| It's Volunteer Month! Training scholarship applications have far exceeded our goal for the month and continue to pour in! The Training Scholarship Fundis still well below our goal. Your gift to support volunteer training will be put to work immediately to train a volunteer to start a new SMART meeting. Thank you for supporting self-empowered recovery! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moving Away from the Terms 'Alcoholic' and 'Alcoholism'
|
|
Although the terms alcoholic and alcoholism are often used in discussions about heavy drinking, the science community has been moving away from these terms for years now.
The more appropriate and clinically accepted term is unhealthy alcohol use. Instead of asking if they're an alcoholic, people should instead ask to what extent their drinking is causing problems.
Learn more about this shift in terminology, as well as how to determine if you have unhealthy drinking habits in this article.
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (OWS)?
|
|
If you are in recovery from opioid use, you’ve probably been through opioid withdrawal at least once and probably more. Some people compare opioid withdrawal to ‘the worst flu in your life’ but I’m not sure that accurately captures the agony, depression, hopelessness, pain, and despair.
Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (OWS) is a term to describe the combination of symptoms that occur during opioid withdrawal. They can include anxiety, yawning, sweating, eyes tearing, goosebumps, runny nose, hot/cold flashes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, and so on. Specific symptoms and severity differ for everyone. But OWS and fear of OWS is definitely one reason why some people continue to use opioids despite wanting to stop.
Learn more about OWS and some options for the management and treatment of it in this article.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! I'm Losing My Mind!
|
|
Tips for Family & Friends of Someone With an Addiction
|
|
If you are a family member or friend of someone with an addiction, you likely have a lot of big feelings about the situation. One feeling that we often hear expressed in our Family & Friends program is, “Help! I’m losing my mind!”
Before we go much further, let's be very clear–no, you're not. But it might feel like it if you have a loved one with a life-threatening addiction, within a broken healthcare system, within a society that doesn't understand.
these feelings in our latest guest blog–provided by one of our Family & Friends Meeting Facilitators.
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 Ways You Can Team Up
with SMART Recovery to Fight Addiction
|
|
A growing number of individuals, family members and friends are finding our self-empowering program helpful in recovering from all types of addictive substances and behaviors. Unfortunately, many more are disappointed to find that there are not yet any SMART meetings in their area, which means we have an enormous need for new volunteers to start and run SMART meetings around the country!
In this article, we’ve listed four great ways you can team up with SMART Recovery in the fight against addiction, including:
* Most of the volunteer positions presented are available in both in-person and online options.
If you’re interested in signing up to become a SMART Recovery volunteer, now is the perfect time to fill out an application. Volunteer Month applications close on April 30, 2019.
|
|
|
|
|
|
April is Volunteer Month!
|
|
Help Us Fund the SMART Training Scholarship Fund
|
|
|
Each April, we celebrate our amazing volunteers and encourage others to join our volunteer team. During this month, we solicit applications and offer training scholarships to a large number of individuals to jumpstart their volunteer journey.
This has been our best Volunteer Month to date with far more volunteer applications than we anticipated (and with more coming in daily)!
While we are well over our goal for new volunteers, we are well below our fundraising goal to fund the scholarships. We need your help.
Donate early and your gift will qualify for a 100% match, thanks to challenge gifts we have received from some of our most dedicated supporters.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you for supporting our mission to provide recovery training to those in need!
|
|
|
|
SMART Recovery Featured on YouTube Show: REALITY CHECK
|
|
SMART Recovery was recently featured in the YouTube show REALITY CHECK starring kittie KaBoom, which streams courtesy of RECOVERY TV, a non-profit recovery-related media content company and digital hub based in L.A.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019 SMART Recovery Annual Conference
|
|
Hotel Reservations are Officially Open!
|
|
We hope that you are able to join us for our upcoming conference and very special celebration of our 25th Anniversary!
The 2019 SMART Recovery Annual Conference will be held September 20-22 at The Westin Chicago Northwest Hotel in Itasca (a suburb of Chicago and close to O’Hare Airport). Hotel room and conference facilities are located on the same premises. More details about the conference can be found here.
|
|
| Hotel Accommodations: We are pleased to announce that you can now book your hotel rooms for this year's conference! Please click here to read more about our hotel accommodations and tips for booking your reservation. |
|
|
|
Special Thanks to Our
2019 Silver Anniversary Conference Supporters
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to the SMART Recovery Blog
|
|
| Want to see this type of helpful, educational information more often? Subscribe to the SMART Recovery blog and receive a blog digest email every Friday with links to the blog articles published during that week.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Self-Management And Recovery Training
|
|
Founded in 1994, SMART Recovery uses science-based techniques that have proven to be effective in helping people recover from addiction problems involving any substance or behavior, including alcohol, drugs, gambling, over-eating, shopping and internet use.
Participants use SMART to assume responsibility for their own recovery and become empowered using its 4-Point Program®: Building motivation; Coping with urges; Managing thoughts, feelings and behaviors; and Living a balanced life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
