One of the hardest things to accept about an alcohol use disorder (AUD) is how everything can appear “normal” and someone can still have a serious problem. After all, drinking is both legal and socially acceptable. People enjoy wine tours, craft beer festivals, and liquor pairings with gourmet appetizers. We pop a bottle of champagne...Read More

What Is Dry Drunk Syndrome?   Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) coined the term dry drunk to describe a person who is no longer consuming alcohol but still exhibits behavioral and emotional problems of an alcoholic. Some of these behavioral and emotional problems include irritability, impatience, impulsivity, and passing judgment on others. Some dry drunks exhibit grandiose...Read More

  What If I Drink Alcohol and Abuse Cocaine? If you drink alcohol and abuse cocaine, you have what is referred to as concurrent addiction.This occurs when an individual is addicted to one or more substances at the same time. Alcohol and cocaine are often used together to counteract the effects of each. Cocaine provides...Read More

What If I Drink Only on the Weekends Some people may only use drugs or alcohol during special occasions or on the weekends and ask if they need treatment for an addiction. There are some questions you can ask yourself to determine if treatment is needed. Do you think about drugs or alcohol when not...Read More

How Does Family History and Assessment Contribute To Individual Therapy? At the beginning of most individual therapy sessions, the therapist will conduct an assessment and obtain information regarding family history.  The assessment is used to gather as much information about you as possible to help you.  The therapist wants to know some basic information about...Read More

Is There Such a Thing as an Alcoholic Personality? Often, individuals ask the question as to whether there is such a thing as an alcoholic personality.  There are no easy answers to that question, as the answer could be yes or no.  First, a personality encompasses the qualities that form a person’s character.  The better...Read More

If you have gone to the cinema lately, you may have noticed a billboard for I Saw the Light about America’s first country music superstar Hiram King “Hank” Williams Sr., who sometimes went by the alias Luke the Drifter. The film drew its story line from the book Hank Williams: The Biography by Colin Escott,...Read More

“Cottonwood Tucson’s Family Program week is about creating change. Often, families come into family week fearful, angry, distraught and obsessed.” Behaviors are logical and learned… When family members arrive at Cottonwood Tucson to participate in our Family Program they can’t imagine feeling better, getting healthy. They struggle to understand why they should participate in the...Read More

 Brooke Shields at Naval Air Station, Pensacola in 1986. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, She was very good indeed, But when she was bad she was horrid.  ……….Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Brooke Shields was the little girl…...Read More

Robin Williams (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Our world changed on Monday evening… Famous people die every day. It can be a celebrity, a states person, an infamous character, a sports figure, or a world leader. For sure we almost always stop a bit and take notice, but every once in a while we find ourselves grieving...Read More