Holidays & Substance Abuse

With more Americans claiming Irish ancestry than there are people in the Republic of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a widely celebrated holiday in the U.S. that is synonymous with excessive drinking. While many will be tempted to binge drink—defined as consuming five or more drinks in two hours for men and four or m more...

Spring break is defined as a week’s worth of vacation for students and usually takes place in the spring, typically around Easter. For some students, it’s a time of relaxation and letting go of the stressors of school. But for many others, it’s also a time when risky behaviors, such as binge drinking and unprotec more...

For many people, the holiday season is a time for celebration and spending time with loved ones. But for those battling addiction or in recovery, it can also be a time filled with added worry and stress. (more…) more...

Every year on Christmas Eve, good old Saint Nick delivers hundreds of millions of presents to children all around the world. That is quite a task to complete in just one day, and yet this rotund, jolly fellow somehow manages to get the job done each and every time. (more…) more...

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Halloween has become one of the deadliest nights of the year, especially for drunk driving. In 2009, half of the traffic crash fatalities that occurred between 6:00pm on October 31st and 6:00am on November 1st resulted because of a person driving under th more...

Underage Drinking and Drug Use on Memorial Day Weekend: A Parent/Educator Alert Memorial Day is a time for solemn observation as we honor and remember those who sacrificed their lives defending hearth and home on faraway shores. But the Memorial Day weekend has also become an occasion for revelry and celebration. This more...

Spring break is a fun time of year for most students. It means relief from studying and hitting the books and is a good opportunity to relax and recover. For most students, though, spring break means partying, drinking, sex, and a whole lot of trouble. Partying during spring break has taken on epic proportions in the l more...

As the clock counts down to midnight on New Year’s Eve many individuals throughout the United States will be celebrating the closing of one year and the beginning of the next. Unfortunately, New Year’s Eve celebrations tend to be fueled by alcohol and drugs; a correlation that can be difficult for those who are more...

In what seemed like a blink of an eye another year is coming to a close as we experience 2013’s holiday season. While the holiday season is a time for celebration and spending time with loved ones, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s can also be extremely stressful for those in addiction recovery; especially tho more...

Growing up my mom liked to play a game every Thanksgiving once we all sat down for dinner. She would ask everyone to go around the table and name a few things that they were grateful for. Our friends and family would then go around the table in turn and list things such as our health, new jobs, personal challenges w more...