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Resilient Brain Project

Breaking Down Barriers to Mental Health Through Accessible, Therapeutic Learning

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  • Addictions
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Addictions

“Compulsive behaviors are actions that people feel driven or ‘compelled’ to do. While they may be able to resist the urge for a short period of time, they ultimately cannot resist or control it. These compulsions may become significantly disruptive to their life and can be very distressing.”
Addiction.com

Actions For Now

Steps (& Apps) to Reduce Symptoms
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Locate a nearby treatment center, contact their emergency hotline, and learn more about addiction and recovery via this agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services
  • “6 Ways to Take a Break From Drinking”: Looking to cut back? These steps may help
  • The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Test: An assessment developed by the World Health Organization (WHO)
  • “64 Ways to Cope with Cravings”: This infographic from Water’s Edge Therapy offers behavioral alternatives to engaging in compulsive behavior
  • Addiction Hypnosis Meditation: This meditation focuses on the relationship between addiction/compulsive behaviors and fear
  • The Modern Mocktail: Socializing often revolves around drinking; impress your friends while staying zero-proof with these curated mocktails
  • Association of Recovery in Higher Education: Join the collegiate recovery movement as either a student in recovery or a supportive parent
  • “How to Survive Opiate Withdrawal: Symptoms, Timeline, Recommendations”: Bill Weiss, founder of Uniting Recovery, offers information about experiencing opiate withdrawal.
  • “How to Break the Pattern on Love Addiction”: An article from Psychology Today that includes a self-assessment for love addiction and advice for overcoming it
Apps
  • QuitNow: Monitor cigarette use, connect with an online community of people coping with cigarette addictions
  • Sober Grid: Find and reach out to sober people in your community, focuses on drugs and alcohol
  • Quit It: Calculate how much money you save/lose each time you buy or don’t buy cigarettes
  • Step Away: Monitor triggers and receive tips/encouragement for quitting alcohol
  • notOK: Receive immediate support from your friends, family, or peer network

For Allies

Give the Best Support Possible
  • Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation resources for families: Get a professional assessment, learn about what happens in treatment, and get tips for moving forward
  • “Helping a Child Whose Parent is Struggling with Addiction”: This podcast covers the basics on providing empathetic support
  • Partnership for Drug-Free Kids family resources: Speak to a free hotline counselor, learn about helpful skills and treatment options, and find articles about steps you can take to help your child with substance use
  • “How You Can Support a Partner Who’s Struggling with their Mental Health”: Kristin Dart, LICSW, offers tips for those unsure how to best support their significant other during touch psychological times.
  • “Three Things to Do When You Suspect Drug Use”: Advice for how to move forward when you suspect one of your child’s friends may be abusing substances
  • Get Naloxone Now: Learn how to respond to an emergency opioid overdose in as little as 20 minutes

You’re Not Alone

Connect with Others, Hear their Stories & Access Playlists
Stories
  • The Official Sober Podcast Network: A podcast focusing on addiction recovery, featuring episodes like “Finding Hope for Parents of Addicted Children,” “How Overprescribing Can Lead to Addiction,” and “Alcohol and Pop Culture.”
  • “Five Things That Saved Me From Relapsing”: One woman on the tools that keep her from drinking
  • “How Five Chefs in Recovery Live One Day At A Time”: 5 successful chefs describe their recovery journeys and how they’ve affected their lives, both professional and personal
  • The Sobriety Collective: Connect with others via blogs and podcasts, and discover other tools through this online “recovery hub”
  • Sober Grid: Find and reach out to sober people in your community, focuses on drugs and alcohol
  • “4 Vital Life Lessons Alcohol Addiction Recovery Taught Me”: A blogger wrote this post when he was about to reach his 9-year sobriety anniversary
  • Food Addicts Anonymous: A self-supported 12-step community focusing on food addiction.
Tune In

