Friend or mentor? Or both? Can and should you be friends with a 12 step sponsor? We discuss here.

Many addiction professionals try to skip over the issue of HONESTY and rush into labeling clients and beginning to address other treatment issues. However, honesty is a must if freedom from addiction is your goal.

The short answer is yes, Soma can be addictive. Learn who gets addicted to Soma and how to recognize proper use from abuse here.

Worried about getting addicted to sleeping aids? Know the difference between sleeping pill tolerance and sleep aid addiction? We review the top 10 brand name addictive sleep aids here.

Wondering what lies behind your compulsive behavior? Learn about the personality disorders which drive us to drink, drug and behave compulsively. “Why do I drink, drug, or have addictive behavior?” Find out here.

Some U.S. states may start to require that patients being treated for chronic pain be randomly tested for the presence of opioids. But will this practice reduce prescription drug misuse, addiction, and overdose? Or will required testing for opioids benefits patients? Dr. Burson comments here on random drug testing for opioids here.

With art as a method of addressing addiction, everyone can understand the message of recovery. Young, old, rich, poor. Learn some key lessons in setting up addiction art exhibitions and how art shows can help advance the cause of addiction educators.

Dr. Burson answers medical questions about vicodin withdrawal here. Info includes the relationship between endorphins and opioids, when you start feeling better and alternatives to methadone maintenance programs. A brief comparison between vicodin withdrawal and suboxone withdrawal here.

The disease of addiction still carries stigma. And there is often added stigma for nurse addicts. We offer reasons that society judges medical staff who are substance users and abusers…and suggestions for how to decrease the stigma of drug abuse among nurses here.

You are here because you or someone you are close to is addicted to a drug or alcohol. But are you ready to stop? And how can you assess possible success in recovery? Learn some simple truths about addiction recovery, plus five (5) questions to assess drug and alcohol recovery issues here.