By Jennifer McDougall Are you ready to make changes in your life to get on the right path to health and happiness? If so, you have come to the right place. Unfortunately, many people who have used and abused alcohol or other addictive drugs in the past know how damagingContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” – Sigmund Freud Give a person freedom and see what they do with it. When you give them space and freedom, what they choose to do with it willContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “When a problem or a difficult situation arises, say to yourself, as if you already believe it: “This is for my benefit.”― Chris Prentiss, Be Who You Want, Have What You Want: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Moving on after something traumatic can feel like an impossible task,Continue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall Alcohol is also known as ethanol, a liquid produced by fermentation and an ingredient in beer, wine, and liquor that causes intoxication. Alcohol is a depressant drug that slows down activity in the central nervous system, delaying messages sent to and from the body and the brainContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall While many people are stuck at home, finding themselves bored, with more time on their hands than they know what to do with, the number of people abusing drugs and alcohol is rising. According to Nielsen data, alcohol sales have risen 55 percent in the week endingContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.”― Roy T. Bennett ForContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall During times of crisis, it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos spreading through the news and media outlets informing us hourly of the many updates happening in the world. As a result, it’s common to feel increased stress and anxiety during times of uncertainty. InContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall St. Patrick’s day is when many people gather at pubs and drink green beer and snack on loaded potato skins. Those who don’t drink this holiday may feel a bit frustrating as we don’t see the fun and excitement in getting drunk or high. Instead, we areContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “If who you are and what you have is what you want, that’s perfect. Keep doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll get more of it.”― Chris Prentiss, Be Who You Want, Have What You Want: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life The majority of people who get outContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “A strong personal philosophy does more than sustain us through the tragedies of life. It also stains us daily in everything we think and do. It gives us optimism and hope.”― Chris Prentiss, Zen and the Art of Happiness When you think about the way you view the world,Continue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “At the bottom of every person’s dependency, there is always pain, Discovering the pain and healing it is an essential step in ending dependency.”― Chris Prentiss, The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure If you are someone who has been struggling with addiction and want to end the cycle and startContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “It takes practice, feeling happy about the ever-unfolding events of life, and, because of all the conditioning we have undergone before this, it may be very difficult to make the change, but if we take the saying to heart and practice it, as the days unfold weContinue Reading
By Chris Prentiss Our philosophy of how to defeat addiction came about over the ten years of learning how to defeat Pax’s addiction, first to marijuana, alcohol, ecstasy, tobacco, and finally, eight years of heroin and cocaine. In those early days, there were only 12 step programs and for nearlyContinue Reading
There are only four causes of all addiction. It may seem as if there are hundreds, but there are only four. You have quit many times, only to relapse, even if there were long periods of sobriety. What draws you inexorably back is the unresolved conditions produced by one orContinue Reading
By Chris Prentiss It’s the drug, “Ethanol,” the intoxicating ingredient of alcoholic beverages. Ethanol and alcohol; two different names for the same thing. There are other types of alcohol, but ethanol is the only one you can drink. Ethanol is what we put in our gas tanks to drive ourContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall Being treated for substance abuse-related issues at Passages Malibu is the start of something beautiful. Anyone who has struggled to get and stay sober knows how challenging this process is. That is why at Passages, we are fully committed to providing our clients with the best possibleContinue Reading
By Chris Prentiss The secret of what has caused and is keeping your addiction alive and active, making it seemingly impossible for you to quit, is within you. Learning the techniques of relapse recovery is important; learning a new philosophy of life and how to live it is important; discoveringContinue Reading
Drugs and alcohol are made of a variety of harmful chemicals that have many troubling effects on the body and brain. When a person consumes drugs and alcohol, chemicals make their way to the brain impacting how a person feels, thinks, and behaves. When someone is under the influence ofContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall Getting sober is one of the bravest and, at times, a very challenging journey. In the early days of sobriety, many people may feel uncomfortable when being invited out, at social events, coping with triggering events, telling people they no longer drink, in intimate settings, or beingContinue Reading
By Jennifer McDougall “Everybody in the world is seeking happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn’t depend on external conditions. It depends on inner conditions.”― Dale Carnegie Self-control is an essential aspect of leading a fulfilling life. It involves regulating one’sContinue Reading