Unhealthy Relationships
A word that means to embarrass you on purpose.
Humiliate
A word meaning to refrain from further substance use.
Abstinence
A biological state in which the body adapts to the presence of a drug so that drug no longer has the same effect.
Tolerance
The actor says he used drugs before he was a teenager and spent most of his early career under their influence. He had several high-profile arrests in the late 1990s and early 2000s while misusing alcohol, cocaine, and heroin and spent time in a California prison and a state-run rehab facility. In 2002, he announced that he was recovered.
Robert Downey Jr.
Most people in this stage are planning to take action and are making the final adjustments before they begin to change their behavior. Have not yet resolved their ambivalence. Still need a little convincing.
Preparation Stage
A word that means your partner attempts to make frequent contact with you and always needs to know where you are.
Obsessed
A powerful and strong desire/urge for a substance; a symptom of abnormal brain adaptions that result from substance use disorder
Cravings
Of or pertaining to a relationship in which one person is physically or psychologically addicted, as to alcohol or gambling, and the other person is psychologically dependent on the first in an unhealthy way.
Co-Dependency
She was a 17-year-old actress on family-friendly TV when, she says, she first used cocaine. As her singing career took off, so did her problems with drugs and alcohol. In 2010, she first sought treatment for addiction, along with mental health issues including bipolar and eating disorders. She has addressed her ongoing recovery in interviews, on social media, and in her music.
Demi Lovato
People in this stage usually show up in therapy because of pressures from others such as spouses, employers, family, courts, etc. People in this stage resist change, do not take responsibility for any actions, and deny having a SUD.
Precontemplation Stage
A word that means your partner is attempting to keep you away from family and/or friends.
Isolate
One's failure to either admit or realize his or her substance use disorder or to recognize and accept the harm it can cause.
Denial
People, places, situations, and feelings that have become associated with substance use; they make a person think about using drugs, and can cause cravings.
Triggers
He’s been nominated for several Academy Awards, but the actor went through some hard times on his way to success. He says years of drug and alcohol misuse threatened to ruin his life, and in 2004 at the age of 29, he made the decision to stop using them. He’s since become one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men.
Bradley Cooper
Change never ends with action. Without a strong commitment to this stage, there will surely be relapse.
Maintenance Stage
What is the number one warning sign of an abuser in a relationship?
Jealousy
Helping a person with a substance use disorder do things they can or should be doing for themselves; causes the disorder to progress
Enabling
Naturally occurring chemicals in the brain that carry messages between neurons.
Neurotransmitters
She was the premier actress in the 50's and early 60's. She struggled with physical ailments growing up and was the victim of sexual abuse. Her doctor prescribed vodka to help with her pain. After becoming a star through method acting, she began seeing a psychoanalyst. She was prescribed medication to help her get through the day and to sleep at night. Although she went through several detoxes, her substance use disorder made her fear not being good enough to grow in the acting world. She once said in an interview that she was “one of the world’s most self-conscious people.” After failed relationships with the Kennedy brothers and turning thirty-six years old, she fell deeper into depression. She died on August 4, 1962, of a drug overdose caused by potential suicide via self-medication.
Marilyn Monroe
People in this stage acknowledge that they have a problem and begin to think about solving it. They struggle to understand their problems, to see what caused it, and wonder about possible solutions. Many people in this stage have indefinite plans to take action within the next few months.
Contemplation Stage
A word that refers to when your partner is always trying to instill fear into you to gain control.
Intimidate.
Not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less
Humility
Defined as a loss of ability to experience pleasure.
Anhedonia
He was a well-known American scientist, politician, writer, and inventor. He struggled with alcohol and opioid abuse throughout his lifetime. He discussed his SUD throughout his writings, mainly because he did not see it as a problem. Towards the end of his life, he had many painful conditions. His doctor prescribed laudanum to help with the pain. His condition worsened and he wrote, “Little remains of me but a skeleton covered in a skin.” He died at the end of 1790 still struggling with substance abuse.
Benjamin Franklin
This is the stage where people overtly modify their behavior and their surroundings. Make the move for which they have been preparing for. This stage requires the greatest commitment of time and energy.
Action Stage