By Gabriel, Renascent Alumni My entire life I felt I did not belong anywhere. I felt like the outsider, the one hiding amongst everyone else. I felt like I lived a double life. Only free to truly be myself when I was alone. I felt that it took me more effort to get to a … Continued
Having been in recovery for more than 8 years and an addictions counsellor for over 7 of those years, Renascent’s Martha Williams has supported hundreds of people in creating a new life without drugs and alcohol. “My recovery is my lifestyle and has been built around certain things that I MUST do,” says Martha. “I … Continued
I wondered how I would be able to celebrate Christmas (my fav time of the year) without it being the same as every other year. How would we wake up that morning without having Dad be a part of it, like every other year growing up? How would my brother and I open our stockings … Continued
By Michael Lochran, Director of Programs and Operations, Renascent For many of us the winter months of December and January bring with them the holiday season. If you are celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, the New Year, or any of the other dozens of holidays from all faiths and cultures, the holiday season means celebration, observances … Continued
By Sue, Renascent Alumni My journey to Step 1 began many years ago and resulted in many failures because, I never “admitted that (I) was powerless over alcohol and that (my) life had become unmanageable”. I could control my drinking. I could get up and go to work in the morning despite the hangovers. I … Continued
For almost 16 years Olga had been using drugs and alcohol before she began treatment at Renascent’s Graham Munro Treatment Centre. “I couldn’t grasp the idea of sobriety – it scared me,” says Olga. “I didn’t know how to live daily life in such a way that would bring me joy, and I didn’t know … Continued
For many people, the holiday season is a time for celebration with friends and family, and hopefully the same is true for you. For many in recovery, however, there is a tremendous amount of anxiety at this time of year because the festive season tends to be rife with temptation in the form of alcohol … Continued
We often tell people that “addiction is a family disease”; it’s a common saying and for good reason. We know that addiction is a disease, and just like other illnesses, it can be passed down through generations of family members. Families are also interconnected systems: the whole is a sum of each part. Family members … Continued
Too often, self-care gets described as a face mask and a glass of wine. The truth is, self-care is the combination of healthy activities you can do to reduce your stress, improve your mood, support your health, and generally feel balanced day to day. Generally, self-care is what you do for yourself to support and … Continued
Transforming unhelpful ways of living is different for everyone. For one person, a commitment to not work so many hours a week may be the key to restoring harmony in his life and relationships. For another, the answer may lie in her reducing the inordinate amount of time wasted texting, tweeting or Facebook surfing instead of engaging in authentic face-to-face interactions. If we can begin by allocating even 5-10 minutes a day to fuel our mind with a healthier stillness diet, it will do wonders in no time – not only in how we feel, but in how our brain gets rewired … and our priorities too.
