Addiction Education

Information about addiction that will help you understand your child’s behavior.

If It Wasn’t For Fentanyl My Daughter Would Still Be Alive

When I got the toxicology results that confirmed Helanna’s death was from fentanyl poisoning I called the police officer that informed me of my daughter’s death. I wanted to know if there would be an investigation so this didn’t happen to anyone else. The conversation with the police officer and the confirmation that it was …

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Release Anxiety, Panic, and Fear About Your Child’s Addiction Playlist

If you’re struggling with anxiety, fear, and panic about your child’s addiction this playlist is for you. So many struggling parents have reached out to me about this lately so I am putting some of my favorite podcasts and videos in one place for you. Listen as many times as you need to and take …

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The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, it’s connection

An important part of supporting yourself and your child who is struggling with addiction is questioning all your old beliefs and creating intentional new ones that serve you. This video is one of the resources that helped me form my new beliefs about addiction because the connection aspect and findings of the research resonated with …

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How Addiction Affects The Brain & Dopamine

The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. Once someone is addicted, they’re not using drugs to feel good; they’re using drugs just to feel “normal”.  Behavioral changes are directly linked to the drug user’s changing brain. …

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Why you have to be like Wonder Woman and change your approach to parenting when your child is using substances

My robot vacuum (her name is Wonder Woman) reminds me of how I approached my daughter’s substance use when it first started. Several days in a row while I was sitting at my desk working, I noticed Wonder Woman was struggling to get into my office.  The transition into my office is higher than the …

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How We’re More Like Our Kids Who Are Abusing Substances Than We Think

Buffering is using any false pleasure like drugs, food, alcohol, shopping, gambling, people, social media, or anything else outside of ourselves to avoid experiencing our feelings.  Those external substances create temporary or momentary feelings of comfort, but they don’t last. It’s a short term solution to a long term problem that often creates more consequences …

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The Teen/young adult brain and how it’s affected by substance use

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the part of the brain where risks are assessed, impulses are controlled, and plans are made to reach goals.  The PFC is not fully developed until 25 years old on average.  That is why teens are more likely to engage in risky or impulsive behavior. In addition to your teen’s …

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How your child’s substance use affects their natural dopamine levels and what happens when they try to stop using substances

As you read this, keep in mind this is JUST ONE FACTOR, one chemical, that is affected when dealing with substance use. Dopamine is the brain’s way of rewarding us or nature’s way of rewarding the brain for activities like eating and sex that are necessary to the survival of our species.  Dopamine makes us …

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