Portage welcomes and supports all those who make the life-changing decision to leave their surroundings and put an end to their addiction. Philippe came to Portage with the unconscious desire to become once again who he used to be. At 21 years-old, he was entering a part of life usually marked by important transformations, new… Read more »

For most people, adolescence is a bumpy road, fraught with difficulties. Teenagers are constantly wondering who they are, and what they want. Sometimes, their path diverges sharply from the one they expected to follow, or even started paving. For those who want to put an end to their drug addiction, the chances of succeeding may… Read more »

Chance or Predisposition? I always thought becoming a drug addict could only happen to others. I became one myself fairly late, at about 35 year-old, having never taken any drugs or alcohol in my life. In fact, I was terrified of all drugs, of their ability to rob people of their self-control. I was a… Read more »

Dependency is not Solely the Substance’s Fault The scientific community believed for the longest time that dependency to alcohol or to any drug was caused by the substance’s intrinsic addictive properties. Using the Skinner box invented in the early 1930s, scientists observed that rats, who were kept captive and isolated for the experiment, would self-administer… Read more »

Without my consent, I was personally and quickly propelled into the world of drug addiction. For over 15 years, I had been suffering from a panic disorder that splattered my days with anxiety attacks, making my life hellish. Nausea, vertigo, heart palpitations, abdominal pain, the feeling of dying… The symptoms resembled those of a heart… Read more »