The Coleman Institute Blog

I must admit I was a little surprised earlier this week when Bridget Walsh, our Clinical Case Manager and I screened a former patient who wanted to return to The Coleman Institute for Addiction Medicine for a second detox off opioids.

When we talk about recovery and the interpersonal dynamics that often occur in relationships, “enabling” is the dirty word no one wants to hear. But what is enabling? How do we know when we’re loving someone too much? And once we can recognize it, how do we stop it?

If you get a chance to watch the Netflix documentary film Recovery Boys, please do so. I attended a screening of the film at Studio Two Three in Richmond last night with Dr. Coleman and my nurse practitioner colleague, Lauren Farnsworth, to a pretty full audience. The filmmaker, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, was available afterward to talk and answer questions.

People in recovery deserve a lot of praise. The best gift that you can give someone in recovery is acknowledgment; an acknowledgement of how hard they have worked, how much they have changed, and how proud of them you are. If you didn't know, those in recovery call their recovery dates birthdays, so having that date in your calendar is really thoughtful as well.