Addiction

Recovery is a lifelong process. Though some may consider themselves “recovered” recovery is a term that is fluid in time. Meaning, no matter how much sober time you have, you are always in recovery. Getting through the beginning phases of recovery, often called “early recovery”, is the most challenging part. Within just weeks of your last drink or drug, or mental health episode, the memories are still fresh. For addicts and alcoholics suffering from substance abuse, their bodies will still be chemically dependent upon drugs and alcohol. Going through withdrawals, surviving detox, and learning to manage the cravings all make for a vulnerable time. The first few weeks of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction are usually the highest risk for relapse. For those entering recovery for mental health and psychiatric issues, the early recovery stage is also high risk. Medication is just starting to help with stabilization and it can be hard to adjust to a new way of life. Recovery, for everyone involved is possible. However, it isn’t always easy. Recovery takes commitment, work, willingness and open-mindedness. Follow some of these suggestions as extra inspiration and guidance: Positive Affirmations Thinking positively has been scientifically proven to change the way we think. Brains are very sensitive and easily influenced. The brain is actually trained to notice and pay more attention to negativity than positivity. Pushing positive thinking isn’t always effective. Integrating daily positive practices is. Start each day with a positive affirmation and hold onto it throughout the day. By bedtime, reflect on how that positive affirmation came true or was present throughout the day. Set Realistic Goals In recovery, it is all about “progress not perfection”. Perfect is an illusion and an unobtainable goal. Rather than trying to do everything perfectly all at once, settle for small, tangible goals every day. Small goals equal small rewards. Overtime, they can become habits and positive parts of a routine. Try setting a goal to make the bed, practice good hygiene, and eating enough food. Be Graceful Graceful doesn’t mean swooshing through life like a ballerina. Living with grace means living without entitlement. Sometimes, recovery can evoke a sense of entitlement. Looking down upon the peers and staff members supporting a treatment program, it is easy to expect the work to be done by someone else. Rather than assign responsibility, take accountability on face forward. Nestled in the seaside cliffs of iconic Malibu, Avalon welcomes substance abuse and mental health patients to our two facilities. One of the only treatment centers to offer mental health and psychiatric issue treatment as a primary diagnosis, Avalon provides a luxury and private setting to addressing each individualized need. For more information on our programs of treatment for dual-diagnosis and co-occurring issues, call 1-888-958-7511.

Hallucinogens are a small category of drugs. Most well known are psilocybin, known as magic mushrooms, and lysergic acid diethylamide, known as LSD or acid. There are many other substances that can cause hallucinogenic experiences, usually referred to as a “trip”. Though psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs have not been classified as addictive, it is possible to abuse them. Preferring the world or reality brought on by mind altering drugs, one might continually use these drugs to stay in that state. Overtime psychedelics and hallucinogens can cause brain damage and weaken physical health. Here is a list of legal substances that, when abused, can cause hallucinogenic and psychedelic experiences. If you are concerned you or a loved one is becoming detached from reality due to hallucinogenic drugs, call Avalon today at 1-888-958-7511. For more information on other harmful hallucinogenic substances, visit The Daily Dot. Salvia Salvia can be purchased in smoke shops around the country. A naturally occurring plant substance, it is usually smoked in conjunction with marijuana. Salvia delivers a powerful twenty minute hallucinogenic experience. Many report experiencing intense visualizations and disturbances of the visual field. Currently, there are no reports on becoming addicted to salvia as the experience is usually too intense for back to back repeated use. Nutmeg Yes, the seasonal spice is a hallucinogenic substance. When abused in large quantities, usually through smoking or inhaling, it can cause a trip similar to mushrooms and LSD. However, there is one caveat to abusing nutmeg- it causes an intense flu like reaction. DXM Dextromethorphan is a psychoactive substance found in most cough syrups and other over the counter drugs found neighborhood pharmacies. DXM is  dissociative drug meaning it not only produces psychedelic effects but completely removes someone from reality. DXM is addicting and can result in overdose, which can be fatal. DMT N,N-Dimethyltryptamine is a naturally occurring substance found in nature. Used in religious practices throughout the word, DMT is often referred to as the spirit molecule. DMT is not abused but used ceremoniously. A DMT experience is said to model the experience of dying and being reborn into the afterlife. The trip is about twenty to twenty five minutes. Avalon By The Sea offers comprehensive care for substance use disorders and mental health disorders. Settled on the iconic coastline of southern California, Avalon offers privacy and serenity for healing. Call us today for a confidential assessment and more information on our programs 1-888-958-7511.

