Alternative Treatment

Acupuncture is an extremely common practice across the world and it offers several healing benefits. For many Americans, however, acupuncture seems like a terrifyingly painful experience. Acupuncture and other holistic practices are more mainstream in Eastern countries, like China. The approach between Eastern and Western practices differs based on use. Specifically, Western culture tends to rely on medicines to treat illnesses, whereas Eastern traditions rely heavily on various modes of medicine for proactive wellbeing. However, the Western world has slowly been evolving to include holistic healing options, due to their many restorative properties.

One of the most crucial areas of addiction recovery is learning to practice presence and mindfulness. Addiction has a way of stealing attention from the beautiful pieces that make up a life. Consequently, it’s common to get caught up in altered thinking and miss out on everything beautiful, right now. Maybe you find yourself consumed with the obsession to use drugs and/or alcohol. Perhaps you are constantly preoccupied with concerns as to exactly how you will get your next drink and/or drug. If you’re in the final stages of addiction, you may find yourself flooded with thoughts of hopelessness and fear. Whatever your experience, the result is the same: As the ability to experience awareness of, and gratitude for the present moment decreases, perspective on life becomes increasingly negative.  Choosing a holistic approach to addiction recovery provides you with the opportunity to address the many mind, body and spiritual factors that influence who you are and how you view your life. Reconnecting to your joy by tuning into the present moment supports your ability to thrive in your recovery and your life as a whole.

Human beings are made up of a complex inter-webbing of thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns. When addiction is involved, all of these factors affect your experience. Addiction arises out of a combination of circumstances, including stress, mental health, genetics, trauma, and family environment. Focusing solely on healing the addiction can result in missed opportunities to heal the many pieces of your addiction puzzle. Combining traditional treatment with holistic healing methods offers a way to support recovery in all the aspects of your unique story.

Co-occurring disorders, or dual diagnoses, take place when an individual is diagnosed with both a mental illness and a substance use disorder (SUD). Millions of people across the U.S. have co-occurring disorders. If you are struggling with this, know that you are not alone, and you can recover. When seeking treatment for co-occurring disorders, it’s crucial to find treatment centers that specialize in treating both substance use and mental health. Many treatment centers focus only on addiction, resulting in a lack of support for those with a dual diagnosis. Unfortunately, this lack of support often leads to relapse, as untreated mental health issues tend to perpetuate addiction.  At Avalon Malibu, treating both addiction and mental health simultaneously is our top priority. By getting to know our clients and their unique experiences, we can create personalized treatment programs that meet their individual needs.

With mental illness, it’s often incredibly difficult to describe your experience. Finding the right words to describe the pain, loneliness, frustration, guilt, or joy that you feel can seem impossible. However, unique approaches to mental illness and addiction recovery that incorporate creativity as a means of self-discovery have proven to be quite successful.

Massage therapy has been used for centuries to help treat a number of health conditions and to improve wellness, including for those pursuing addiction recovery. Massage therapy can become an excellent addition to addiction recovery, as the mind, body and spirit work to heal and rejuvenate from the negative effects that substance abuse can cause. One type of massage therapy in particular - Thai massage - can be incredibly relaxing in several different ways. It’s a bit different from traditional massage therapy approaches in that it involves the client laying on the floor on a padded mat, in which a masseuse then manipulates their body in different positions.

If someone were to tell you that you’d be able to get acupuncture right now, how would you feel? Would you be excited, or nervous? For many Americans, acupuncture seems like a terrifyingly painful experience – just the thought of a bunch of small needles poking your body is enough to make most people cringe. A popular practice in the Eastern world, the Western world is still learning to become more open to holistic treatment methods like acupuncture. Countries such as China have used acupuncture for preventative health measures for so many years – and the biggest difference between countries like China and countries like the United States, are all based on approach. Western practices consider medicine to be used as a cure or relief to certain issues or illnesses, while Easter tradition utilizes medicine as a means to practice health and wellbeing.

When it comes to addiction recovery, there are many methods of healing that can be pursued. For many people, holistic massage therapy provides a safe space for healing and restoration. Holistic massage therapy at Avalon Malibu is tailored to each client’s unique needs, and considers their mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. Holistic modalities of massage can include shiatsu, traditional Chinese medicine, hand and foot reflexology, acupressure, energy work, rocking and shaking, and Thai massage – and you can discover what type of holistic massage therapy treatment works best for you. As you can see, these forms of massage take a more Eastern approach as compared to Western approaches, which include hot stone massage, aromatherapy, prenatal massage, deep tissue massage, and more. Sore muscles, increased circulation, increased nerve flow, lower blood pressure, improved immune system, ease of depression and anxiety, increased flexibility and mobility, and reduced inflammation are several of the many benefits that holistic massage therapy can provide those in addiction recovery:

Addiction takes a person away from embracing the present moment. When addiction is present, it becomes much easier for a person to go on this endless chase of substance abuse, losing sight of close connections, financial health status, physical health status, career aspirations, goal setting, hobby exploration and more. Thoughts become centered around using than about anything else, and with that, a person’s priorities change. Hobbies, friends, family, work projects and more can all fade away as addiction takes over, and recovery is all about bringing these things back.  Meditation dates back to the early teachings of Buddha, but meditation and mindfulness have become extremely popular in America as more people are realizing how great it is. Mindfulness is about cultivating a non-judgmental awareness from moment-to-moment. When we practice mindfulness, we become stronger in grounding ourselves despite challenging human moments such as distress; we’re more likely to handle life’s circumstances in better ways because we’re more understanding of what it means to be human in this life. Those who don’t practice mindfulness tend to experience a lot of anxiety. If a situation occurs, for example, a person could either accept that situation and take the best course of action, or they could ruminate and allow all of these thoughts to come flooding in, affecting their emotions and the rest of their day.  Using mindfulness, a person might realize that the thoughts they’re having are just thoughts – there’s nothing special that’s needed, and those thoughts don’t need to be all-consuming. In fact, thoughts can freely come and go, with the person exploring them as to learn more about themselves and less to determine that every thought had needed an appropriate action. When mindfulness is present, daily life becomes much easier to deal with.  From then on, people can continue practicing mindfulness to help them navigate daily life. You see, what mindfulness is based on is the fact that our thoughts are only important if we place importance on them. Thoughts are merely thoughts – they are not good, nor bad. We assign meaning to them, and so it’s up to us to determine what we want to give importance to – and what we don’t want to. Mindfulness tackles two main aspects of addiction recovery: negative emotions and cravings. Both negative emotions and cravings can cause a person to relapse, and mindfulness combats both of these risky aspects of addiction and recovery by grounding a person and providing them with the clarity they need to make informed decisions. Previous studies have explored mindfulness and its benefits for those in addiction recovery, and they found that people who practice mindfulness often experience fewer cravings throughout treatment – in addition to placing less emphasis on the daily moments of pressure that can arise around substance abuse. Additionally, mindfulness can reduce heart rate responses to cues like negative emotions, commercials, and more that may quickly remind a person of using substances.   Mindfulness helps not only in treatment but afterward, too. Other scientific studies have explored mindfulness and have found that even after treatment, those who continued to practice mindfulness found lower rates of relapse than those who didn’t – and people who practice mindfulness after treatment has been completed also tend to drink less than those who don’t. Mindfulness is an excellent approach to treatment because it places more control in a person’s hands to de-escalate some of the thoughts that may be triggering them in the first place.   The best part of mindfulness is that it can be practiced virtually anytime, anywhere. Formalized treatment programs that offer mindfulness-based therapy will certainly have structure, but you can apply mindfulness in your daily life, too. If you’re ready to try mindfulness, give yourself time to breathe and look around you the next time you go outside for a walk. Notice the birds chirping, the steps beneath your feet, the inhales and exhales that you’re taking. Check-in with yourself mentally and see how you’re feeling. Pique your curiosity and take a look at all of the colors around you – the sky, the grass, the buildings, whatever you see. It may feel a little uncomfortable at first, but it’s supposed to help ground you to your present experience. If you notice any thoughts arising, don’t try to push them away – just let them come and go. If you’re ready to begin your journey to recovery, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu. The time to rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit is now – and mindfulness can truly become an essential component to your health and wellness that impacts you, for the better, for the rest of your life.

Many Americans explain yoga as something that you “do”, but this isn’t quite the case. As it was originally developed into, yoga is a natural state of being – it’s a spiritual discipline that involves breath control, simple meditation, and the incorporation of certain bodily postures to promote health and relaxation. So many people throughout America are practicing the art of yoga each and everyday, and for a number of reasons: flexibility, general conditioning, stress relief, improvement of overall health, and physical fitness. If you’re currently in addiction recovery but are contemplating yoga and are nervous to get started, the reality is that so many other people can do it: why can’t you?  Perhaps you’re in addiction or mental illness recovery, and you’re questioning your flexibility. You may think you’re too big, too old, or “too much” of something to be able to practice yoga – if this is the case, you need to immediately push those thoughts aside because they’re not true. Unless you’ve got a serious health condition that could cause you harm, anyone can practice yoga. The best part is that there are many types of yoga, such as:

If you struggle with depression, then you know how it feels to be isolated and wondering where you fit within this world. Depression is a harmful disease that involves changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behavior, self-esteem, and more. Other physical signs of depression may include migraines, joint pain such as fibromyalgia, digestive problems such as constipation and bloating, chest pain, back pain with tension in the neck, and more – all of which can make daily life more and more difficult if not treated. Previous studies have shown that most people with depression experience aches and pains; if you’ve been struggling with symptoms of depression, Avalon Malibu can help you reach healing at the levels of your mind, body and spirit. Research has shown that depression can grealty help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, and can help with pain management as well. While depression can make it challenging to get out and receive massage therapy, it’s a very conducive type of treatment because it essentially involves healthy human touch – and this alone can prove to be very relaxing for many people in recovery. Massage therapy can relieve stress, reduce anxiety, manage lower back pain, reduce muscle tension, relieve tension headaches, improve balance, lower blood pressure, and much more. Avalon Malibu offers massage therapy that can be completed alongside traditional treatment programs activities; if received on a consistent basis, massage therapy can really help a person experience healing over time. In a relaxing setting, you will be able to release all of the pent up stress, energy, and tension acquired from life’s obstacles. If you haven’t already, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu about seeking treatment for addiction recovery as well as mental illness. Depression can be a heavy weight to carry, but you don’t have to carry it alone – help is available.

Along with the holidays comes planning gatherings, cooking meals, buying gifts for friends and family, decorating the house, getting together with loved ones, talking about daily lives, driving to and from places, and much more. Many aspects of the holidays can be stressful; if you’ve recently lost ties with family members because of addiction, or if you’re in addiction recovery and find it hard to celebrate with friends and family for Christmas as you usually do, the stress and anxiety can really pack on. Mindfulness is a wonderful technique that can help you stay grounded, focused, and relaxed – try these mindful tricks to help you through the holiday season: