Are you feeling some stress these days? Maybe you’re worried about your family, or your finances, or your community, or the world at large? Maybe the combination of these things has you feeling a little on edge? Honestly, it would be surprising if you weren’t. Compounding stressors are more challenging than the
Ken moved in a few weeks ago. He’s struggled- as have we all. Recently, his struggle has been pretty heavy. A storm of circumstances involving being laid off, a long relationship ending, and medical challenges drove him to relapse, and he found himself here. He is working as hard as we’ve seen
As addicts, life takes on both less and more meaning. It’s much easier to see how it takes on less meaning. Often, we think of ourselves as worthless. Many of us have felt (or feel) that we have screwed up our lives so badly that we’d be better off dead. Few addicts,
A man new to recovery has a younger brother. His brother comes to him, asking for advice. Brother believes that his girlfriend is cheating on him. The man in recovery has spent a lot of time in federal prisons. Like many of us addicts, he's done terrible, hurtful things, and he is
Addiction is predictable. You already know the life circumstances that precede addiction: trauma, parental addiction, poverty, homelessness, mental illness, lack of education… no surprises there. These compound intersectionally, so if we’re looking at a child of addicts who is abused or neglected and living in poverty, they are very likely to become
I’m going to invite you to imagine something very difficult. As you read each paragraph here, try to really put yourself in these shoes; feel what these experiences would bring up for you. Who would you be if this was your reality? Ok, ready? Your single mother was a violent, depressed addict,
Domestic violence and addiction are not just closely related; they’re often the same exact pattern. They feed and inform one another, and it is all but impossible to break either cycle without breaking both. If an addict gets clean but does not address the patterns of (usually intergenerational) trauma expressing as domestic
Sometimes we don’t want to live anymore. We feel that we’ve lived through or caused so much pain and broken our lives so thoroughly that it seems like death would be easier, gentler, and healthier. This mindset is common for addicts. Many of us have (or think we have) done terrible things
The Friend's House has been welcoming some new faces recently, and the new crew of guys are all excited about gaining some deeper culinary prowess. So this morning, a few of us headed to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for homemade burgers. We learned how to safely dice onions and
The Mid-Coast Recovery Coalition has a new mailing address. Please use: Mid-Coast Recovery Coalition 63 Washington Street Camden, ME 04843 We are no longer leasing office space (or receiving mail) at 411 Main Street in Rockland - since we are spending most of our time at The Friends House and 63 Washington