Addiction

Addiction and alcoholism are called “family” diseases because they affect everyone. Recovery is also a family affair, as everyone’s life has the chance to change.

Mental illness affects everyone. When you decide to go to treatment, everyone is going to affected by your recovery. Most often, the people who love and care about you the most will be over the moon by your decision to change your life. However, your partner might feel differently. We can’t be certain why the people we are in relationships have a difficult time embracing our recovery. Here are some signs your partner might be uncomfortable with the strides you are making in recovery. Remember, how your partner handles your recovery has nothing to do with you. They are on their own journey. Sometimes, a partner will grow right alongside you. Sometimes, they won’t. If you notice these signs, it might be time to meet with your relationship counselor or evaluate how you want to be treated in a relationship as you grow forward in recovery.

If there is one thing most people going to treatment for an addiction or mental health disorder have in common it’s a shared trait of low self-esteem. Guilt, shame, and long standing personal beliefs have created core perceptions about the self which are less than pretty. Thinking ugly things about ourselves leads us to believing ugly things about ourselves and seeing ugly things about ourselves. Consequently, we live with a lot of self-hatred, self-loathing, self-repudiation- and every other negative emotions we could put toward ourselves. Our low self-esteem causes us to act in ways which are not conducive toward our self-esteem, helping us to feel worse and worse about ourselves. Treatment and recovery is the opportunity to reverse this process. Yes, it’s true. During treatment and recovery, you’re going to learn to love yourself. If only a little bit, you are going to be comfortable looking at your own face in the mirror. You might even be able to say nice things to yourself. You will feel increasingly comfortable with who you are. Who you are includes what you think, how you act, what you feel, and how you look. Whatever you are coming into treatment for, you will learn to love every part of yourself, mind, body, and spirit. Here are some simple reminders to help you get going:

Avalon By The Sea houses it’s two gorgeous treatment facilities on a shared estate in Malibu. On the cliffside of California’s iconic coastline, our property boasts inspiring views and the ambient sounds of the Pacific Ocean. Canopied by towering trees, filled with lush vegetation, and beautiful flowers, the expanse of our location is filled with magical gardens, beautiful homes, and the wonderment of nature. Each day, our clients have the opportunity to walk peacefully through our serene environment to journal, breathe, reflect, and meditate. Gardens have long been a point of inspiration, with famous gardens showcased around the world. Being around green nature, even being able to see it from your window, has been scientifically proven to increase health. Additionally, being near the ocean or any other body of blue water is also proven to increase health. Reducing stress and enhancing a sense of wellness is part of our mission in creating healing for mind, body, and spirit. Garden walking, more specifically walking through a labyrinth within a garden, is an ancient form of meditation. Refinery29 writes on the topic. “Labyrinths...aren’t mazes but usually symmetrical circuits made of concentric circles.” Labyrinths range in what purpose they have served. In some cultures they are decorative, in others protective. They have been used for religious rituals, training animals, or trapping intruders. Labyrinths are also used for increasing spirituality. “Labyrinths are an incredibly versatile spiritual tool,” the article explains, “they aren’t problem-solvers, but they provide people with a template for meditation and prayer they might not have thought of otherwise.” Labyrinths as a method of meditation are scientifically proven. “Research has found that labyrinth walking can be helpful as part of couples and family therapy, for stress management, and to aid with recovery from trauma.” Recovery is best supported by stress reducing techniques which help clear and calm the mind. Stress of any kind is what triggers the mind toward self-sabotaging and destructive behaviors like relapsing into drug and alcohol use or resorting to maladaptive coping mechanisms. Can’t find an ancient labyrinth nearby? A simple long, mindful walk will work just as well. Walking is about mindfulness and movement, which help reduce stress. As one of California’s only primary mental health treatment facilities, Avalon provides excellence in dual diagnosis treatment. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

You might be surprised as to which mental illness has has the highest mortality rate. Depression is often linked to suicide, but isn’t always the cause of it. Substance use disorders like various drug addictions have soared in fatal overdose deaths, outnumbering car accidents and gun violence. Alcoholism can cause serious health complications and lead to alcohol influenced injuries. One of the most severe and deadly mental illnesses is anorexia nervosa. What Is Anorexia Nervosa? Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which someone heavily restricts their diet to the point of starvation. An unhealthy preoccupation with weight and body image leads to extreme dieting and exercise. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, “Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss...difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature; and in many individuals, distorted body image.” Common behaviors of anorexia nervosa include:

