Protect Your Sobriety Without Missing Out

By: Michelle Peterson Back in the day, you loved to party. Whether you got drunk or high, it was how you had fun. Well, not really. It took you a while to realize it, but substance abuse was an attempt to run away from problems, and it wasn’t very successful. Eventually, you realized you wanted (and needed) to stay sober. Read More

Building Strength and Resilience In the Face of Life’s Challenges

Resilient qualities are not only what we’re born with but also the strengths that we build through encountering life’s challenges and developing the personal and interpersonal skills to meet them. It is one of life’s paradoxes that the worst circumstances can bring the best out of us. According to the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) studies performed by Robert Anda (2006) and his team at Kaiser Permanente’s Health Appraisal Clinic in San Diego, we will all experience four or more serious life stressors that may be traumatizing, and according to positive psychology research, most of us will grow from them. Read More

How God Shows Up in Recovery

By Nancy Minister, Workshop Facilitator, Rio Retreat Center at The Meadows I recently listened to a friend talks about her practice of catching herself when she was “off” — in other words, being short or rude to someone when experiencing some sort of conflict. Read More

Codependency: What’s It All About?

By Tian Dayton, Ph.D. The word codependency touched a nerve when it first plowed its way into our everyday vernacular. Initially, it grew out of the twelve-step term co-addict, which was a way of describing the spouse of the addict; however, as it didn’t tell the right story, it… Read More

Your Family Survived the Holidays But Not Unscathed

There is nothing quite like the holidays to bring a family closer together or to drive them even further apart. Families and holidays can be wonderful.  However, they can also be painful and traumatic.  Even the best families can have some holiday drama.  Read More

Why Chris Cornell’s Death is So Devastating to People in Recovery

When grunge rock—a term that those who played “grunge rock” hated—arrived on our radios in the mid-90s, it felt to many fans like music had finally gotten “real” again. The Big Pop of the 80s seemed to repeatedly emphasize style over substance and sales over artistry. So, when songs by… Read More

Setting Healthy Boundaries

By Caileigh Smith, MC, LAC We often try to motivate ourselves through should statements: “I should’ve done better.”“I shouldn’t have said that.”“I should only have one cookie.” The only thing that’s guaranteed from should-ing on ourselves is the emotional consequence of guilt. This is also the case when other people… Read More

Don’t Carry Shame Into the New Year

By Caileigh Smith, MC, LAC Have you ever sent the wrong text message to the exact wrong person? I have. In fact, I did it recently. I sent a message about a person TO THAT person—the horror! The consequence? Well, besides being cut from that person’s Christmas card list, I… Read More

3 Tips for Staying Sober Through the Holidays

By: Kelli Wagner, Behavioral Health Technician, The Meadows Christmas carols, the spirit of giving, joy and laughter; this is what the holidays are all about...right? Read More

The Heart of a Healer

The following is a transcript of the speech read on behalf of Meadows Behavioral Healthcare CEO Sean Walsh at the 2016 Gratitude for Giving Breakfast Awards Ceremony. Sean was recognized with the Compassion Award. I want to start by apologizing for not being able to attend the Gratitude for Giving… Read More