addiction

We loved her. She knew. May the Force be with her.

She’s made all the mistakes, so you don’t have to…Ask Erin is a weekly advice column, in which Erin answers your burning questions about anything at all.

I told my kids if they are going to pick a substance, pick pot. Don’t buy booze. Don’t drink cough syrup. Do get high. Why? Because pot doesn’t kill people. Pot doesn’t wreck your liver. Pot makes you want to eat cookies and listen to Pink Floyd on reproduction vinyl you bought at Urban Outfitters.

No addiction or recovery story is the same. You don’t always kick the habit and you don’t always find the forgiveness which you seek. Around 60% of addicts relapse, according to the U.S. government. Others die. Others end up prison. Others lose their kids. Some make a full recovery.

Snickering at Anthony Weiner masks the brutal and difficult reality of coping with sexual addiction.

Mark prayed to Saint Francis, a patron saint of drunks and (according to Mark) lost causes. Mark wasn’t religious, but he wore a St. Francis amulet around his neck, a gift from his father. Nights when he didn’t come home, I prayed to St. Francis, too.

While people asking about our plan likely have good intentions, the conversation opens you up to so much judgment about how you’re planning to give birth.... Birth plans are personal, between parents and their care provider. We all make choices for our families that we feel are best, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.

If you have chronic pain, you are all too aware of the stigma surrounding the condition. Whether it comes from a disbelieving health professional, an intrusive pharmacy technician who does nothing to hide their suspicions, an employer who wonders why you can’t get off the couch today when you appeared “fine” the day before — it seems like everywhere you turn, someone is saying you don’t deserve pain relief.