Addiction

Alcohol is not a liquid which goes into our bodies and then just leaves. People are not commonly mindful of how what they put in their body actually affects their body. Here are some of the ways alcohol abuse can affect the physical body.

Avalon By The Sea is a certified dual diagnosis treatment center, providing primary care for mental health disorders when they are a primary diagnosis as well as a co-occurring disorder. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

Therapy usually comes with a negative connotation for people. Spending money on time reserved for talking about your feelings or difficult things in the past sounds unappealing. However, immense healing can occur in therapy, helping someone to feel more free in their life.

Soon, prescription MDMA and therapeutic treatment using MDMA will be legal. MDMA is also known as ecstasy, a drug which finds most use in clubs, raves, and music festivals.

To transcend definitively means to “be or go beyond the range or limits of”. Transcendental meditation is a specific practice which focuses on transcendence, or going beyond one’s limitations. Few things can feel more limiting to the mind than trauma. Trauma can cause blockages to memory, impair social relations, prevent intimacy, and create a wealth of other side effects. Flashbacks, nightmares, hyperarousal, panic, and feel like the world exists within the repeated memory of traumatic events. According to Good News Network, a group of female inmates who demonstrated high level symptoms of PTSD were tasked with practicing transcendental meditation, specifically. “After four months of practicing (the technique), the women inmates in the meditation group had significant reductions in total trauma symptoms, including intrust thoughts and hyperarousal,” the website reported.

Childhood is a critical time for self-development, as developmental psychology has pointed out. Our relationships experienced in childhood have a lasting impact on how we develop as a person and who we are as a person. If our childhood relationships are positive, supportive, and nurturing, that will be the effect. On the other hand, if our childhood relationships are negative, neglectful, abusive, or abandoning, there will be an ongoing sense of instability in people as they grow older. New research suggests that the impactful effects of childhood trauma could last well into one’s 50’s and beyond. The research also found that childhood trauma can increase risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, and diabetes as well as smoking, sexual promiscuity, and a lower life expectancy. Specifically, the study found, someone who experiences six or more ACEs, adverse childhood experiences, died 20 years earlier than those who did not. Childhood trauma hurts, in more ways than one. Why Children Are Traumatised Many parents aren’t ready to be parents. Often, they’ve been abused or traumatised into their own lives without ever going through therapy and working on their own issues. Consequently, a child triggers all of those issues within them. Following by the example they best knew as children themselves, parents often enact their pain upon their child; sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. Childhood trauma is not always direct in the form of sexual abuse or physical abuse. Divorce, separation, abandonment, or domestic altercation can traumatise a child. Additionally, emotional abuse from parents or bullies at school can be traumatising as well. Healing From Childhood Trauma Unfortunately, the study did not elaborate on the many people who find healing and hope despite their childhood traumas. Through treatment and ongoing therapy, people are able to process and heal the traumas of their past while learning necessary skills for engaging in happy and fulfilling relationships within their own lives. If you are experiencing the painful repercussions of childhood trauma and feel like you may never heal, have hope. You can release the past and move forward from it. Your traumatic childhood does not have to define who you are or how you participate in life. We understand the need to take time to work on issues from the past. Avalon By The Sea offers a private and comfortable residential treatment program focused on trauma treatment and healing. For a private consultation and more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Progress is impossible without change,and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” Change is inevitable. In fact, as it is philosophically said, change is the only constant we have in life. Sometimes it can feel like life is constantly changing. The truth is, we only get a glimpse of some of the smallest changes. For example, the earth is constantly rotating and making incremental adjustments to its tilt on the axis. Cells are constantly regenerating, right before your very eyes. Things are changing all the time that we can’t see and certainly beyond what we can control. Yet it is the changes which make themselves obvious to us which are the most difficult to cope with, especially living with a mental illness. Unpredictable or unchangeable moods, childhood experiences rooted in trauma, fears of abandonment and rejection- all of these things can create an uneasy relationship to change. For many people, change was a constant which was right in their face. Living in an unstable environment which might have come with abuse can make coping with change hard. Most people will experience traumatic events in their life which can make it hard to feel like there is any security in the world. Since change is unending, that means we have to learn to live with it and cope effectively.

