Addiction Archives - Heather Hayes & Associates https://heatherhayes.com/tag/addiction/ Interventions & Treatment Consulting Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:45:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://heatherhayes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-HH_logo-32x32.png Addiction Archives - Heather Hayes & Associates https://heatherhayes.com/tag/addiction/ 32 32 America Is Repeating Its Worst Mistakes With Ketamine https://heatherhayes.com/america-is-repeating-its-worst-mistakes-with-ketamine/ Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:45:51 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7714 Ketamine was never supposed to become wellness culture’s answer to despair. Developed in 1962 as a dissociative anesthetic and approved by the FDA in 1970, it earned a legitimate and important place in hospitals, battlefield medicine, and procedural anesthesia, valued precisely because it preserved breathing and cardiovascular stability better than many alternatives. Decades later, researchers […]

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]]> When Families Consider an Intervention: Myths, Fear, and the Beginning of Healing https://heatherhayes.com/when-families-consider-an-intervention-myths-fear-and-the-beginning-of-healing/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7708 Families rarely arrive at the idea of an intervention lightly. By the time someone begins to search for help for a loved one struggling with substance use disorder or serious mental health concerns, there have often been months or years of fear, confusion, and exhaustion. Many families have already tried conversations, encouragement, boundaries, and appeals […]

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]]> Benzodiazepine Addiction: The Quiet Epidemic Hidden Inside Modern Anxiety Treatment https://heatherhayes.com/benzodiazepine-addiction-the-quiet-epidemic-hidden-inside-modern-anxiety-treatment/ Fri, 29 May 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7595 By the 1960s, medicine believed it had found a safer answer to anxiety. The era of barbiturates, which carried high overdose risks and profound sedation, appeared to be ending. In their place came a new class of medications that promised calm, sleep, and emotional relief with far less danger: benzodiazepines. What began as a pharmaceutical […]

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]]> The Cost of Burnout in Leadership Roles Supporting Trauma and Addiction https://heatherhayes.com/the-cost-of-burnout-in-leadership-roles-supporting-trauma-and-addiction/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 07:00:09 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7514 As leaders in the field of trauma and addiction recovery and support, we face considerable pressures and stresses that very often lead to burnout. Burnout is understood by the World Health Organization as an occupational phenomenon [1] – in other words, it is a condition which is explicitly linked to the work we do. And […]

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]]> What Is a Therapeutic Consultant in Mental Health and Addiction? https://heatherhayes.com/what-is-a-therapeutic-consultant-in-mental-health-and-addiction/ Wed, 22 Apr 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7507 When a family realizes that their child, young adult, or loved one is struggling with serious mental health concerns, substance use, or behavioral challenges, they often find themselves facing an overwhelming and confusing system of care. There are hundreds of programs, including residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, stabilization units, addiction treatment programs, young adult […]

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]]> The Emotional Toll of Loving Someone with an Addiction https://heatherhayes.com/the-emotional-toll-of-loving-someone-with-an-addiction/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:03:09 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7500 As mental health care practitioners, and also more broadly as a society, we often discuss how it feels to experience addiction: the symptoms of substance use disorder, its effects, the challenges facing individuals who are in treatment and recovery, and the prevalence of these difficulties amongst the wider population. However, individuals with substance use disorder […]

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]]> Nitrous Oxide Abuse in America: Rising Deaths, Neurological Damage, and the Danger of Large Tanks https://heatherhayes.com/nitrous-oxide-abuse-in-america-rising-deaths-neurological-damage-and-the-danger-of-large-tanks/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:29:11 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7465 Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, has long been used safely in medical and dental settings. In recent years, however, recreational nitrous oxide use in the United States has increased, particularly outside of clinical supervision. What was once associated primarily with small canisters known as whippits has evolved into a more concerning trend: the […]

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]]> When Help Becomes a Hustle: Healthcare Fraud in Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment https://heatherhayes.com/when-help-becomes-a-hustle-healthcare-fraud-in-mental-health-and-substance-use-disorder-treatment/ Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:11:13 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7260 Families often encounter behavioral health in a moment of fear. A child is unraveling. A partner is disappearing into relapse. A parent is terrified that the next call will be the hospital, jail, or morgue. That urgency creates a market in which bad actors can exploit need, confusion, and time pressure. Healthcare fraud in mental […]

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]]> Connection as Medicine: Reclaiming Relationships after Trauma and Substance Use Disorder https://heatherhayes.com/connection-as-medicine-reclaiming-relationships-after-trauma-and-substance-use-disorder/ Wed, 26 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7180 “Every person I’ve ever met in the throes of addiction has been searching for the same thing: connection.” – Johann Hari Addiction, at its core, is not about moral failure, weakness, or lack of willpower. It is about separation or disconnection from self, from others, and often from any sense of safety in the world. […]

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]]> Finding Recovery Without God: How Secular 12-Step Programs and Practical Steps Can Transform Lives https://heatherhayes.com/finding-recovery-without-god-how-secular-12-step-programs-and-practical-steps-can-transform-lives/ Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:00:36 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7161 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is one of the most recognized recovery programs in the world. For nearly 90 years, it has helped millions break free from the grip of addiction. Its model—built on connection, community, and a structured process—has stood the test of time. But for some, AA’s religious language and “higher power” emphasis can feel […]

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]]> Women, Substance Use, and Mental Health: A Historical and Relational Perspective https://heatherhayes.com/women-substance-use-and-mental-health-a-historical-and-relational-perspective/ Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7112 The experience of women who are in substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health (MH) treatment has long been shaped by cultural norms, historical stigma, and systemic barriers. From the marketing of “women’s tonics” in the 19th Century to modern critiques of treatment models designed primarily for men, women’s struggles and triumphs in recovery reflect […]

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]]> Navigating Dysfunction: Robert Subby’s Family Rules from “Lost in the Shuffle” https://heatherhayes.com/navigating-dysfunction-robert-subbys-family-rules-from-lost-in-the-shuffle/ Wed, 06 Aug 2025 07:00:59 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7045 In his influential book, Lost in the Shuffle (1987), Robert Subby explores the hidden rules that govern families affected by addiction, mental illness, and unresolved trauma. Beyond the five core rules he famously outlined (control, perfection, blame, denial, and unreliability), Subby also described a deeper layer of implicit sayings or commandments that shape behavior and […]

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