Addiction

Eating disorders are misunderstood to be extreme displays of a blatant refusal not to eat, obvious purging, and obvious bingeing. With eating disorders, there is always more than meets the eye.

Many people don’t. Alcoholism, or alcohol use disorder, is a complex brain issue in which the mind and the body become dependent upon alcohol. Confusion, shame, and stigma make understanding alcoholism difficult. Would someone choose to become dependent upon alcohol? What could possibly cause someone to drink that way? Why can’t they just stop? Alcoholism is perplexing to those who have it, those who don’t have it, and those who are trying support their loved ones in treatment. How Does Alcoholism Develop? Alcoholism starts from a few different places. First, it can be genetically inherited. Alcoholism or a tendency towards chemical addiction can be passed on through generations of family. Genetic predisposition is always a factor in alcoholism. Alcoholism can also develop because of a pre-existing mental health condition. Mental health disorders like personality disorders and mood disorders have a higher risk of substance abuse including alcohol. People find relief in the effect of alcohol and turn to it as medicine. Lastly, alcoholism can develop due to the excessive abuse of alcohol. However, this source is controversial. Two people can drink in a similar problematic way and only one of them will develop a chemical dependency. Is Binge Drinking A Form Of Alcoholism? Binge drinking and alcoholism are not the same. Over time, binge drinking can lead to the development of alcoholism, but it is not a guaranteed lead. Binge drinking is a form of alcohol abuse, however, which can have underlying issues similar to alcoholism. Though genetics and co-occurring mental health conditions aren’t as prominent, someone might struggle with low self-esteem or difficulty managing their lives. Why Can’t Alcoholics Stop Drinking? Excessive alcohol consumption impairs the brain in many ways including key functions like judgment, considering consequences, and quantification, like knowing how much is too much. Alcoholics essentially lose their natural autonomy in choosing to stop drinking. There are also factors of physical dependency, as well as psychological dependency, which keeps someone from stopping drinking. According to their brain and their body, they need to drink. Can Alcoholics Really Stay Sober? Millions of alcoholics around the world have found a recovery program which works for them. By going to treatment, seeking long term therapy, and creating lifestyle changes, they do not need alcohol any longer. Having identified their underlying causes for abusing alcohol, treating their co-occurring mental health conditions, and finding new meaning in life, they are freed from the bondages of alcoholism. As long as they continue to work their program, they can stay sober for the rest of their lives. If you are struggling with alcoholism, there is hope. You do not have to struggle alone. Avalon Malibu can provide the healing you need to find peace in your life, free from a dependence on alcohol. For a confidential assessment and information on our residential treatment programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

According to ADAA, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, two thirds of people who live with an eating disorder also live with an anxiety disorder. Considering the statistic that 30% of the adult population lives with an anxiety disorder, that is a significant consideration. A majority of people living with one is likely to also live with the other. Eating disorders and anxiety disorders on their own can be challenging to live with. Combined, the disorder or anxiety and the anxiety of an eating disorder could be crippling to one’s quality of life. Women’s Health Magazine reports that “recent research suggests that a predisposition to anxiety may be related to abnormal activity of serotonin, a chemical in the brain responsible for regulating mood, and that people who develop eating disorders tend to have this abnormal serotonin activity, too,” since the link between anxiety and eating disorders still isn’t clear. Screening for eating disorders in those diagnosed with anxiety and vice versa could be a life-saving intervention. Properly assessing and treating dual diagnosis issues is essential to full recovery. Without treating anxiety in someone with a primary eating disorder, for example, they might continue to live with the symptoms of anxiety. As the article cites, “...people who recover from eating disorders may still have the high anxiety and driven mentality and start channeling that into new ‘obsessions,’ such as school or work,” emphasizing that ultimately, “recovery means...that behavior isn’t compulsive or driven by an attempt to avoid feeling anxious.” Such behaviors could include a relapse into a different kind of eating disorder, experimenting with drugs and alcohol, workaholism, or more. Recovery from eating disorders and anxiety disorders is possible with the right clinical treatment which holistically approaches both disorders individually and as they are co-occurring. Important to the clinical therapeutic healing is learning how to make impactful lifestyle changes from balancing diet and exercise to creating a meaningful social circle. Living with co-occurring anxiety and eating disorders can lead to isolation. The anxiety of coping with eating disorder symptoms and vice versa can lead someone to many avoidant behaviors which minimizes their social life. Integrative treatment which transforms all areas of life is essential to lifelong recovery. Avalon Malibu provides trusted treatments for co-occurring eating disorders and anxiety disorders. Our beautiful estate on the iconic cliffside of the Malibu coast is the home to our renown mental health treatment facility, one of California’s only primary care centers. For a confidential assessment and more information, call 1 888-958-7511.

