Yesterday someone I know asked me why I wasn’t writing anything on my blog about fentanyl—which has become such a horrific problem lately. Although I had thought a few times about perhaps addressing it, I would stop myself with this thought:“What could I say that hasn’t already been covered in the news? What could I possibly add that would be of any value?”I’m glad my friend challenged me about this, because today I see that I’ve made a mistake by thinking that way. So I’m writing about it … [Read more...] about Fentanyl – What We Can Do About It
Blog
I’ve Been Chosen as a “Best Blogger”!
I’ve always been amazed at the ebbs and flows of life. When I was going to 12-Step programs many years ago, one of my favourite sayings there was, “This too shall pass.” As time went on, I began to trust that if something I didn’t like was happening in my life, it would eventually shift and change—hopefully into something better, if I was willing to do the inner work to make that happen.Of course, this was also true of the things that were happening that I did like—so I had to become willing to … [Read more...] about I’ve Been Chosen as a “Best Blogger”!
Addiction and Recovery: What Do Addicts REALLY Need?
Whenever I hear clients repeating themselves in our therapy sessions, I take notice.Their repetition alerts me that something is really important to them. Sometimes they’ll tell me the same story more than once, other times they will ask the same questions a few times. In other cases, they will repeat words—especially when they are striving to let me know how they feel.So when I began receiving emails this past week from both colleagues and clients containing the same link to the same TED talk … [Read more...] about Addiction and Recovery: What Do Addicts REALLY Need?
Marijuana IS Addictive
June 18, 2015Dear Minister of Education: Province of British Columbia Hon. Peter Fassbender: Hello, my name is Candace Plattor, and I am an Addictions Therapist in private practice in Vancouver. I have worked in this field for over 25 years, 16 of which were in the Downtown Eastside, helping the addicts and alcoholics there. I now work primarily with the loved ones of addicts, because there is so little help for them out there. I have written two award-winning books on this subject, which you … [Read more...] about Marijuana IS Addictive
Is It a Reason or an Excuse? Maintaining Your Self-Respect in the Face Of Life’s Challenges
Have you ever used a reason as an excuse for not doing something? If so, you’re definitely not alone!It’s often very easy to confuse reasons and excuses. Lately I’ve discovered that I sometimes try to explain my excuses away as reasons—particularly when it’s about something I either don’t want to do or am fearful of following through on.As usual, the more I notice this tendency in myself, the more I see that pretty much all of us do this on a fairly frequent basis—whether we realize it or not. … [Read more...] about Is It a Reason or an Excuse? Maintaining Your Self-Respect in the Face Of Life’s Challenges