Conflict is not always easy to resolve. Indeed many avoid conflict because it is easier to deal with the animosity of a strained relationship than walk through confrontation. Recovery from both mental health and substance use disorders means learning to use practical tools to get through any situation life hands us. If you are experiencing a conflict, look to these suggestions for support. Take Distance, Take Time Sometimes the best we can do when we are in the face of a conflict is take time and distance from that conflict. As opposed to running away or avoiding, detaching is a proactive practice rather than a passive one. Detaching is a way of approaching conflict without immediately getting involved. Instead of diving into conflict and figuring out how you feel in the middle of it, detachment gives you an opportunity to evaluate your position on your own time. Additionally, detachment helps you to remove unhelpful emotions from the situation. Conflict can arouse autopilot reactions or coping mechanisms like ego, false pride, or judgment. In order to resolve conflict in a peaceful, healthy, and mindful manner, it is important to get right with yourself first. Seek Guidance Before Making a Decision Thankfully, we don’t have all the answers. However, conflict that is really conflicting can cause us to jump to some hefty conclusions. Clouded with justification and assumption, we lack the clarity we need to look at a conflict objectively. Seeking guidance can help us gain a new perspective on the situation. If we are in a conflict with a person, an outside point of view can help us to find empathy or compassion. Softening our hearts to what is going on with someone else, we can take ourselves out of the equation and realize everybody suffers; sometimes, we can all act a little out of sorts when we are struggling. Write It Out Before You Fight It Out Journaling or doing a twelve step inventory on a conflict is another great way to get through a conflict. There are times when negative words, accusations, and angry sentiments just need to be expressed. If we are stuck in negative emotional experiences like resentment, sometimes verbalizing that frustration can lead to emotional lethargy. We can quickly access the underlying pain, hurt, sadness, or fear, accompanied by our anger. As a result, we can approach conflict without vengeance. Take Action If all arrows point toward action then it is time to take it. Having processed our position, consulted others, and taken the time to work out our emotions, we can approach conflict with an open and loving heart. In any conflict resolution the worst that can happen is closure and healing. Whether conflict ends positively or negatively, it still ends. Avalon By The Sea of Malibu is a licensed dual diagnosis facility, offering treatment for both substance abuse and mental health disorders. Treating co-occurring disorders and primary psychiatric disorders, Avalon is able to provide a comprehensive program for recovery. Settled in the iconic coastline of southern California, Avalon offers a relaxing and private environment for healing. To receive a confidential assessment or more information of our program, please call 1-855-464-8492.

Treatment for mental health or substance use disorders ask us to do a lot of looking inward. Suddenly, after years of not connecting to ourselves in a truthful or authentic way, we are asked to be introspective and reflect on who we are, what we feel, and what we think. Introspection is not easy for everyone. Certain mental health disorders making looking within to identify emotions a difficult challenge to overcome. Though introspection or being introspective is not a requirement for growth and progress in treatment, it is a helpful tool for getting to know yourself better. In part, treatment offers you tools to help you learn more about yourself. Gaining more insight to who you are helps you to understand what drives you, what frightens you, what inspires you, and what triggers you. With self-knowledge at hand, we can better approach managing our everyday lives with mental illness in a new life of recovery. Empathy is defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” It is hard for us to understand other people if we do not understand ourselves. Of course, empathy is not required in life. However, empathy helps us develop a greater sense of compassion toward others and a deeper sense of gratitude for our own lives. Compassion is the ability to not only empathize how someone feels but truly share in knowing that you too have gone through what they are. Compassion and empathy help us to recognize the human experience in all of us. Why is this important? Being a part of human solidarity is incredibly important to mental health and recovery. First, when we recognize that others are human, we accept that they are susceptible to making mistakes. When our expectations don’t get met, we are often disappointed. If we are without understanding that everyone has their own life to deal with, it is easy to get caught up in anger and resentment. Eventually anger and resentment turn into rage, hatred, and violence. To sustain our mental health, we need to work on forgiveness rather than fear. Forgiveness is the second reason why being introspective is important. Taking a look at our internal selves helps to realize we are human too, and perfectly imperfect. Often, we are our own worst critics. Holding ourselves to impossibly high standards, we are quick to not forgive ourselves for not being perfect. Recovery is about embracing who we are, as we are, in this moment. Avalon By The Sea provides unparalleled dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Certified as one of California’s only treatment facilities for providing care to psychiatric issues as a primary diagnosis, Avalon provides comprehensive quality care. For a confidential assessment or information on our treatment programs call 1-855-464-8409