Ketamine is a problem in some parts of the world. Korea, China, and Japan are all having issues with young people abusing or becoming addicted to ketamine. Used as a club drug, the psychoactive dissociate can create a derealized hallucinogenic state. Users feel this puts them in a sort of trance with the music as they detach from themselves. Called the “k-hole” the effects of ketamine are highly sought after, similar to the way club goers in America look to MDMA and ecstasy.

People who live with chronic pain, chronic back pain, and lower back pain, don’t like hearing they are addicted to their pain. Many holistic healers who follow the philosophy of Eastern traditions believe that is true. Bring this up with pain management doctors and receive a stirred response. Pain is pain, many will argue, which needs to be treated as pain. Treating pain in chronic pain patients has been an especially sensitive topic of conversation in the midst of the opioid epidemic spreading throughout America. Most pain management uses opioid prescription painkillers, which are highly addictive. Other doctors feel that pain is not an isolated physical event. According to more holistic perspectives, pain can be caused by emotions, stress, events in the past, and environment. By treating the body, mind, and soul holistically, pain can be managed in a more effective way. Curiously, patients like to hold onto their pain. One would think differently. It happens in a way similar to how an alcoholic both has to and chooses to hold onto their alcoholism. Despite immense suffering and negative consequences, there is some payoff to their pain. Part of the pain lives in the chemical dependency of the brain. Yet, some of that chemical dependency in the brain, which centers on pleasure and reward, is caused by an emotional as well as spiritual need to avoid pain. Emotional pain and spiritual pain can cause as much pain as real physical pain. Brain imaging studies have found that the brain reacts to emotional and social pain in an almost identical fashion to physical pain. For pain management patients, that’s a considerable finding. PsychiatryAdvisor.com reported on a progressive talk given at a recent pain management conference touching on the subject. “Studies have shown that pain management programs rooted in [the biopsychosocial] approach...led to reduced pain, increased activity, and improved daily functioning in patients with chronic pain.” Biopsychosocial programs often include cognitive behavioral therapy, physical exercise, and medication management. The article also lists the use of other treatment modalities including:

ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, operates at a fast pace. Many have found that their ADHD is not as much a deficit as it is a gift. They can process faster, think faster, conceptualize faster, are more creative, can connect the dots, and implement differently than other people. The brains of those with ADHD seem to move so fast that sometimes the individual doesn’t feel they can keep up. Getting distracted, being unorganized, and feeling impulsive to act on every energetic whim can get in the way of being productive and successful. People with ADHD aren’t out of control. Instead, a better way to view it is that they have more to control than most people. Inexhaustible energy and ideas is a gift, not a detriment. Learning to balance the energy and creativity of ADHD with organization and manageability tools can create success. Health.com asserts that ADHD is not a behavioral disorder but a brain disorder. Though there are disordered behaviors and a brain that thinks too fast, the way that the brain differs between people with ADHD and “normal” brains is significant. “Brain scans revealed that five brain regions in those with ADHD were smaller than in those without ADHD,” the article explains. “The greatest differences were seen in children,” it adds. Typically, the article describes, “ADHD is characterized by inattention, overactivity, and impulsivity that can interfere with learning and relationships.” Criticisms Of ADHD Research like the brain scans reported by Health.com is significant in differentiating fact from fiction about ADHD. There was a spike in the diagnosis of and prescribing of medications to treat ADHD in recent years. The disorder as a whole, including the scientific and psychiatric community, faced much criticism. Overdiagnosing, getting kids hooked on stimulant medication, and more were assigned to the idea that “difficult” or “challenging” hyperactive behaviors were simply being labeled as ADHD. Treating ADHD Early intervention for ADHD can mean teaching a child how to cope with compulsive feelings. ADHD and many of the stimulant medications used to treat ADHD are considered precursors to substance abuse. Substance use disorders and ADHD have a high frequency of co-occurring. Treating co-occurring ADHD and substance use disorders in adulthood is possible with expert clinical treatment and healing holistic modalities. Avalon Malibu is a leading mental health treatment facility, providing transformational treatment. For a confidential assessment and more information, call 1 888-958-7511.

