Photo of LG home television screen Have you seen Discovery Fit and Health‘s TV docu-series ADDICTED?   ADDICTED features interventionist Kristina Wandzilak working with individuals who are struggling with addiction; viewers are able to watch how the disease of addiction affects not only the addict but the family as well. Each episode is a journey…following...Read More

       Joseph A. Califano, Jr. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The start of a new high school year is always an anxious time. Students are anxious about their school schedule, their classes, meeting new students, participating in school activities…and fitting in. Parents are anxious, too, about what the school year will bring for their children....Read More

AA Big Book (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Alcoholics and addicts check-in to treatment centers almost every day of every year. Most receive a gift…The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). For many it is their first introduction to AA and for others it is a re-introduction. It is not unusual for someone to know the exact...Read More

Jeffrey C Friedman I read this morning that Casey Johnson, heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, died alone in her Los Angeles apartment after a well-publicized life of drugs and partying. I feel sad to hear yet another story of a celebrity who succumbs to addiction after cycling in and out of a series...Read More

The patients at Cottonwood de Tucson built a labyrinth recently on a Sunday afternoon. The weather was beautiful and the group was excited to get out-of-doors and play a while in the desert. From a pile of rocks and a design drawn in the dirt, they pieced together a seven-circuit labyrinth that measures 21′ in...Read More

I Learned How Easy It Can Be to Relapse A young lady was having a wonderful last day at Cottonwood Tucson’s Rocks & Ropes Program. She was attempting climbs rated with difficulty levels of 6.5 and 7. She had completed 5 climbs and was very sure of herself. She told me she wanted to try...Read More

Codependency Labels Like Codependent or Addict ~ Are they Needed? Cottonwood de Tucson is a unique treatment approach to recovery, putting health and wellness as the central component of healing from addiction and disorders. It feels incongruent to promote people thinking about themselves as a disorder, such as when family members introduce themselves in small...Read More

Internet Addiction Rose Hoban’s article titled Internet Addiction: Latest Obsession brings up an interesting topic that is indeed emerging as a challenge for behavioral health professionals. In that article Hoban references Psychologist Louise Nadeau’s statement that “addiction is marked by two phenomena…the first is that a person has a behavior he or she can’t control”,...Read More

My sponsor asked me to write a farewell letter to my addiction. This is what I wrote. Farewell, Dear addiction, you were there for me when I needed you most. When my mother died you were my comfort. When I was scared you made me feel safe. When I was alone you were always there...Read More