Their Addiction Has Nothing To Do With You Most of the time, our loved one with an addiction has demonstrated to us time and again that we are of little concern to them. Our love for them, our fear for them, our attempts to help, our attempts to cut them out of our lives- nothing seems to have phased our loved one’s addiction. It’s of wonder then why it is so hard for us to truly accept that their addictions have nothing to do with us. We’ve spent endless hours trying to understand. Was it something we did? Is it something we do? Are we missing something about what’s wrong with us? Don’t they love us? Trying to rationalize the irrationality of addiction can (and will) drive us mad. We have to embrace the fact that, though they may be acting like someone completely different from the person we know and love, our loved ones are still their own person making their own decisions. You Can’t Make Them Stop Which is exactly why there is nothing we can do to make them stop. Addicts in recovery often reveal that no marriage, child, relationship, or job was enough to make them get or stay sober. We can offer help, support, and guidance as much as we can stand. In the end, it is going to be their decision and their decision alone to finally stop using and start recovering. When that moment comes, it is up to you to be there. It Isn’t Your Fault There is a good chance they won’t ever choose sobriety. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a good chance that they will. Whatever their decision understand that it isn’t your fault. There Is An End To Enabling You might be at fault for enabling. Enabling is a sign of codependent behavior, which can actually harm an addict’s chances of recovering. Common forms of enabling in a relationship with an active addict can include, but is not limited to: covering for their mistakes, paying for legal fees, buying them drugs or alcohol, giving them money, letting them stay in the house, and more. It’s OK To Set Boundaries One of the best ways to make it clear to an addict that they need to get help is by discontinuing to indulge their behaviors. With love, compassion, and healthy detachment, it is okay to set boundaries. Boundaries can be rigid or flexible. For example, they may not be allowed to show up to dinner under the influence, or, they have to take an at-home urine test before being allowed to participate in family events. You Can Still Love Them No matter what happens, they are still your loved one. It is perfectly reasonable for your feelings of loving them not to go away. Nothing says you should stop loving them. They need all the love they can get. Provide a struggling addict with healthy love. Avalon By The Sea offers intensive family therapy components for both our mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs. Certified to treat both diagnosis, Avalon provides a comprehensive program for dual diagnosis and co-occurring disorders. For a confidential assessment and more information on our treatment programs, call 1-855-464-8492.

Sobriety for most people involves total abstinence. No illicit or illegal substance can be used or abused for mind altering purposes. For some, the idea of giving up mind altering substances entirely is daunting. Sober support group meetings are typically accompanied by coffee, sugary treat such as doughnuts or cookies, and a cloud of smoke from cigarettes. Caffeine, sugar, and nicotine are methods of support for a recovering addict or alcoholic. Today’s beverage industry offers teas, energy drinks, and supplemented juices that can help someone catch an extra buzz. There are numerous other legal, even natural, substances which can create a mind-altered state. What defines one substance from another as being harmful? Does drinking a chamomile tea which causes drowsiness count as a relapse? The answer is no. There are no clearly defined terms for what is and is not appropriate for sobriety. Some substances or drink are more concerning than others for the intensity of their mind-altering properties and their potential for abuse. Abuse, or using a substance in a way it is not intended, can be a hard line to draw as it is mostly subjective. Pain relievers relieve pain and calming teas create calm. Should they be avoided? Using a substance in higher quantities, all day long, or for avoidance, is abuse. One substance causing controversy in the world of sobriety is Kava. Kava bars are opening up in local neighborhoods, offering a natural remedy to the day’s stress. What is Kava? Kava is a plant found in the south pacific known as a natural remedy for numerous afflictions. When consumed, Kava interacts with the central nervous system, making the effect quick and impactful. The effectiveness of Kava is not widely researched, so the side effects are vast. Kava negatively interacts with many medications and can worsen symptoms of mental health issues like depression. Often served as a tea, Kava can create dissociative feelings and uncomfortable calm. In large, abusive quantities, Kava can cause mild hallucinations. Why Is Kava A Concern For Sobriety? People in early recovery are drawn to kava for it’s powerful effect on calming their high nerves. Kava does not show up on a urinary test and has not yet been proven to cause dependency. However, the reliance upon a mood altering substance is problematic. Recovery is a process of learning to regulate and manage one’s emotional state without chemical support (other than a prescription). Many begin to rely on Kava out of habit and sensation, though not out of chemical dependency. However, the brief sense of euphoric relief brought on by Kava can be enough to stimulate memories in the brain associated with using. Eventually, the kava might not be substantial in curing the ailments relief is being sought for. Other substances might come to mind. Without the tools in place to act as defense, relapse becomes imminent.Avalon By The Sea advocates total abstinence in sobriety. Our treatment program for substance use disorders is housed in a warm, private, luxury environment while offering quality evidence based care. For a confidential assessment or more information on our programs, call 1 (888) 958-7511.

