Healthy Living

Everyone feels lonely at times. Social distancing and self-quarantine regulations may prevent us from seeing close friends and family members, increasing feelings of loneliness and anxiousness. Experiencing loneliness and being alone, however, are different states of mental and emotional being. If you constantly seek the company of others to avoid spending time alone, reflect on your relationship with yourself. Consult with your therapist about what may be the root of your aversion to being alone. When you have some clarity, look for solitary activities you can enjoy when you allow yourself to be alone.

Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT), “a treatment approach for married or cohabiting drug abusers and their partners, attempts to reduce substance abuse directly and through restructuring the dysfunctional couple interactions that frequently help sustain it.” Alcohol and substance use disorders (AUD and SUD) are too often conceptualized as an individualized condition, but external influences, such as a tumultuous domestic life, often perpetuate abusive habits. BCT allows couples to address doubts, insecurities, and grievances in a supportive environment.

Substance use disorder (SUD) wreaks emotional and physical damage, and in treatment, you can learn to balance your diet and reverse the effects of continuous substance abuse.

Self-care seems to be the first thing that suffers when in the throes of addiction. Even in recovery, it can be hard to motivate ourselves to take care of daily dietary and hygiene needs. These problems are exacerbated when there is a co-occurring mental illness. Our brains rely on healthy food consumption to obtain the proper nutrients needed to support brain chemicals, such as neurotransmitters and amino acids. Prolonged drug use creates permanent brain changes, and maintaining a healthy diet can make a huge difference when trying to heal your brain.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) with a seasonal pattern, formerly classified as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), affects nearly 5% of Americans. Most cases of MDD with a seasonal pattern appear during the fall and winter, but there are recorded cases of summertime MDD. If you experienced dramatic mood swings this summer, you may have the condition.

Complementary therapies reinforce cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), 12-Step programs, group therapy, and other professionally facilitated forms of treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) and comorbidities. These activities engage the mind, body, and soul in unique ways, allowing for creative self-expression and healing. The Department of Health & Human Services of Australia lists aromatherapy, acupuncture, and yoga as some of the most popular complementary therapies, though rehabilitation facilities across the globe offer many different options to fulfill treatment needs for anyone in need.

The decision to pursue a romantic relationship after consideration of your mental state indicates emotional stability and increased levels of self-awareness. This is a big step, and even if you feel prepared to start a romance, your intended partner may not feel the same way. When your advances are not met with the desired reaction, you may feel embarrassed, anxious, depressed, or alone. It is easy to submit to these negative feelings, but you are strong enough to handle the temporary pain of rejection.

During rehabilitation, your daily schedule will be structured according to your treatment plan. Individual therapy, group sessions, complementary therapy, recreational time, meals, and social events, will fill your days. Once you graduate from the program, however, you will probably have much more free time. Too much free time can cause boredom or restlessness, thereby increasing your risk of relapse. Unfortunately, activities like seeing a movie, visiting a museum, or shopping can be expensive. When planning your schedule, consider some low- or no-cost hobbies to occupy your time.

Establishing a friendship is difficult at any age. Meeting new people is tough — especially during a period of social distancing — and learning to be vulnerable with another person is typically a long and arduous process. Individuals coping with substance use disorder (SUD) and any comorbid disorders, such as anxiety, may find opening up to be more challenging than peers without SUD. Finding new friends is no easy task, but when you forge meaningful friendships with new people, you make progress in your recovery journey.

You may have heard someone say that you are being “difficult” — or maybe you have called someone else “difficult” before. You may be asking yourself what exactly this means, and how can you make yourself less “difficult”. Emotional intelligence is typically thought of as the ability to recognize, understand, and healthily express one's own emotions, coupled with the ability to recognize, interpret, and respond to other people's emotions. A lot of us struggle with being aware that we have feelings or why we are feeling something at all. We don't know what to do once we realize we are feeling something. A lot of this comes from feelings of dissociation and avoidance due to trauma. Because of this, it is difficult to trust our intuition — that feeling in our gut or our "moral compass" that directs us to do the right things versus acting on impulse. This leads us to dismiss our feelings, and dismiss others by proxy. It hinders our ability to experience self-regulation. This can cause negative consequences — for example, we may be more reactive, take things more personally, and/or be a lot more judgemental of ourselves and others. There have been numerous studies that followed the importance of having emotional intelligence and how to attain it. There are five categories of emotional intelligence.

Relapse is considered a very taboo subject for those in addiction recovery, often because nobody wants to associate themselves with that feeling of “going back,” “failing,” or “being weak.” Despite what you may have heard about relapse, it is a common occurrence for many of us in recovery. It can be used to teach people valuable lessons about themselves and their journey through recovery. As you navigate the experience of healing and sobriety, it’s important to remember that forgiveness – and understanding that you’re human – can carry you through the dark days.

Contrary action is one of the best suggestions someone can give an individual in early recovery. Our minds have been warped, and our perception has been clouded by alcohol and substances for a long time. Everything we thought was right has turned out to be false. We can see that, on our own, we had tried to recover before and never succeeded. If we did succeed, it was only for a short while. It may sound counter-intuitive to take direction from someone else instead of yourself. However, it's not hard to see that our own ideas have not been successful. To overcome our addictions, we must find out what it is that we are doing wrong.