As we enter another month of lockdown in the UK, it is important for us to take time to check in and make sure that we are coping with the effects of this on ourselves and our wellbeing.

With more than 3 billion people around the world in lockdown, there has never been a situation like this in our history. The fact that everyone is in the same boat is of little comfort, however, if you are an addict/alcoholic wishing to say clean and sober.

Break ups are hard, whatever your situation, and the loss of a relationship and the associated emotional stress and upset can be devastating. For an addict, personal relationships have often been put under so much strain that, even when they are in recovery, the damage to the relationship may be too much to repair.

In 2019 an estimated 4.2million people in the UK abstained from drinking in January as part of the Dry January campaign.

If there is one day of the year when there is so much expectation and hype, it has to be Christmas Day. It seems almost as soon as the summer has ended that the Christmas marketing machine gears up and we are bombarded with advertising, promotions and products all based the expectation of a perfect ‘family Christmas’.

Addiction is a life-long illness with relapse a risk, whether you have recently left rehab or have been in recovery for a long time. This is why long-term recovery is about so much more than detoxing and getting through the first few weeks of sobriety.

Cocaine causes a short-lived, intense high. It is this high that cocaine users are continually chasing and with prolonged use, the user has to take larger and larger quantities to get this same high...

Witnessing the addiction of a loved one is one of the hardest things to experience. It is not something most people are prepared for, and the resulting actions, although intended to help, can in fact enable their continued addiction.

Increasingly in our society we are never without stimulation. You only need to look at people who immediately turn to their smart phones whilst waiting for someone or in the TV ad break. We are programmed to seek stimulation and the idea that boredom is the enemy.

There is a strong scientific consensus that drinking alcohol can cause several types of cancer. The US Dapartment of Health and Human Services, lists the consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen.