The Social Test After Rehab One of the first shocks after rehab is realising how much of South African social life is built around alcohol. It is braais, birthdays, weddings, rugby days, club nights, beach days, family lunches, work functions, even funerals. If you are newly sober, you are not [...]
How to stop enabling Families living with addiction often feel like they are trapped between two terrible options. If they are soft, they are accused of enabling. If they are hard, they are accused of cruelty. Most families then swing between rescuing and exploding, and both swings feed the addiction [...]
When success becomes the hiding place Some of the hardest addictions to spot are the ones that come wrapped in competence. The person looks organised, reliable, productive, and in control. They hit deadlines. They keep their job. They pay bills. They show up at family events. They are the one [...]
The Dirty Reality of Covered Families hear the words medical aid and they relax, because they assume the financial part is handled. They think if a doctor recommends rehab, the system will simply open a door and pay. That assumption is one of the reasons people delay treatment in South [...]
When Prescription Sleeping Tablets Become A Daily Dependency Sleeping tablets and anti anxiety medication are often treated like harmless tools, especially when they are prescribed. The story sounds respectable. The person is not partying, they are struggling. They are not reckless, they are exhausted. They are not getting high, they [...]
Gambling addiction is one of the most destructive addictions in South Africa because it doesn’t need a syringe, a bottle, or a bag to ruin a home. It only needs access, secrecy, and a brain that believes the next win will fix everything. That is what makes it such a [...]
The “clean” habit that quietly takes control Vaping got popular because it looked like a smarter choice. No ash. No smell. No stained fingers. No obvious cough that tells the world what you do. It slips into modern life easily, and that is exactly why it becomes a problem. The [...]
The Night Everyone Tries to Forget Addiction has a way of keeping things quiet until it cannot, then it erupts in the hours when help feels far away and everyone is running on fear and anger. It is two in the morning, your phone is ringing, someone is missing or [...]
There is a strange kind of reassurance that comes with someone who looks like they have everything together. They wake up early and they hit their deadlines and they keep their family fed and clothed and they appear to glide through life with a level of steadiness that other people [...]
When the Truth Becomes Too Heavy to Hold Addiction is not only a physical and psychological illness; it is also a disease that dismantles emotional honesty. As the problem grows, the addict becomes increasingly unable to tolerate the discomfort of truth. Reality begins to feel like a threat, not because [...]