A crisis is a “time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” An epidemic on the other hand, is a “widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.” Both are applicable to addiction, yet, it is crisis which is the more accurate fit. Addiction is reaching all time high numbers in how devastating the effect is. Difficulty, trouble, and danger, all exist for those who are addicted and those who are the loved ones of those who are addicted. There is difficulty in getting someone adequate mental health care. Trouble is often part of addiction when it gets out of hand and can no longer be controlled. Being addicted to drugs like synthetics, amphetamines, and opioids, can lead to a fatal overdose. In addition, the illegal international drug market causes violence. Addiction is dangerous. Spread of Addiction On the same token, addiction seems to be spreading to more people than ever before. The amount of opioid users since the early 2000’s has grown four-fold. Addiction is often seen as a disease but is in truth a mental health disorder. Though many people are susceptible to developing an addiction if they abuse substances, not everyone is. Addiction is only seemingly infectious, however, addiction does not actually spread. If one was to take a sip from an alcoholic’s beer, they wouldn’t “catch” alcoholism. Referring to addiction and substance specific addictions as being epidemic is inaccurate. Compared to the relatively stable mental health of the general public, addiction is still small. Addiction As A Crisis Addiction is a mental health disorder in which the brain loses its control of being able to make autonomous decisions which disregard a need for chemical substances. Chemical dependency is life altering. Unfortunately, addiction rarely just happens to someone. Though there are elements of genetics at play, addiction starts as an independent choice. In the beginning, once chooses to drink or do drugs, and continues to choose them despite negative consequences. A crisis of thought, addiction builds as a result of difficulty saying “no”. Today more than twenty two million Americans suffer from a substance use disorder. Only ten percent of them will seek any kind of treatment. Avalon By The Sea wants to help as many people as possible. Our residential treatment program is designed to help you heal in mind, body, and spirit. Let us help you end of the crisis of addiction in your life today. For a private consultation or more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

Do you ever feel like your negative thoughts are a rogue sailboat who guides itself at sea? Look to these suggestions for taking back control of your mind’s ship and navigating new waters. Throw An Anchor Stopping the perpetual flow of habitual thinking can feel like trying to stop a river with a plastic bag- it just isn’t going to work. Instead of fighting against the stream, just try to throw down an anchor. You might not be able to make it stop right away, but you can find a pause in the middle of the flow to take a look at what is going on. Notice where the thoughts are heading. Can you tell where they are coming from? After taking a few deep breaths, spend a moment reflecting on your current situation. Examine all the environmental and emotional factors. You’ll discover some insight you couldn’t have found when all of your attention and energy was being directed toward stopping the thoughts. Check Your Routes Likely, you’ve taken this route before. You were in a similar situation which caused a similar reaction and brought you to this train of thought. That is how habits are born. If you can clearly see the path make note of this pattern. See what other influences cause you to come to this place. Before you can make any changes to the way you charter your course, you have to acknowledge where you want to go first. Go Boldly Where You Haven’t Gone Before Breaking habits can seem daunting. When our habits of thinking are negative, it seems silly to experience any kind of fear when it comes to changing them. Habits are comfortable, familiar, and sometimes protective, however, that doesn’t mean they can’t be changed. Courage and audacity is required to set sail in a new direction. You have what it takes. Take a few more deep breaths and hoist the sails. Live In The Mystery Heading into uncharted territory is terrifying and exciting at the same time. Adventures wouldn't be so adventurous if you knew all the details. Recovery is an adventure. You’re exploring and living life in a way you never have before. Live in that mystery and focus on the journey. Expand Your Mind’s World Each time you confront your thoughts and look for new options, you expand what is possible in your mind. Quite literally, you are drawing the map for the places your mind has explored and the ways it can get there. Continue to pioneer this new path in recovery, and remember that this won’t be the last time you’ll have to follow the wind a different way. We are here to help you learn how to live again. Through clinical treatment and holistic healing, our residential programs equip each client with everything they need to carry on in life clean, serene, and happy. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

