Why emotions hit so hard in early sobriety If you feel like you went from “numb” to “raw nerve” overnight, that’s not you being dramatic. It’s often what happens when substances are removed. Alcohol and drugs don’t just take the edge off. They flatten the whole...
Why New Year’s sobriety often slips by mid-January (and how to prevent it) If you have ever made it through January 1st, maybe even January 7th, and then suddenly felt your resolve wobble around the second or third week. You are not broken. That mid-January drop-off...
Why the First EMDR Session Feels Different From “Regular” Talk Therapy If you have done talk therapy before, the first EMDR session can feel… different. Not in a dramatic way. More like, the purpose of the hour is different. In many “regular” therapy first sessions,...
If you’ve spent any time around recovery spaces, you’ve probably heard some version of this: “It’s not really about the substance. It’s about what the substance is doing for me.” That idea can be frustrating at first, especially when addiction has become so...
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can be safe for complex PTSD—but “safe” has to mean something practical, not just reassuring. In real terms, safety in complex trauma work looks like this: You stay within your emotional window of tolerance...