Vital Voyage Blog

Vital Voyage Blog The Vital Voyage Blog is dedicated to providing insightful and empowering articles on mental health.

Our mission is to shed light on topics such as substance use disorder, trauma, adult child syndrome, su***de prevention, recovery journeys, and the future

In Vital Voyage's new Harm Reduction Series, author John Makohen clearly describes a practical way to keep people who us...
06/01/2026

In Vital Voyage's new Harm Reduction Series, author John Makohen clearly describes a practical way to keep people who use drugs alive until they can choose differently. In this post, he explains how to create an overdose safety plan that addresses naloxone, fentanyl risk, reduced tolerance, and much more. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/build-a-harm-reduction-safety-plan-before-the-street-builds-one-for-you

Harm reduction is not permission to use. It is a practical plan to keep people alive long enough to have choices. John Makohen offers a direct, compassionate guide to building an overdose safety plan before the most dangerous moment arrives. He covers naloxone, fentanyl risk, reduced tolerance after...

Kristen Crisp’s brutally honest, darkly funny take on why she drank for 30+ years is out now. From low self-esteem to so...
06/01/2026

Kristen Crisp’s brutally honest, darkly funny take on why she drank for 30+ years is out now. From low self-esteem to social pressure, this Author of the Month piece names the loops that kept drinking feeling normal long before it stopped being fun. Read the full how-to guide and reflection: https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/5-reasons-why-i-kept-drinking-like-an-idiot-a-how-to-guide-drinking-culture

Kristen Crisp writes with sharp humor and lived-experience honesty about the reasons she kept drinking for more than 30 years. From low self-esteem and “liquid courage” to the social pressure that made sobriety seem strange, this Author of the Month piece names the loops that can keep alcohol fe...

New on the blog: “The Payoff of Playing the Victim" by Diane Russell Chrestman — a brave reflection on how victimhood ca...
06/01/2026

New on the blog: “The Payoff of Playing the Victim" by Diane Russell Chrestman — a brave reflection on how victimhood can become a protective identity, and what it takes to move beyond it. Read the 4-minute post and gain perspective on ACE awareness, Internal Family Systems language, and lived experience that can help you reclaim agency. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/the-payoff-of-playing-the-victim-as-an-identity

Real victimization exists, and Diane Russell Chrestman does not minimize that truth. But in this candid reflection, she explores what can happen when suffering becomes an identity. Using lived experience, ACE awareness, and Internal Family Systems language, she examines the victim role as a protecto...

Discover how the body already knows what it needs. In “Organismic Intelligence,” Kristin Onderdonk explores how our bodi...
06/01/2026

Discover how the body already knows what it needs. In “Organismic Intelligence,” Kristin Onderdonk explores how our bodies move toward regulation, safety, and wholeness — and how pausing to listen can reconnect us with an older, quieter wisdom. How do you notice your body’s signals? Share a moment below. Read the full essay: https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/organismic-intelligence

A vivid dream of sleeping children becomes the doorway into a larger reflection on organismic intelligence: the body’s built-in capacity to move toward regulation, safety, and wholeness. Kristin Onderdonk explores what the body already knows, why modern life teaches us to override those signals, a...

Expert AnneMoss Rogers offers a clear, compassionate guide for what to do next when someone says they are thinking of su...
05/26/2026

Expert AnneMoss Rogers offers a clear, compassionate guide for what to do next when someone says they are thinking of su***de. You need to stay present, listen, avoid fixing too quickly, and use words that help the person feel heard rather than alone. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/they-said-they-re-thinking-of-su***de-what-now
***dePrevention ***deLossSurvivor

When someone says they are thinking of su***de, most people panic because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing. AnneMoss Rogers offers a clear, compassionate guide for what to do next: breathe, listen, do not rush to fix, and help the person feel heard and safe in the moment. The article gives....

Lauren Grawert, MD, relates a funny, moving addiction medicine story about Antabuse, sobriety, and the quiet ways recove...
05/26/2026

Lauren Grawert, MD, relates a funny, moving addiction medicine story about Antabuse, sobriety, and the quiet ways recovery tools can help rebuild trust between people. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/the-quiet-miracles-of-medicine-how-to-win-an-argument-with-chemistry-antabuse

Addiction medicine can be clinical, complicated, and painfully serious. But sometimes a story arrives that is so human—and so oddly perfect—that it reminds us why the field exists. Dr. Lauren Grawert shares the story of Rick, a newly sober patient whose Antabuse became more than a medication. In...

Author Rachel Winston offers a timely look at how AI chatbots are being used for emotional support—and why users, famili...
05/26/2026

Author Rachel Winston offers a timely look at how AI chatbots are being used for emotional support—and why users, families, and caregivers need to understand the mental health risks and think more carefully about safer, more informed use. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/understanding-the-mental-health-risks-of-ai-chatbots-what-users-and-families-should-know

AI chatbots are becoming part of everyday life, including moments of stress, loneliness, and emotional uncertainty. Rachel Winston explains why these tools can feel appealing—available 24/7, responsive, and nonjudgmental—while also raising serious concerns for people already facing mental health...

A powerful Author of the Month (Josh Bennett-Johnson) reflection on bullying, shame, and the moment a painful childhood ...
05/26/2026

A powerful Author of the Month (Josh Bennett-Johnson) reflection on bullying, shame, and the moment a painful childhood experience becomes a lifelong commitment to empathy. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/from-the-bully-to-the-bullied-a-personal-reflection-from-the-counselor-s-point-of-view

“Sticks and stones” was never the whole truth. In this Author of the Month reflection, Joshua Bennett-Johnson looks back on childhood bullying from both sides: the child who used cruelty to feel bigger, and the child who later felt the sting of public humiliation. The result is a candid, human e...

What if relapse is not simply about willpower—but biology, stress, and nervous system capacity? Author and Addiction Rec...
05/18/2026

What if relapse is not simply about willpower—but biology, stress, and nervous system capacity? Author and Addiction Recovery Nutritionist Heather Dale explores the missing biological layer beneath cravings, relapse, emotional regulation, and recovery. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/why-insight-isn-t-enough-in-addiction-recovery-the-missing-biology-layer-beneath-willpower-ther

Author and founder of Brain Body Recovery, Heather Dale, writes that understanding addiction is important—but insight alone may not be enough when the brain and body are still dysregulated.

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