A study found that lies which get out of control primarily benefit the self. Meaning, when lying about something is going to help you benefit in some personal way, even at the expense of other people, you are going to run with it. If a lie is only beneficial to someone else, it is unlikely that the lie will be told enough time to get out of control. Lastly, if telling a lie meant both you and someone else would benefit, you are the most likely to tell that lie over and over again watching it get bigger and bigger. In conclusion, the study found, “dishonesty escalated over time when it was self-serving, showing that the simple act of repeated dishonesty by itself is not enough for escalation to take place…” Essentially, if we are going to tell a lie and stick to it even when it starts spiraling out of control, “—a self-benefiting motivation must also be present.” Addiction as a Motivator Addiction is often that kind of a motivator for those who have become chemically dependent on a harmful substance such as drugs or alcohol. Lying is one of the stereotyped, stigmatized parts of addiction contributing to the characterization that addiction is an issue of immorality. Unfortunately, it is true that over time chemically dependent individuals tend to tell more lies which can get astonishingly intricate, all to serve the selfish need to continue using substances. However, the lying associated with addiction fits the bill. When drugs and alcohol take over the brain, the neurotransmitter dopamine has rewired everyday processes. Dopamine, a brain chemical communicating pleasure, changes the brain to need to feel the pleasure derived from using drugs and alcohol- not want; need. The reason this happens is because a part of the brain called the Midbrain is heavily affected by substance abuse. Survival operations like eating and sleeping live in the midbrain. Too much dopamine, however, encourages the midbrain to believe that using drugs and alcohol is its most important operation of survival. Few things could be more powerful of a self-benefitting motivation than that. Addicts and alcoholics lie to protect their ability to get high or drunk. They have to protect their ability to get high or drunk because they have become completely dependent on it. For their brain, it feels like a matter of life or death. Family Heartbreak For the family members, loved ones, co-workers, and friends who know the individual who is suffering, it is heartbreaking and disappointing to watch them go through this cycle over and over again. Interestingly, the lying might have something more to do with them than they realize. As the study pointed out, the highest occurrence of lying was when a lie would benefit the self and another. Though it may not seem that way on the outside, people who are suffering truly don’t want other people to suffer. Addicts and alcoholics know they are letting everyone down when they lie and try to hide their using. Guilt and shame which prevail from this cycle can be debilitating. Many recovering addicts and alcoholics will attest that they did their best to hide their drinking and using to save their family from getting hurt, upset, and disappointed. Though the action is still self-serving, there is a certain level of consideration involved as well. Despite feeling completely out of control of their drinking and using, an addict or an alcoholic truly doesn’t want to keep hurting other people. Like a lie that escalates out of control, they simple can’t help it. Avalon By The Sea offers premiere luxury residential treatment for drug and alcohol abuse at an affordable cost. Our beautiful estate sits atop the iconic Malibu coastline providing privacy and serenity for holistic healing. Avalon offers regular family counseling, family intensive programs, and more to allow the whole family to heal. For a private consultation or more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

One of the most challenging parts about adopting a sober lifestyle is transitioning out of the old one to create a new one. Drinking and drug use becomes a major part of your life. After getting sober, many are surprised to realize just how significant of a role drugs and alcohol played. Here are a few suggestions for managing every day challenges for staying sober.

Relapse is a difficult part of recovery. It is a part of recovery but it does not have to be a part of recovery. Some say that relapse is part of the story. Not everyone relapses. If you are struggling with a drug addiction or alcoholism problem and are considering treatment know that you don’t have to relapse to stay sober forever. You just have to take things one day at a time. Understanding Relapse Understanding relapse is difficult for anyone on the outside of chemical dependency. Acting on impulse in spite of negative consequences is a characteristic of addiction. Drugs and alcohol overtake the brain in a very severe way. Many attribute the craving and desire for using to pleasure. Pleasure is only a small part of what really happened in the brain when the impulse to use arises. The pleasure which is derived from drugs and alcohol comes from the overproduction of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Dopamine communicates feelings of pleasure to the reward center of the brain. From there, the substances causing pleasure are committed to memory. The memory channels feed into an area of the brain called the midbrain. Survival necessities like eating, sleep, and reproducing live in the midbrain. Overtime, the messages of pleasure and reward stored to memory inundate the midbrain. To say a relapse is born out of a need for pleasure is not to give the intricacy of addiction it’s fair due. Relapse is born out of a need to survive pain. Confronting Emotions Treatment and recovery can be painful. Dealing with emotions, confronting trauma, and living life each day without euphoria inducing substances can be hard. After a brain has become chemically dependent upon drugs or alcohol for providing pleasure, it is difficult to live without it. The brain has learned how to live off of drugs and alcohol. Problematically, it has learned to source all of its pleasurable sensations from it. The brain struggles to produce its own dopamine without the presence of drugs and alcohol. Essentially, when the brain feels a need for pleasure, and cannot create any on its own, it craves drugs and alcohol. When those cravings don’t get met, the brain becomes obsessive, causing more tension, stress, and chaos in the mind to which the only answer seems to be: drink or use, as soon as possible. It is true, people relapse because they want to get drunk or high. However, why it is they want to get drunk or high is more of the point. Relapse isn’t an episode , it's a process. Avalon By The Sea continuously evaluates and checks in with patients to gauge their recovery beyond the scope of clinical judgment. Your life is important to use. We know how precious this opportunity is to live it. For a private consultation or more information on our residential treatment programs, call 1 888-958-7511.