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

Alli Skrbek shares a deeply personal essay about losing her 22-year-old son to su***de — the interventions she believes ...
07/27/2026

Alli Skrbek shares a deeply personal essay about losing her 22-year-old son to su***de — the interventions she believes he needed, the trauma surrounding his death, and how grieving parents move forward while carrying their child's memory. If her work touches mental health, caregiving, or support services, Alli hopes this piece adds perspective. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/the-depth-of-the-grief-i-carry-after-losing-my-son-to-su***de

Alli Skrbek writes about the profound grief of losing her 22-year-old son, Alex, to su***de. She describes the intervention she believes he needed, the trauma surrounding his death, and why grieving parents do not simply let go—they move forward while carrying their child's memory and love.

Lived experience is more than a story — it’s a skill set that builds trust, reads risk, and guides care in substance use...
07/27/2026

Lived experience is more than a story — it’s a skill set that builds trust, reads risk, and guides care in substance use counseling. John Makohen argues for supervision, disclosure training, career pathways, and equal pay for those who bring lived expertise to the field.https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/lived-experience-is-the-credential-nobody-gives-you-a-certificate-for-substance-use-counseling

John Makohen argues that lived experience is not a soft extra in addiction counseling—it is a skill set. Drawing from homelessness, he**in use, and s*x work, he explains how lived experience builds trust, reads risk, and guides clients, while demanding supervision, disclosure training, career path...

Can moral injury exist in family recovery from substance use disorder? Sandy Rivers explores how violating deeply held v...
07/27/2026

Can moral injury exist in family recovery from substance use disorder? Sandy Rivers explores how violating deeply held values and impossible choices shape healing — and how listening without judgment can open a path to responsibility, acceptance, and reconciliation.https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/can-moral-injury-exist-in-sud-family-recovery

Sandy Rivers explores moral injury in recovery: the pain of violating one's values, being harmed by others, and facing impossible choices. She shows how hearing moral grievances without judgment can open a path toward responsibility, acceptance, reconciliation, and change.

Are the Underlying Mechanisms of Depression Completely Understood? Part II — Michelle Wyrick continues a thoughtful expl...
07/27/2026

Are the Underlying Mechanisms of Depression Completely Understood? Part II — Michelle Wyrick continues a thoughtful exploration of antidepressants, treatment resistance, informed consent, physiological dependence, and the neuroscience behind depression and suicidal suffering.
https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/are-the-underlying-mechanisms-of-depression-completely-understood-part-ii

Michelle Wyrick continues her examination of depression with a balanced look at antidepressants, treatment resistance, informed consent, physiological dependence, and neuroscience. Part II asks whether depression and suicidal suffering involve more systems—and more complexity—than current models...

Lived experience is more than a story — it’s a skill set that builds trust, reads risk, and guides care in substance use...
07/27/2026

Lived experience is more than a story — it’s a skill set that builds trust, reads risk, and guides care in substance use counseling. John Makohen argues for supervision, disclosure training, career pathways, and equal pay for those who bring lived expertise to the field. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/lived-experience-is-the-credential-nobody-gives-you-a-certificate-for-substance-use-counseling

John Makohen argues that lived experience is not a soft extra in addiction counseling—it is a skill set. Drawing from homelessness, he**in use, and s*x work, he explains how lived experience builds trust, reads risk, and guides clients, while demanding supervision, disclosure training, career path...

William Stauffer explores how broken feedback loops, flawed metrics, and shrinking capacity are eroding authentic dialog...
07/20/2026

William Stauffer explores how broken feedback loops, flawed metrics, and shrinking capacity are eroding authentic dialogue across addiction care institutions. Learn why face-to-face connection matters for long-term recovery and what can be done to rebuild trust and effectiveness. Read the full piece: Excessive screen time can weaken real-world connections and increase risks for anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal outcomes in children and teens. Nicole Runyon outlines practical steps parents can take to rebuild trust, set boundaries, and restore human connection. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/when-systems-become-isolated-the-erosion-of-authentic-dialogue-across-our-addiction-care-institutio

William Stauffer argues that addiction care systems are becoming increasingly isolated from the people doing the work. He examines broken feedback loops, flawed metrics, shrinking treatment capacity, and the essential role of authentic face-to-face dialogue in long-term recovery outcomes.

Michelle Wyrick questions the oversimplified chemical imbalance story and encourages curiosity about biological, genetic...
07/20/2026

Michelle Wyrick questions the oversimplified chemical imbalance story and encourages curiosity about biological, genetic, medical, and environmental contributors. Read a thoughtful, evidence-minded take that validates how real and disabling depression can be. https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/are-the-underlying-mechanisms-of-depression-completely-understood-part-i

Michelle Wyrick explores why depression is real, painful, and disabling, while many explanations remain incomplete. Part I questions oversimplified narratives of chemical imbalance and calls for greater curiosity about biological, medical, genetic, and environmental contributors.

Sandy Rivers confronts the painful double standard mothers face when dealing with substance use disorder. Drawing on fam...
07/20/2026

Sandy Rivers confronts the painful double standard mothers face when dealing with substance use disorder. Drawing on family history, clinical experience, and her daughter’s recovery, this thoughtful essay shows how shame blocks treatment — and how dignity, allies, and community help women heal. Read more: https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/the-mothers-we-blame-substance-use-disorder-motherhood-and-the-double-standard

Sandy Rivers examines the double standard faced by mothers with substance use disorder. Drawing from family history, clinical experience, and her daughter's recovery, she shows how shame blocks treatment and why women recover better with dignity, allies, relationships, and community.

Excessive screen time can weaken real-world connections and increase risks for anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suici...
07/20/2026

Excessive screen time can weaken real-world connections and increase risks for anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal outcomes in children and teens. Nicole Runyon outlines practical steps parents can take to rebuild trust, set boundaries, and restore human connection.https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/excessive-screen-time-can-lead-to-suicidal-outcomes-among-children-and-teens

Nicole Runyon warns that excessive screen time can weaken real-world connections, deepen isolation, and increase risks for anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal outcomes among children and adolescents. She offers practical steps for parents to rebuild trust, boundaries, and human connection.

Sandy Rivers shares how growing up with substance use disorder in the home can force children into adult roles, creating...
07/13/2026

Sandy Rivers shares how growing up with substance use disorder in the home can force children into adult roles, creating chronic stress, hypervigilance, health problems, and isolation — and what practical, relationship-based support can help. Read the full piece and a personal family story that shows why early support matters: https://www.vitalvoyageblog.com/post/chronic-stress-and-long-term-health-in-children-of-substance-use-disorder

Sandy Rivers, MA, CASAC-M, RCP, shares how SUD in the home can force children into adult roles, chronic stress, hypervigilance, health problems, and isolation. Her granddaughter’s story shows why children need practical, relationship-based support long before adulthood.

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