People who are recovering from an addiction need guidance and treatment. Counseling can offer you the support you need to remain drug free when giving up or recovering from an addiction.  Behavioral treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, is very effective in helping people who use drugs manage their urges and stop their drug use. Family therapy can also be helpful, particularly if your family dysfunction is contributing to your drug use. Contingency management uses positive reinforcement, such as rewards, for staying off drugs. There are benefits and drawbacks to inpatient or outpatient facilities. Inpatient facilities enable close monitoring, remove the potential for drug use, and the detox process is fairly accelerated.  However, these can be quite expensive and may limit other activities, such as work. Outpatient treatments cost less and have less of an impact on the individual's life, but may not be as effective due to the potential for access to drugs due to being outside of the facility.This has the advantage of being less disruptive to the patient's life and less expensive. The best setting depends on a variety of factors, including the drug of abuse, the drug user's amount and length of history of abuse, the patient's age, and co-existing medical and/or psychiatric conditions among others.   To find a detox center, search here: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/  People with serious drug use problems, a long history of drug use, involvement in criminal activity, or trouble with social functioning due to drugs are often helped by residential treatment at a detox facility. Many peer-based support groups assign sponsors to new members. The sponsor is a recovering addict who will help you through the steps of the recovery program. A good sponsor will:  help you to grow, to become more productive, by your definition. help you become more autonomous, more loving of yourself, more excited, less sensitive, more free to become the authority for your own living. not be a crutch or be around you if you fail to make progress.

Summary: Seek counseling. Consider attending a detox facility. Find a sponsor.


Divan beds are designed as backless, but they often include screw holes for headboards to be added later. Before purchasing a new headboard, check how far apart its struts need to be in order to fit your bed. Check the back of your bed for bolts or screw holes on either side and measure the distance between them.  Larger beds may have more than one hole in a vertical line, but measuring these aren't necessary. You want the horizontal distance from a hole toward one side of the bed to one that's level with it toward the other. This step is not necessary if you plan to mount your headboard to the wall. First, measure from one corner of its head to the other to find out its width. Next, decide if you want the headboard to back any surrounding furniture, such as matching nightstands. If so, measure the distance between the bed and those pieces' farthest sides. Add those figures to your total width.  Headboards typically project anywhere up to three inches (7.6 cm) past the corner of the bed's head.  If you are backing other furniture as well, apply this rule to their farthest sides from the bed. Measure the length of the bed, from its head to its foot. Also measure its height, including the mattress and any toppers. Use these figures to determine how high above the top of your mattress your headboard should rise.  Standard headboards stand roughly 14 inches (35.5 cm) higher than the top of the mattress. Extra tall headboards should be less than the bed's length.

Summary: Measure between screw holes before buying. Determine how wide your headboard should be. Decide how high it should be.


Ask your doctor and read up on nicotine withdrawal, so you'll know what sort of symptoms and effects you might experience. Some common signs of nicotine withdrawal include: Dizziness Intense nicotine cravings Increased appetite or a greater desire to snack Trouble sleeping Sickness resembling the common cold or flu Gastrointestinal distress such as constipation Replacement products and medications may ease your withdrawal symptoms and help you stick to being smoke-free.  Ask your doctor which products may be right for you.  Nicotine replacement therapy may come in the form of patches, gum, or prescription inhalers or sprays that reduce cravings. As your withdrawal symptoms fade and you adjust to not smoking, you can work with your doctor to gradually taper off nicotine replacement therapy. Having support during this time is vital, so sign up for a group in your local community. In these groups, you might hear others' stories and get practical tips on dealing with withdrawal. Smoking cessation groups may be sponsored by local hospitals, clinics, libraries, and churches. Ask your doctor for a recommendation. A behavioral therapist can help you develop strategies and lifestyle changes for coping with your nicotine withdrawal. They can also work with you to better understand your motivation for giving up smoking, which can help you stay on track. Take advantage of resources that offer tips and inspiration to quit smoking and help you better understand the withdrawal process. For instance, you might call a quitline to get support or join a quit program online.  Connect with the national quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. You can sign up for a text messaging program called Smoke-free TXT to get around the clock encouragement and support. Visit https://smokefree.gov/smokefreetxt to sign up.

Summary: Know what to expect. Consider nicotine replacement therapy. Join a smoking cessation support group. Get help from a behavioral therapist. Access resources that inspire you to stop smoking.


Silicone or rubber menstrual cups are reusable, flexible, bell-shaped devices that collect your menstrual flow. The cup should not leak if inserted properly and is one of the best alternatives to a tampon if you want to go swimming. Insert the cup before swimming, and leave it in until you can change out of your swimsuit into your regular clothing and switch to another method of period protection. While they can be expensive compared to tampons or reusable cups, disposable menstrual cups are flexible, easy to insert, and work well for protection while swimming. Just as you would with a reusable cup, insert the cup before swimming, and leave it in until you can change out of your swimsuit into your regular clothing and switch to another method of period protection.  Like reusable cups, disposable cups can be messy to insert and remove and require a learning curve to master placing them correctly in the vagina. Check out  this helpful wikiHow page to learn the process of inserting and removing a disposable menstrual cup. If you avoid tampons because you are concerned about the chemicals used in their production, a natural sea sponge might be a good solution for you. Sea sponge tampons are harvested from the ocean and contain no chemicals, and they are also reusable.
Summary: Try a reusable menstrual cup. Consider a disposable menstrual cup. Consider a sea sponge.