Process addictions are difficult to understand and undergo great scrutiny as they are frequently weighed for validity. Sex addiction, for example, is a process addiction, which recently lost its viability as a diagnosable disorder. Process addictions describe compulsive disorders which involve a specific process, like exercise, gambling, and sex addiction. What causes such controversy with process addictions is the way they compare to chemical addictions. Chemical addictions like drug addiction and alcoholism have a specific source: drugs and alcohol. It is more difficult to examine and understand an addiction disorder which does not include the ingestion of substances. Yet, process addictions and chemical addictions act in a similar way. Dopamine, the neurotransmitter in the brain which produces signals of pleasure and reward, is produced in both. For example, when a gambling addict goes to place a bet, they experience a surge in the production of dopamine, despite not having ingested any mind altering chemicals. Additionally, those with process addictions do experience a similar rewarding of the brain, yet not to the extreme of chemical addictions. For example, both sex and gambling addiction experiences a dependency upon their processes to stimulate any pleasure. Likewise to chemical addictions, both processes also create a reward system based on that pleasure. Interestingly, process addictions actually create a tolerance in a similar way to chemical addictions. What starts as a friendly wager on a football game between friends could end up meaning wagers of cars, high risk bets, compulsive gambling, and even lead to illegal bets. Sex addiction also faces a tolerance, needing more extreme forms of sexual pleasure to produce the same kind of thrill. Even compulsions like shopping addiction or exercise addiction are challenged when a tolerance is set. Since their reward system has become obsessed with as well as dependent upon their process, they have to engage in more to achieve the same effect. Unfortunately, process addictions are treated differently than chemical addictions primarily because there is a severe lack in research on them. Most studies done on chemical addiction involve the use of animals like mice and rats in a laboratory. Mice and rats can’t exactly be trained to go to a casino and hit the slot machines or max out a credit card with a shopping problem. For those who struggle with process addictions, their issues are anything but illegitimate. Many treatment centers continue to provide treatment for process addictions because they too tend to have underlying issues and co-occurring mental health disorders. Avalon Malibu is committed to providing quality mental health treatment to those with primary issues needing the loving care and clinical compassion of rehabilitation. For a confidential assessment and more information on our primary mental health residential treatment programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

OCD is a commonly misunderstood and misrepresented personality disorder. Here, we investigate some of what you might not know about OCD. The Manifestations Of OCD Go Beyond Cleanliness OCD is unfortunately portrayed through the media as being an obsession of cleaning, organization, sanitation, and more. Tics, habits, and quirks prevent someone with OCD from sitting comfortably in a restaurant where a picture is crooked on the wall or if the setting place was laid off-center. However, the way OCD can manifest goes far beyond such extreme cases. OCD, like many other personality disorders, can be high functioning. Meaning, that there are more internal symptoms to struggle against than repetitive compulsive behaviors. Ruminating thoughts, obsessions, and urges to act on them (compulsivity) can be a constant in their brains. Through treatment and behavioral therapy, many people with OCD learn how to cope with their difficult thoughts and create new patterns of choosing behaviors. Using “OCD” As A Descriptive Term Is Hurtful To Those Who Live With It Living with an unmanageable obsession and compulsion problem can lead to minutes upon hours of your life being spent in compulsive behaviors or ruminating thoughts. That is not a description, but a diagnosis. Using OCD as a description instead of a diagnosis is hurtful to those who truly live with the very real diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder. It’s possible you're ruminating thoughts about your laundry getting done led you to do it so perfectly you didn’t have to worry about it anymore. Likely, you were able to let that go until your next load was due and it didn’t cause you distress. For someone with OCD, not doing the laundry perfectly, according to their ruminating thoughts, might lead to a catastrophic or traumatizing event OCD Is Equally A Mind, Body, Spirit Disorder As Anything Else There is debate about whether obsessive compulsive disorder is a nature or nurture diagnosis. Meaning, whether or not obsessive compulsive disorder is something people are born with or develop out of defense, typically against trauma. Researchers have found both to be true. Many people with OCD have a fragile spirit, an imbalanced mind, and carry the stress of their tension within their body. Healing from and living with OCD means taking holistic care of the self in every area. Treating OCD is possible as is a lifetime of recovery with a manageable lifestyle. OCD can lead to harmful compulsive behaviors like substance abuse or self harm. If you think you might be struggling with OCD, call Avalon Malibu today. As one of California’s only certified primary mental health treatment facility, we offer trusted programs with results you can count on to change your life. For a confidential assessment, call 1 888-958-7511.

