burley. She wanted to talk to me about the recent increase in drug-related deaths. According to the Office for National Statistics. The number of drug-related deaths in England and Wales reached record...
Chip Somers: Dayhab offers a solution to the alcohol and drug 'epidemic'
The recent research findings from Kings College London do not come as a surprise to me. What do we expect when there have been such massive cuts to alcohol rehab services? As the report shows, since the withdrawal of funding in England for essential services,...
Removing Stigma
Mental illness is one of the most common disorders worldwide. 355 million people suffer from depression globally making it more common than aids, diabetes and cancer combined. Yet there is still so much stigma around it. And this has a negative impact on recovery.
International Drug Day
Wednesday 26th June is the UN's International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking It's been observed annually since 1989. Senior Addiction counsellor, Warren Vinciguerra talks about his own history of drug use and his experience of recovery.
Serenity; the by-product of addiction recovery
Serenity is the state of mind that comes from a surrendering of the will, letting go of the daily fight with circumstances and accepting life on life’s terms.
The Art of Kindness
Experiencing the kindness of a fellow human being is one of the most transformative experiences I’ve ever had. When new to the prospect of recovery, what I felt about myself and my life was utter devastation.
Compassion
Compassion is the most important tool when helping someone recover from alcohol and drug problems. Psychotherapist Warren Vinciguerra discusses how it works.
Using meditation to overcome addiction and prevent relapse
Today we’re constantly bombarded with fast fixes, instant access, high-speed Internet, fast food, mobile phones that ping; a constant streams of emails and an ethos of busy-busy, work-work, bang- bang. And a desire for not only instant coffee but instant gratification: I want what I...
We are the most addicted society ever to have walked the planet
Addiction is the inability to have a causal relationship with addictive substances. We are the most depressed, medicated, obese, disconnected - even though we are so privileged to live in Western society a first world country.
The importance of involving family in addiction treatment
One of the major benefits of running a day programme is connection with family members who can quite often be the instigator of treatment, they can be the 1st point of contact to our service, coming into our service for support, education and advice. Family...
Addiction is an epidemic that some people don't want to cure.
Recently I heard somebody talking about how much money could be made if scientists invented a cure for addiction. And I thought how very naïve, as there are many corporate scientists out there trying to create more addictive processes. At no time in history has...
Chip's Story
Help Me Stop's Clinical Adviser, Chip Somers tells how he went from a middle-class family, to boarding school, prison and the streets. He suffered sexual abuse as a child and lived the life of an addict for many years before going into rehab and coming...
Prescription Drugs: A script for life?
The historical case of Dr. Conrad Murray, and his relationship with Michael Jackson, highlights how easily a straightforward process can become confused in a way that most patients find hard to understand.In an ideal world one would like to think that getting a prescription from...
Rehab or Dayhab
Help Me Stop's Head of Treatment talks about why he believes Intensive Outpatient Programmes are the way forward for addiction Treatment. Until now, there has been no intensive Dahab, like the U.S model, available in the UK. Help Me Stop is a breakthrough in addiction...
Addiction: Challenging Beliefs
“Once a junkie, always a junkie”. “What’s the point in spending money on addicts, they never get better anyway”. These are just some of the conflicting and judgemental comments that you will hear if you introduce the subject of addiction in to most normal conversations....