Asian Lecturing: The Wrong Love Language
Traditional Asian parents love to lecture their children both when they’re minors but also well into adulthood. My clients bristle, complain, and shake their heads in frustration when relaying how their parents make it a point to tell them how to live their lives.
Parents will lecture their children on topics such as how to succeed in school or their professions, how to date, how to improve their marriages, how to be a “better” person but also mundane aspects of life such as how to be “healthier” (e.g. what you should be eating, how you should be sleeping/resting, etc.)
Addiction & the Covid Connection: How Addiction has increased amidst the Pandemic.
In the past year, I’ve seen my caseload and that of other colleagues jump significantly amidst this pandemic. Is it a coincidence? I don’t think so. Unfortunately, the pandemic has brought about the perfect storm for addiction: isolation, secrecy, and a desire for escapism.
Addiction thrives in isolation and secrecy. New clients have reported how the physical isolation from friends, family members, and co-workers has only added to that sense of loneliness. In addition, those who were in the initial stages of addiction recovery but had yet to develop a strong connection or community of mentors, sponsors, 12 Step Groups or others avenues of help found themselves suffering in silence.
Relapse is a Part of Recovery: The Reality of Addiction Treatment
Clients and loved ones come into therapy wanting to end their compulsive, addictive behaviors but few recognize the realization of what it encompasses. People will swear to never go back to their “drug of choice” and I will acknowledge their steadfast commitment while giving them an understanding that recovery should be likened to a marathon and not a sprint.
People enter addiction recovery after years of engaging in their destructive behaviors and I let everyone know that it’s going to take patience and understanding for true recovery to take hold.