What is awe? Awe has become a popular point of conversation in fields of scientific research, especially neuroscience. The brain loves awe. The brain benefits from awe. Awe is what makes life, and recovery, so awesome. By definition,  awe is “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder”. Reverential respect is the deepest kind of respect, often stemming from a spiritual place. Closely connected to humility and being humble, awe is the jaw dropping wonder we get in the presence of something amazing. To find something awesome is to find something “extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.” Recovery is awesome. It is both impressive that addicts and alcoholics can turn their lives around and never pick up a drink or drug again, as well as it is daunting to imagine making such a significant life change. We can find great admiration for people in recovery, inspired by their strength, courage, discipline, and bravery. Many of us have experienced apprehension in recovery, whether we were apprehensive about going to treatment, apprehensive about how to talk to a loved one going to treatment, or even apprehensive about what it would mean to ask for help. In terms of fear, recovery is full of healthy fear. To a degree we fear the unknown, which is why we’re encouraged to take recovery one day at a time. We also fear the known- that relapse is possible and could happen any time. Yet, all the other awe-stuff conquers the fear with that humble reverential respect that recovery, indeed life, is something quite bigger than us. “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe,” Albert Einstein once warned, “is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” Recovery helps us to open our eyes to the world and mindfully notice when we become shut off again. Awe is never far away. We can be amazed by the vastness of life in everything we see. Carl Sagan once said, “For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.” Living in awe of recovery and the vastness of life is to live in love of life. As addicts and alcoholics, we spent too many years hiding from the love life had to offer us, seeking it instead in some of life’s darkest places. Awe can be found everywhere. For an extra dose of awe, try these awesome suggestions. Learn Something New How many times have you done a nature trail, gone to a museum, purchased an item, and focused only on the immediate? The world is full of fascinating information which gives everything around us more depth. Practice stopping to read the placards, pick up a brochure, or even look up the facts or history of where you are on the internet. Everywhere we step is a passage in time. Millions of years stand beneath our feet. That’s awesome. Go Somewhere Big The soul expands in response to what it sees. There’s a reason we’re struck with awe when we see a density of stars for the first time, visit tremendous spans of open space like the Grand Canyon, or bear witness to animals in their natural environment. If you can’t get to somewhere big, practice making everything big. Take into consideration what it takes to build the world you see around you. Have you ever noticed how large buildings can be and the steel beams it takes to build them? It’s amazing. Reflect On Your Life Sometimes, we don’t want to remember what it was like when things were hard. Many of us have faced challenges which took an immense amount of integrity to overcome. Today, you stand on the precipice of a new life with endless possibilities as your potential. Even when you thought you wouldn’t make it, you continued to persevere. That is awe-inspiring. Avalon By The Sea wants to inspire serenity and recovery in every client. Treating both mental health and substance use disorders as primary conditions, our treatment facilities seek to heal mind, body, and spirit. FOr a confidential assessment and more information, call us today at 888-958-7511.

Methamphetamine, most popularly known as “crystal meth” or “ice” is a powerful synthetic stimulant drug. Addiction to meth can have a serious effect on the mind and body, making detox a fragile time period during someone’s recovery from drugs and alcohol. Most of the symptoms of meth detox are directly opposite to the symptoms of being under the influence of meth. Addiction to meth can be identified through symptoms like:

Have you ever participated in a yoga class and felt yourself suddenly compelled to cry? Yoga helps with recovery in many ways, from physical reduction of stress, to increased spiritual well being, and a sense of mental calmness. It can also be used as a form of emotional release. Yoga Releases Stored Up Energy Through Different Poses Asana is the term for “pose” in yoga practice. Each asana is designed to activate certain muscles, which can activate certain emotions. In eastern traditions, everything is connected, mind, body, and spirit. Yoga is meant to be a preparation of all three categories for deep meditation. When the mind is cluttered with unreleased emotion, it has difficulty meditating. Heart-Opening Poses The chest can hold a lot of emotional pain. If you’ve ever felt tight in the chest when you are anxious, scared, or fighting back tears, you know that we experience emotions in the chest. Heart opening poses are those which stretch the chest open, thereby releasing the stored energy in the chest. Often, our chests are tight when we’re avoiding, creating distance, or ignoring pain. Quite literally, these poses help us open our hearts, which can be an emotional process. Throat-Opening Poses The throat also holds a lot of energy. Our throats become tight when we aren’t speaking our truth, communicating our authentic feelings, or sticking up for ourselves. Poses which bring the head back to expose the throat help us to find strength in our voice and more openness toward using it. Resting Poses After a long sequence of yoga poses or at the very end of a practice, a resting pose helps the body settle into all of the energy it just created. No longer moving, all the emotional energy which has been released has a chance to process. Hip Opening Poses We hold most of our emotional energy in our hips. Yoga teachers advise doing hip stretches every day for good physical and emotional health. Various hip opening stretches which activate hip flexors, the gluteus muscles, and the pelvis can help stagnant emotional energy flow more naturally. Spinal Twist Poses Doing a spinal twist is like wringing out a dirty washcloth. Our spines can hold a lot of toxic emotional energy which is why so many holistic practitioners believe that back pain is associated with memory. Recovery is about creating wellness in mind, body, and spirit. At Avalon By The Sea we offer trusted treatment programs for total healing so you can trust your recovery for a lifetime. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

After years of abusing drugs and alcohol, or struggling with the symptoms of mental health disorders, emotions like sadness can feel new and overwhelming. Sadness is what it is. In order to move past sadness, we have to move through sadness. Make Room For Sadness To Be, Because It Is Sadness is a natural emotion we all experience because we are healthy human beings. Only people with severe psychiatric disorders are constitutionally incapable of feeling sadness or connecting to it. For everyone else, sadness is something we experience on different levels. Sadness can come from grief, loss, acceptance, empathy, and even compassion. We cannot deny sadness no matter how we try. Sadness is often a healing emotion which allows us to understand the difficulties in life. Let Sadness Be, Because It Is Trying to change or deny our sadness is harmful to our self-esteem and emotional wellbeing. When we try to shame or guilt ourselves out of feeling an emotion we send yourself negative messages. Instead of allowing ourselves to authentically experience our emotions and process them in a healthy way, we tell ourselves it isn’t okay to feel sad, we shouldn’t be feeling sad, there is something wrong with us for being sad- all of which translate to you’re not good enough and you’re not okay. It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to feel sadness. You can still be yourself while you experience sadness. Identify Sadness In Your Body, Because It’s There Our emotions aren’t just invisible chemical processes in our minds. Emotions are energy which flow through the body. Trying to stop ourselves from feeling stops the natural flow of energy which can cause us even more emotional pain or cause physical illness. Identifying where sadness lives in your body can help you use holistic healing methods to release that energy. Releasing the physical energy of sadness can help you release the emotional energy. Give Yourself Time, Because You Deserve It We are so quick to judge ourselves for being sad. We think we shouldn’t be sad, so we criticize ourselves and push ourselves to “get over it” as quickly as possible. Grief is a process. Loss is a process. Sadness is a process. As we learn in recovery, we can only change one day at a time. Give yourself the patience, empathy, kindness, and compassion you would show to a friend. Avalon By The Sea promises trusted treatment with trusted results. Home to two primary care facilities for substance use disorders and mental health disorders, Avalon provides exceptional residential treatment for healing mind, body, and spirit. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

