The Estate News & Blog

Most people know that drinking too much can damage the liver.

Every September, communities across the United States come together for National Recovery Month, also known as sobriety month. This annual observance shines a light on people in recovery, the professionals who help them, and the importance of continued support.

When a man finally decides he is ready for help -- or when the people who love him finally get him to that point -- one of the most important and most rushed decisions is choosing where to go. The internet produces an overwhelming number of options. Every program sounds confident and comprehensive. Most families do not know what questions to ask.

By Mitch Prager | Founder, Soberman's Estate | Sobriety Date: May 25, 1998

During the late 1970’s I marched with NORML – that stood for the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws – our goal was to legalize “pot” marijuana – meaning people would be able to grow marijuana in their backyard and smoke it on private property – now forty plus years later, we did not legalize marijuana, we commercialized a new drug which is a very potent concentrated product produced from Marijuana called THC. Up until the past less than 10 years, the human body has never ingested the amount of THC a person can ingest today – it wasn’t possible to smoke enough pot in a day that would equate to a small percent of the amount of THC marijuana user ingests in a few minutes. People are showing up daily in emergency rooms across the country from ingesting too much THC and having difficulty stopping use on their own.

A lot of people think withdrawal ends once detox is over. They expect the hardest part to be behind them after the first several days. Sometimes that is true. Sometimes it is not.

I had a heart attack at 33 years old. It was caused by cocaine and alcohol. I survived it, and I kept drinking.

Many people hear the phrase harm reduction definition and assume it means giving up on recovery. In practice, it means something very different. Harm reduction is a practical way to lower danger, illness, and death while helping people move toward better health at a pace they can manage.

Some days, feeling tired makes sense. Deadlines pile up, responsibilities stretch longer than expected, and sleep doesn’t quite fix it. But when that drained feeling sticks around for weeks, it starts raising a different question—are you dealing with burnout, or something deeper?

Some men have the ability to hide things so well, you would never know that they are struggling.