Smoking cigarettes is bad for you. This has been proven tenfold over the last few decades. Yet, people insist on smoking. Despite teeth staining, smelly clothes, a raspy voice, and the chronic threat of developing a lung disease, people continue smoking. The same phenomena applies to tanning. Excessive exposure to UVA and UVB ultraviolet light can cause skin cancer, which in advanced stages can become life-threatening. Without using hats, sunscreens, or cover ups, people persistently seek sunbathing or tanning beds to maintain the skin color of their choice. Though vitamin D therapy is helpful in treating depression types like seasonal affective disorder, too much can be damaging. New research suggests that the specific impulse to tan could be an indication of an addictive personality and lead to other addictions. Science Daily reports that the Yale School of Public Health found a correlation between substance abuse, mental health, and an addiction to tanning. “...Those who exhibited tanning dependence, also referred to as tanning addiction, were six times as likely to also be dependent on alcohol and three times as likely to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).” Additionally, those who demonstrated a tanning addiction were “five times more likely to exhibit ‘exercise addiction’”. What causes tanning addiction is not yet understood. Early understandings of the brain’s reactions to tanning indicate a surplus in the production of melanin and endorphins. Endorphins are a feel good brain chemical which many people feel when they exercise. Like many “addictions”, the brain associates behaviors and processes like tanning and exercising with reward. Interestingly, tanning and exercise are recommended treatments, in a healthy balance, for mental health conditions like depression, because of the way they produce endorphins and create healthy rewards. Learning to create balance and peace in life when recovering from mental or chemical addictions takes time and healing. The residential treatment programs at Avalon Malibu are designed to clinically guide you toward mental healing while providing other treatments for body and spirit. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 (888) 958-7511 today.

Depression is a mood disorder which impacts mind, body, and spirit. Symptoms of all three areas are prevalent in depression and can cause someone to feel as though they are out of control in their lives. Physical pain is a common accompaniment to depression. Aches, pains, muscle fatigue, and exhaustion are all common. The depressed body feels low in energy and mirrors pain being experienced in mind and spirit. Hopelessness, pessimism, fear, melancholy, detachment and emptiness can be felt as much physically as they are both mentally, as well as spiritually. Psychosomatization is not uncommon with mood and personality disorders, especially depression. Somatizing congested emotions which have not been confronted and processed can lead to physical pain, which only increases the difficulty of the experience of living with depression. Psychiatry Advisor cites new research which has found that physical pain is more common for those who are living with depression. This combination of symptoms has a greater affect than physical and emotional pain. “...those with both depression and pain are more likely to have cognitive impairment,” the article explains. The findings of the new research “...provide evidence to screen for pain in those with depression and cognitive impairment,” and emphasizes that “...effectively treating pain in these populations may increase cognitive and functional outcomes.” Screening for physical pain in a diagnosis which is known for providing someone with emotional pain, might be the answer to effective recovery. Cognitive impairments can last beyond treatment if they are not properly assessed and confronted. Cognitive functions are the functions within the brain which helps humans make decisions, make judgments, and perform almost every executive action they have. Importantly, cognition is what helps humans make meaning in their lives by assimilating information and transforming it into knowledge. Treatment for mood disorders often falls short when cognitive impairments get in the way. With an impaired ability to make sense of incoming information, all of the efforts of treatment become ineffective. Too often, this is blamed on the individual with accusations of being unwilling or not committed to recovery. Exacerbating an already exhausting amount of shame and stigma, too many clients give up on themselves and their recovery because they aren’t “getting it.” Screening for physical pain in depression could be an answer to interrupting and remedying cognitive impairments, leading to a successful and effective recovery. Treating mind, body, and spirit, stems beyond physical and emotional pain but has a significant effect on the entire brain chemistry. Avalon Malibu believes that holistic healing is the answer to trusted results in recovery. Our programs for mental health are some of California’s only certified primary treatment programs. For a confidential assessment and more information on our residential treatment programs for depression, call 1 888-958-7511.