Check out our Spotify playlist for Addiction here

  • “One Day at a Time,” Joe Walsh
  • “Chandelier,” Sia
  • “You Don’t Own Me,” Leslie Gore
  • “Super Rich Kids,” Frank Ocean
  • “Judi,” Rhoma Irama
  • “Hotel California,” Eagles
  • “Nobody Drinks Alone,” Keith Urban
  • “Sober,” Pink
  • “Underneath the Bottle,” Lou Reed
  • “Recover,” Natasha Bedingfield
  • “Using,” Sorority Noise
  • “Cold Turkey,” John Lennon
  • “Fight Song,” Rachel Platten
  • “Sober,” Demi Lovato
  • “Starting Over,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
  • “Break Free,” Ariana Grande
  • “Needle and the Damage Done,” Neil Young
  • “Swim,” Jack’s Mannequin
  • “It’s Been Awhile,” Staind
  • “Under the Bridge,” Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • “Breaking the Habit,” Linkin Park
  • “Amazing,” Aerosmith
  • “Better in Time,” Jordan Sparks
  • “I Want to Break Free,” Queen
  • “Skyscraper,” Demi Lovato
  • “Shake It Out,” Florence & the Machine

Master The Subject

Learn How it Works & The Science Behind It
  • NIH National Association on Drug Abuse: Research intended to advance the science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction.
  • Institute for Research, Education, and Training in the Addictions (IRETA): Locate applied research and free training webinars and online courses on substance abuse
  • American Psychological Association: Collected education, research, and news about addiction.
  • SAMHSA: Learn more about addiction, types of treatment, addiction’s prevalence across the US, and prevention efforts via this government-funded website
  • Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Learn more about addiction and its symptoms and find resources for families, schools, and more
  • “LGBTQ+ Community Resources for Substance Abuse”: Addiction is a major issue within the LGBTQ community. Learn why, and how treatment providers can help.
  • NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals webinars: Free online webinars for professionals who work with addiction on topics such as advocacy, grief, college recovery programs, and more
  • “9 Things To Expect During Drug and Alcohol Treatment”: Know what to reasonably expect when you enter inpatient or outpatient treatment
  • “Your Brain On Drugs”: This infographic illustrates how drugs affect your neuropsychology
  • “Shopping Addiction 101”: A webpage examining the causes and symptoms of Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD)
  • “The Science of Addiction”: An infographic describing the effects and impact of various substances, including heroin and prescription drugs.
  • “5 Myths of Addiction”: A graphic describing and refuting popular myths about addiction, such as the idea that overcoming it is a mere matter of willpower.
  • “Drugs and the Brain”: An open course from MIT about how drugs interact with the brain
  • Addiction Professional: A digital archive of past issues, featuring articles about such as smoking, sex addiction, methadone use, EMDR treatment, and more
  • “Senior Citizens and Problem Gambling”: Why seniors are at an increased risk of engaging in problem gambling
  • “Sex Addiction Relapse: High Risk Scenarios”: An overview of common situations that lead to relapses in sex addiction
  • “Understanding and Managing Compulsive Sexual Behaviors”: An article reviewing the clinical features of compulsive sexual behavior and summarizing current (circa 2006) evidence for treatment.
  • “‘Merry Christmas, I’m a Sex Addict!’ When to Tell Your Parents and Family”: Advice for how to relay information about your compulsive sexual behavior to loved ones.
  • How Addiction Affects the Transgender Community: Information and resources regarding substance use and mental health in the transgender community

Advocate

Connect to the Larger Movement
  • NAADC, the Association for Addiction Professionals: Are you an addiction professional? Learn more about legislation that you can take action on today
  • Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America: A coalition dedicated to strengthening the capacity of communities to create and maintain healthy, drug-free environments
  • National Council on Problem Gambling: Treatment information, emergency hotline, and resources related to problem gambling.
  • Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: Resources for families struggling with a child’s substance addiction
  • SAMHSA: An agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services dedicated to advancing behavioral health. Their site features an emergency hotline, up-to-date research data, a treatment locator, and articles on various substances linked to addiction such as prevention, healthcare, homelessness, youth, and more.
  • Transforming Youth Recovery: Invest in bringing research and solution-based programs and resources to youth and their families

The human brain is both brilliant and resilient. Not only does it control the way we think, feel, and react to daily life, but it is also capable of undergoing major change. By working with the brain, we can change our experience to improve our personal, professional, and relational lives. Our goal is to empower you to do exactly that.

Link to The Viva Center

For more support in the Maryland, Virginia, or Washington DC area, click here for Viva.

The Resilient Brain Project (RBP) was developed in Fall 2017 by Viva Partnership LLC, with the goal of making mental health resources more accessible to the public.
Read more about RBP here→

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