Watching a friend struggle with alcoholism can be tough. If you think your friend might be an alcoholic here are some signs and a few suggestions on what you can do to help them. They’re Drinking More Than They Used To Alcoholism comes with an increasing tolerance. One of the marks of developing chemical dependency is having to drink a greater amount of alcohol more often. At first, this is to achieve a similar or greater state of intoxication than previously. Eventually, this becomes a matter of staving off symptoms of withdrawal. They Don’t Look So Great When They’re Not Drinking Chemical dependency on alcohol sickens the body. Withdrawing from alcohol can include symptoms like shaking, sweating, insomnia, fatigue, and vomiting. As a result, if your friend is trying “not to drink” they might look sickly. Their Life Is Falling Apart And The Drinking Is No Coincidence When chemical dependency on alcohol develops, it can take priority in someone’s life. Unable to perform while under the influence, they also aren’t able to perform without being under the influence. Consequently, they fall behind in their obligations and responsibilities. Likely, they are experiencing problems in their relationships or have abandoned healthy relationships for unhealthy relationships with people who are also alcoholics. They Keep Drinking Even After Things Get Bad The negative consequences of alcoholic behavior are obvious in late stages. Despite repeated consequences, they continue to pick up a drink and get loaded. Alcoholism changes the way the brain processes judgment. They have become incapable of choosing anything other than alcohol. How To Help Your Friend

Addiction and alcoholism are mental health disorders which spin out of control. One loses their ability to manage themselves, manage their lives, and manage the way they drink alcohol or consume drugs. Recovery usually comes to fruition when someone realizes their lives have gotten completely out of control. Recovery is supposed to create the hop that life can be managed. Is control ever completely returned? It depends on who you ask and what their spiritual beliefs are. Surrender is a major spiritual part of recovery. Many believe that they gain control of their lives by surrendering it to a higher power. They don’t want control of their lives again because they don’t feel they have the real ability to maintain it. It’s a spiritual paradox- in order to gain control, you have to give it up. For those who are less spiritually inclined, the answer is essentially yes. By learning relapse prevention techniques, creating a solid recovery lifestyle, and healing the mind as well as the body, it is possible to maintain ‘control’ over drinking and drug use. Control in this case would simply mean that you do not give into cravings, impulsive decisions or any other choice making which would lead you to choose drugs and alcohol again. For many, that is an acceptable amount of control and more than they could ask for. Feeling “in control” is an illusion, when put in the larger perspective. Stand in front of an active ocean, waves lapping on the shore, and try to stop a wave. You won’t be able to. Many things in life are simply out of our control. Learning to accept these things is what helps us maintain our personal sense of control and helps us stay sober by understanding we cannot control everything, or everyone, any of the time. For those out of control moments, there are a few simple actions you can take to gain control of your energy, your thoughts, and your behaviors.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston University School of Medicine sought to discover if the reward system works differently for alcoholic women as opposed to alcoholic men, as well as if there is a different in contrast between alcoholic brains and non alcoholic brains of men and women. They found that the structure of the reward system in alcoholic women is larger than alcoholic men, as well as nonalcoholic men and nonalcoholic women. Compared to nonalcoholic women, the reward system structure in the brain of alcoholic women were 4.4 percent larger. In contrast, the reward system structure of alcoholic men was actually 4.1% smaller than nonalcoholic men. An increasing amount of research is showing that women are more vulnerable to alcoholism than men. Recent research found that the gender gap between men and women alcoholics is closing as women are drinking more than males and developing alcoholism at a younger age than men. Treatment for alcoholism in a clinical setting is often highly individualized to meet the unique needs of each client. Alcoholism is not a generalized issue, as this research proves. Rather, it can be different from one person to the other, one gender to the other. For the study, researchers gathered 60 total participants who underwent serious survey and MRI testing. Alcoholics had been in recovery for anywhere from four weeks to more than thirty years. The study revealed more than the importance of highlighting gender differences in alcoholism. Many alcoholics in recovery initially struggle with an existential conflict of whether or not recovery is “worth” it because they are unsure if it actually makes a difference. Plenty of research using brain imaging science exists to prove that the various methods used in treating alcoholism work to heal the brain. This particular study found that each year of sobriety the recovering alcoholic participants had “was associated with a 1.8 percent decrease in the size of the ventricles in the brain suggesting that recovery from damage to the brain due to alcoholism is possible.” Few things need to be heard by those in recovery more than “recovery is possible.” Men and women alike need to understand that overtime, their brain will recover, their lives will change, and maintaining sobriety for a lifetime is possible. If you or a loved one are struggling from alcoholism, help is available. Avalon By The Sea offers residential treatment designed to promote transformative healing of mind, body, and spirit. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.