30% of the American adult population lives with some kind of an anxiety disorder. Only a small percentage of those struggling will ever seek treatment. Problematically, many of them are not aware that they have an anxiety disorder which needs to be treated. Instead, they live with labels of being fearful, being sensitive, being afraid, or worrying too much. Coping with anxiety can be done in healthy ways or unhealthy ways. Many people who live with anxiety find themselves developing mechanisms for coping which work best for them, even if they aren’t healthy ones. When someone creates a coping mechanism, no matter how unhealthy, they stick to that routine because it has a benefit of some sort which works for them. Abusing mind altering substances like drugs and alcohol is one of these coping mechanisms. Co-occurring anxiety and addiction is common. Though the drugs and alcohol pose equally as significant a problem as the anxiety, the payoff of the effects of the substances is enough. Drugs and alcohol can either depress the system to reduce the tense feelings of worry or they can excite the system to create a kind of tension that feels more in control. Unfortunately with substance abuse, especially when co-occurring with anxiety, control does not last long. As chemical dependency full develops, the coping mechanism of substance abuse becomes a more serious manner of survival. Avoiding the combination of anxiety and substance abuse is possible. Here are 5 ways you can reduce your risk or watch over a loved one living with anxiety 10 Minutes Of Exercise Exercise is one of the ways that the Anxiety And Depression Association Of America recommends coping with anxiety. As little as ten minutes of exercise can clear up anxiety and produce hormones which focus the brain in a different direction. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Incorporating mindfulness into the home at an early age can help children learn how to manage their stress as well as their emotions. Mindfulness meditation practices reduce the heart rate and concentrate the mind on the present moment. Balanced Diet And Nutrition The brain needs essential fatty amino acids to function. Low sugar and low processed food diets help keep mood swings and emotional excitement to a minimum. Creating healthy meals as a process can be good for managing anxiety around food. Avalon Malibu is one of southern California’s leading dual diagnosis treatment centers providing primary care for both mental health conditions and substance use disorders. For a confidential assessment and more information on our trusted programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

Ruminating thoughts, feelings of impending doom, and pessimistic negativity are all hallmarks of depression. Learning how to live with and change negative thinking in depression is a primary ingredient in a recipe of successful recovery. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most relied upon therapies for treating mental health conditions. Highlighting the relationship between thought and behavior, CBT helps clients identify their beliefs which fuel their behavior. Taking an objective look at them, ongoing CBT assists in being able to decide if these are thoughts a client wants to continue having and behaviors they want to continue acting on. Continuing therapy utilizing CBT tools allows clients to make proactive changes in their thinking and consequent behaviors. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Dialectical behavioral therapy was designed to treat more complex personality and mood disorders, like borderline personality disorder. While cognitive behavioral therapy is helpful and applicable to many different mental health conditions, it seemed to fall short for more intense emotions. Chronic major depression can include very low emotional states which include heightened sensitivity and a very intense form of pessimism. DBT is a system for coping with emotional moments when they arise, working to identify feeling-states rather than belief-states before taking action. Metacognitive Therapy According to Health.com, metacognitive therapy, or, MBCT, is similar to cognitive behavioral therapy, without the analysis. Rather than dissect certain thought patterns and beliefs, MCT leads clients to practical applications for “reducing the negative thought processes and take control over them.” For one study, 20 patients with depression went through 10 weeks of MCT therapy sessions, once each week. 80% of the patients scaled a full recovery from depression symptoms. Mindfulness Mindfulness based stress reduction is a system of tools which utilize mindfulness practices in order to alleviate emotional stress. Awareness, noticing, and paying attention are the primary functions of mindfulness which encourage autonomy in the emotional process. Without having to pause and engage in practices, mindfulness is an integrated lifestyle in which someone can simply notice how they are feeling and become aware of their behaviors. Importantly, mindfulness emphasizes an attitude of non-judgment. Healing from depression and learning to live with depression symptoms is possible for you in your life. If you are struggling with depression, Avalon Malibu welcomes you to our residential treatment program. One of California’s only certified mental health facilities for primary mental health conditions, we treat your depression directly and help you heal mind, body, and spirit. For a confidential assessment, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.