Let’s be honest. Being betrayed by someone we love- be it a husband, wife, friend, family member or coworker- can feel like dying. Some betrayals are petty while others are deep. Research has shown that emotional pain, like that which comes from emotional, verbal, or mental abuse, works in the brain similarly to physical pain. The bottom line is pain hurts, no matter what kind of pain it is. Betrayal is usually sudden and unexpected for the person who has been betrayed. To say that one shouldn’t have expectations is to paint a dismal picture of mankind- it would be unfortunate to go through life assuming one human will betray and hurt another at some point in time. When we are in a loving and meaningful relationship of any kind with another person, we do have expectations. We expect them to love, honor, respect, and treat us the loving, honoring, respectful way we treat them. Betrayal is shocking and disappointing at the same time. Sending our minds into a headspin, we struggle to try and figure out what happened and why. All the while, we suffer deep emotional pain which can have physiological effect. Our hearts feel like they might stop, our stomach is in knots, and our body is paralyzed. Betrayal hurts, but betrayal will not kill us. Working through betrayal is the best way to recover from it. We would much rather run, hide, and lick our wounds than have someone come and do surgery or pour on burning cleaning fluids. Where do we begin? We begin with checking in on ourselves. It isn’t hard to tell that we’re feeling. After finding out we’ve been betrayed, we’re feeling everything and we can hardly sort it out. There aren’t enough emotions to express what we are going through. Allow yourself a period of time to be completely consumed, which can be a detoxifying process. After that period of time, start putting your emotions in check. To work through the aftermath of betrayal, you will need to start stabilizing to the best of your ability. Challenging, but not impossible, recognize that this action of betrayal will not be undone and it is time to move forward. We continue by learning not to blame ourselves for another’s actions and eventually we forgive. Working through betrayal takes time, nurturing, and healing. Betrayal can lead to depression, anxiety, and relationship trauma which might require professional help to work through. Avalon By The Sea offers relationship counseling and licensed mental health treatment for primary psychiatric diagnoses. If you or a loved one are in need of support, call Avalon today for a confidential assessment. 1-855-464-8451.

It isn’t always easy to see the effect a grown up addiction is having on the life of a child. Some of these examples may seem black and white, but the grey areas are not difficult to imagine. Children are affected by a parent’s moods, behaviors, words, attitudes, and choices. When a parent brings their addiction into the home, children are the first to suffer as: Accomplices In their hearts, despite what a parent does, a child still loves them. Children see their parents as better or happier once the parent uses their drug of choice. To avoid watching their parent suffer, get angry, or whatever the negative consequence, a child will help the parent get more drugs. Using a child to get drugs can go to extreme places, all of which are forms of abuse. Punching Bags Literally and figuratively, children can become an addicted parent’s punching bag. An intoxicated parent with unmanageable anger or rage might take to physical abuse of a child for punishment. Additionally, a parent may hit a child with emotional blows. Venting to a child is a form of abuse. A child is not prepared to take on, detach from, or make sense of adult emotions and stress. Children can fall into thinking their role in life is to meet everyone else’ emotional needs. Not yet knowing their own, they may spend more time supporting other than learning what they need for themselves. Caregiver Parentification is a term that refers to when the child is given parental qualities for which they are not adequately equipped. For a parent that is too incapacitated to cook dinner, take younger siblings to school, or call a doctor when necessary, there is usually a child who has to step up. Parentification takes on another, more harmful role, that causes emotional stresses later in life for the child. In addition to attending the parent’s physical needs, the child becomes responsible for attending to the parent’s emotional needs. Like a nurturing loving parent, the child takes care of, makes excuses for, tends to, and supports their adult parent though they are not one. This can lead to codependency, entering abusive relationships, and strenuous perfectionism. Silent Majority Children in addicted households are often silenced. Not of legal age to take action, a child’s voice becomes lost. Often, a child is closely monitored in their home time communication, in case they should tell someone about their parent’s problem. Likely, if the child says anything threatens to say anything, they receive physical or emotional abuse. Avalon By The Sea offers intensive family therapy sessions as part of the treatment program for both mental health and substance use disorders. One of California’s only certified dual diagnosis treatment centers offering primary diagnosis treatment for mental health, Avalon offers the highest quality of care. For a confidential assessment or more information on our programs, call 1 (888) 958-7511.

