Author Archives: Patrik

If you want to help someone that is abusing alcohol or drugs, whether it’s someone you love or a patient you are treating, what are the options you can point them to?  If they live in San Diego, especially in any of the cities in North County, such as Carlsbad, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Oceanside, Vista, or San Marcos, there are a wide range of alternatives available.  People often ask how someone would typically go through the recovery process. Generally, someone needing services would start by having some kind of consequence that leads them to seek help. Perhaps their job is in jeopardy or they might lose a significant relationship or they just may want to reduce use before it Read More…

I shunned therapy or help of any kind for most of my life. As a child, I had a terrible fear of the doctor. My pediatrician referred to me as his “kitty cat,” and gave me suckers every time I went in for a visit – which in my mind, was far too often. I cried and cried every time my mom took me to the doctor because I knew that hidden behind his smiles and candy was pain. And I didn’t like to feel pain. A nurse would suddenly burst into the room and then it would happen – I would get stuck with a giant needle. I resisted pain so much that the nurse eventually sat on my Read More…

You find yourself in yet another argument with your partner because they are drinking again on a weekday. They swore to you that they would only drink on the weekends and would be fully present for their work responsibilities during the week. However, you hear their excuses about another stressful day at the office, you see their irritable reactions to yourself and the kids and you feel like you’re walking on egg shells with all the ups and downs that come with emotional instability. It seems like they find every reason in the book to reach for the bottle. It’s clear to you that their drinking may be more than just a weekend affair. It may actually be the formidable Read More…

It’s that time of year where most people are talking change. It’s also the time of year where most people experience shame and disappointment around yet another failed New Year’s resolution.It goes something like this…You talk a good game with great intentions, but somewhere in the change process things get lost in translation. It starts off so well. You are following through with exercising every day, eating breakfast that matches your metabolic type and limiting your alcohol use. Just like you said you would. However, by the end of the second week, you are beginning to slip; work, the kids and other projects start to take precedent over your goal to make this the year of being health conscious and Read More…

Successful recovery involves many things – motivation, therapeutic    support, and a balanced lifestyle.  Having loving, supportive friends and family is an important part of lasting recovery.  It can be stressful to reintegrate back into your life of family, work and other routines and responsibilities.  This also is true of romance and sexual intimacy.  Many people in recovery can feel anxiety about reconnecting with their partners in an intimate way.  Often times, people in recovery had sex mostly when intoxicated or high.  Sex without alcohol or drugs can be anxiety-provoking.  Their partners, too, might not be used to sex without their partners being under the influence.When reconnecting with your partner in your newfound sobriety or recovery you need to consider a Read More…

Some individuals struggling with substance use have been traumatized. Whether in military service, as first responders, victims of crime or natural catastrophes, or witnesses of accidents and other violent events they have been affected in a way that makes normal functioning extremely difficult or even impossible. There is another form of traumatization that is not connected to a single extreme event but is the result of a long lasting or repeated incidents like domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, bullying in school or at work, living in a war zone, experiencing famine or having to flee your home and become a refugee. Unfortunately for these sufferers the attempt to remedy their distress by using substances to self-medicate frequently leads them Read More…