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Bianca Talarico is Clinical Program Manager at Riverside Recovery of Tampa.
As someone whose recovery journey took multiple years and attempts, she emphasizes the importance of not giving up on people. Even when the odds are stacked against those seeking recovery, the tremendous impact of recovery is incredible to witness.
If addiction were only about the substance, everyone exposed to the same drug would have the same outcome. We know that’s not how it works. One famous series of experiments, often called “Rat Park”, offers a surprisingly human lesson: our environment and our sense of belonging can dramatically shape how we relate to substances.
By February, most “new year, new you” resolutions are already fading into the background. If you’re living in or supporting recovery, that can feel discouraging—like one more reminder that change is hard. At Live Tampa Bay, we see it differently. Real growth, especially in recovery, tends to come from small, sustainable acts of self‑respect, not from trying to reinvent yourself overnight. This month, we’re inviting you to think about self‑care as “falling in love with yourself”—in a grounded, everyday way.
Loneliness, Overdose, and Why Connection MattersWe talk a lot about substances when we talk about overdose. What we talk about less is how often...