“Attached” “Addicted” “Completely Dependent Upon” “Can’t Live Without It” “My Life Depends On It”- these are all sentiments commonly used to describe people’s relationships with their digital technology devices. Phones, tablets, laptops, televisions, and now watches, have all become integral parts of everyday life. We use technology for time, calls, internet, financing, meditating, eating, sleeping, playing games, organizing, and more. Digital Addiction Disorder is the inability to go without using or interacting with a digital technological advice. Many researchers have warned that the invisible blue light which comes out of screens is addicting. Studies have compared scrolling through the newsfeed of a social media platform to taking cocaine- the brain reacts in the same way. Likes, Comments, and positive feedback on our social media posts light up the reward center of the brain. Some medical professionals have warned that looking at a screen on a digital technological devices before bed can shorten lifespan and lead to medical health problems. Symptoms of Digital Addiction Disorder Digital addiction resembles both an impulsive and a compulsive disorder, writes Manfred Kets de Vries. “Studies of this disorder fail to agree whether DAD is a disorder in its own right or a symptom of other underlying conditions such as an obsessive-compulsive or impulse-control disorder. Whatever it’s called, DAD presents a compulsive behaviour pattern that can completely take over the addict’s life.” Symptoms include:

Recovery requires inspiration. If you are ready to face your addiction and get sober, be inspired by these three important tips and words of encouragement. Don’t Give Up Some days are going to be harder than others. Doubt is going to overshadow hope. A day might fly by or it will crawl. Weathering the storm now will put you in the best place to face more storms in the future without turning to drugs and alcohol. Even when you feel you’ve hit your limit and you’ve got nothing left- don’t give up. You can and you will make it. It’s completely possible. Feel your feelings, experience your experiences. Take it one single day or one single hour at a time. You’re The Only One You Can Do This For People try to get sober to please other people- the wife that won’t stop crying, the parents who cut us off, the friends who don’t want to hang out with us anymore. We get sober for our children, we get sober for our jobs, we get sober for the government and the law. Dedicating our sobriety and doing it in honor of people is one thing, but doing it for other people is another. This journey is about you. Nobody else is doing what you are doing right now. Your recovery is yours. As a result, everyone else in your life will be affected. People rarely make it when it isn’t about them changing their own lives for their own lives sake. Why? The truth It’s Worth It Right now in the depths of your struggles you might not be able to see how. Going through detox, suffering symptoms of withdrawal, dealing with uncomfortable and unfamiliar emotions...it all seems like too much. Looking into the future brings you nothing but anxiety and that’s hard to handle right now. If you could look and see what millions of others around the world are seeing every day, you might paint a different picture for yourself. You don’t have to know how or why, but you have to trust that it simply will be. Your life is about to change in ways you can only begin to predict. You are going to feel better, be happier, and live differently. Every struggle, every trial, and every tribulation is worth it. One day you are going to look back and realize the people who told you that were right all along. Avalon By The Sea of Malibu offers certified treatment for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. We know the road to recovery is hard. You don’t have to do it alone. Start your journey today, with us. For a confidential assessment and more information on our treatment programs, call 1-888-958-7511.

Navigating the holidays for the newly sober is rarely easy. It's rarely easy for those who are not in recovery! Despite the stress commonly associated with big meals, sensitive family discussions and tight schedules, those in recovery might actually be better equipped for the impending triggers. Just remember that with tips like these, those who've sought treatment for addiction or a mental health condition can successfully reconnect with their loved ones and rediscover the spirit of the holidays with enlightenment and understanding.

Substance abuse can have a devastating impact on your body, on your life and on the lives of those around you. While you are pregnant, the choices you make can impact the future health of your baby. If you use drugs while you are pregnant, there is a chance that your baby will develop neonatal abstinence syndrome. Understanding the effects of your substance abuse on the health of your child can help you make the best choice for you and your baby.