What to do about it How to End Social Media Addiction and Protect Your Mental Health With the advent of the social media age, the concept of addiction to online social platforms has become increasingly concerning. Defined as a behavioural addiction, a social media addiction will involve being highly and overly concerned about social media […]
Addiction Resources
The potency of cannabis
The potency of cannabis and how dangerous it can be for your mental health Our leading addiction experts, therapists and medical staff at Smarmore Castle are issuing a strong warning against the use of cannabis. This warning comes off the back of the latest figures in Ireland showing alarming rates of hospital admission for stronger, […]
Irish Addiction Services see a major increase
Irish Addiction Services see a major increase in demand since Christmas 2020/1 Smarmore Castle is an addiction treatment centre about 45 minutes north of Dublin. This means we are on the frontline coping with addiction problems here in Ireland. With many of us stuck in our homes since early 2020, life has inevitably become harder. […]
How to Practise Mindfulness at Home
Anyone who stays with us at Smarmore Castle practises mindfulness, helping you develop the skills you need to keep yourself strong and continue into a healthy recovery when you leave treatment with us. If you’ve been with us and are looking for a reminder of this, take a moment to remember being in the meeting […]
Step 1 of the 12-Steps
Smarmore Castle’s treatment is based on the 12 Steps of addiction recovery, which takes people who are suffering with addiction and helps you learn how to beat your addiction. This article provides an overview of Step 1, and it may be helpful for anyone who has already been through 12-Step treatment to return to this […]
A reflection of recovery by a past patient at Smarmore Castle
A former patient at Smarmore Castle sent us this reflection, looking back at their recovery journey, and we hope this helps anyone who is daunted by the prospect of treatment for addiction. You can come through this. Reflection of recovery by a past patient “As I sit here – two and a half years clean […]
Losing a pet and a family member in recovery
Anyone who has lost loved ones or who loves animals may identify with this little segment, written by a former patient at Smarmore Castle. “I have always had a love of animals from a young age, however over the course of my addiction I was lucky to be able to look after my kids and […]
Alcohol and Recovery on St Patrick’s Day
St Patrick’s Day is synonymous with alcohol and this can be difficult if you are in early recovery from alcoholism. Even with bars and pubs shut this St Patrick’s Day it is hard to avoid discounts on sales of alcohol in the shops, and news reports say that people will still be meeting in secret […]
Secret Drinking – How to spot the Signs Of Hidden Alcoholism
Hidden Signs of Alcoholism How can you see the signs of secret drinking when people with an alcohol problem become so good at hiding it? Many people occasionally enjoy a nice glass of wine or a pint in a pub. But how can you tell when things get out of hand, and alcohol consumption becomes […]
How are we performing? Recent Patient Satisfaction Levels
At Smarmore Castle, we regularly survey patient satisfaction to make sure we listen and respond to what our patients are saying. Recent surveys from the first nine months of 2020 – including the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic – showed some very positive results: Here are some of the comments given by patients: “Thank you, […]
Chest Pains After Drinking Alcohol
Causes, Symptoms and How to Help Picture the scene: it’s the morning after a hefty night before in Dublin’s pubs and clubs. You wake up, and alongside the hazy memories and bloodshot eyes, you also feel an ache in your chest. Does this sound familiar? Perhaps you’ve experienced chest pain after a binge-drinking session with […]
People Consume More Alcohol in Colder Climates
The first academic report to have investigated the impact of weather on alcohol intake. Study found a clear negative correlation between climate factors – average temperature and sunlight hours – and alcohol consumption.