Mental Health

Napping is really good. Ask anyone who takes one. A good nap can mean the difference between an okay day and a fantastic day. The body needs sleep. In fact, the body loves sleep. Taking a nap is a special way to work a little extra sleep into the day. Whether you are getting a full 6-9 hours of sleep a night or struggling to get close to 6, a nap can help you feel rejuvenated. Naps have been proven through research to provide an extra mental boost, help with sleep, and enhance focus. Unfortunately, napping can get out of hand. Too much extra sleep can cause insomnia and throw off your energy for the day. There is an art to napping. Learning to nap in an efficient and productive day can help you to lead with your best foot forward during treatment. Treatment and early recovery can include a lot of napping. During the therapeutic process, the body and the mind are exhausted. Napping can feel like it is essential for the soul. After years of exhausting the body’s natural resources, napping during the early months of recovery are a wonderful way to make up for that. However, many undergo the criticism that they nap too much. Sleeping is certainly better than drinking or using drugs. When taking naps and sleeping gets in the way of actual recovery, it becomes a problem. Napping can be part of the work to heal. Avoiding group therapy, sleeping through meetings, or not doing homework from a therapist is problematic.

Nobody likes drama. Drama is in fact such a touchy subject that people go out of their way to emphasize the fact that they don’t like drama, don’t “do” drama, or aren’t about drama at all. Typically, such people tend to create or invite a lot of drama into their lives. However, they bring drama around, they seem to do it with a gusto. Some people seem to need to be the center of attention. Whether they are being bright and positive or dark and full of rage, however they are expressing themselves, they do so fully. Histrionic personality disorder is a diagnosable issue in which someone is only able to process or cope with their feelings in a very dramatic way. Drama, and people who are dramatic, tend to have a decent idea of who they are. Their theatrical productions and reactions are rooted in their character as being dramatic; as opposed to being rooted in a lost sense of self. Flaring up into extremes of emotion and expression is often the sign that there is no center in who someone is. Without a baseline foundation to work from, all reactions will be excited. Excited emotions aren’t just on the outside for those with histrionic personality disorder. Experiencing frequent mood changes, emotional instability, and an inability to effectively communicate emotions without causing a scene, are all common. Some professionals feel that the label of histrionic personality disorder is a cover for post traumatic stress disorder. U.S. Health And News cites that the histrionic reaction is rooted in not being heard. Certain traumatic experiences rob someone of their ability to express themselves, be believed about their witnessing or enduring trauma, or take away their voice. As a result, they learn to make themselves extra loud, extra known, and extra acknowledged. Their drama truly is about not being able to stand a moment out of the spotlight. Without the attention, they likely revert to a fear caused by trauma. Treating any kind of mental health disorder usually involves a look at trauma. Involving trauma treatment in the therapeutic healing process is necessary for assessing and confronting underlying issues which lead to “disordered” behaviors. By identifying core sources of conflict and allowing them to heal, true change can occur in someone's life. If you or a loved one feel your emotions and reactions are out of control causing a negative influence in your life, help is available. Call Avalon Malibu today for information on our trusted residential treatment programs providing care for primary mental health conditions. 1 888-958-7511.

Learning to share at recovery meetings is a practical application of many tolls being learned inside of treatment center walls: communication, emotional regulation and articulation, as well as storytelling. “Old timers”, the people who have been attending AA for some time, regard shares from newcomers who are struggling through their first few months a necessity. When you share at a meeting you help others in recovery, new people having a hard time, and you help yourself. Experience Shares at meetings aren’t meant to be what are often called “drunk-a-logues” or “war stories”. Each share should have a mention of the experience with which you have struggled before or are struggling with now. Though, a few funny stories can always get the crowd going. Your experience includes the time when drugs and alcohol were your answer to life. During your active using days, you were acting in a way you thought was normal until you realized it wasn’t normal anymore. It took courage to decide to change, but you did. Strength You might not think it now, but being in treatment for a drug and alcohol addiction is a feat of strength. It takes bravery to confront one’s past, look one’s demons in the eye, and take charge in life to effect real transformative change. One day at a time, you’re making progress in your life that will alter it forever. Getting through treatment, the seemingly impossible early days of recovery, and onto the other side where peace and serenity have been waiting, is a strength people need to hear about. More importantly, it is a strength you need to hear about. Sharing at a meeting is a good way to remind yourself how important the work you are doing to heal is and how remarkably strong you are for doing it. It is almost guaranteed that at least one person in the room will need to hear exactly what you had to share. Hope The word hope is defined as “a feeling of trust”. When addicts and alcoholics reach the ending point in their recovery, they cannot trust themselves to stay away from a drink or a drug. That kind of fear seeps into all parts of their lives. How can they trust AA? How can they trust the steps? How can they trust their treatment center? How can they trust that anything is going to work? Even the smallest accomplishments are achievements of distinct proportions in recovery. If you make it through anything without a drink or a drug, you are “trusting the process” as it is said. After sharing your experience with active addiction and the strength of coming to recovery, your hope is the most important part. Not too long ago, and maybe even still, you were full of doubt that anything would work. Today, it’s working, because you’re working it. Hope is what tells other people in the room that they, too, can recover.Recovery should be an all inclusive experience which allows each individual to discover what works for them to support their recovery and what does not. AA is not for everyone, but works for millions of people. Avalon Malibu supports individualized treatment programs to meet the needs of each client. Including proven clinical techniques with healing holistic modalities for wellness, our trusted programs result in true transformative change. For a confidential assessment of more information, call 1 888-958-7511.

The answer is yes. The answer is no. Many report feeling an instantaneous sense of relief when they pick up the phone and make the call for help. Getting on the plane, arriving at the treatment center, walking in the doors, and getting settled all feel like divine interventions, guaranteeing a better life ahead. Surrender is a powerful tool in recovery and doesn’t just happen in the beginning. Throughout your entire life you are going to have opportunities to surrender. By definition, surrender means to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority. When people don’t surrender to recovery they do not feel the relief that recovery provides. Continuing to fight in recovery is fighting the wrong opponent or enemy. Submitting to the authority of recovery means giving into the simple fact that drinking and using is no longer the answer. Abstinence is the new authority and in order to recover, it has to be obeyed. This is a fight many do not give up. Yet, most don’t realize, when they fight recovery, they truly fight themselves. Addiction and alcoholism are often developed as coping mechanisms to deal with shame and guilt. Where that shame and guilt comes from is different for each person. Some may have experienced it through trauma and abuse in their pasts. Others develop it through their chemical dependency upon drugs and alcohol. Shame can come from untreated mental health disorders, eating disorders, and other sources. When they turn to drugs and alcohol, they turn away from themselves. Without any healthy tools for reconciling with who they are and using practical applications of techniques to change problematic behaviors, they become lost. For most people, it doesn’t get better until they decide to start clearing away the debris and start finding themselves again. In order to start the search, they have to give up the fight. Every single day in recovery, when you are committed to surrendering to a new way of life, it gets a little bit better. Doing the work of making significant changes to your life is hard, there’s not doubt it about. No doubt about this, either: it’s worth it. More importantly, you’re worth it. If you’re ready to do the work, the work is ready to be done by you. Healing is waiting. Change is possible. It’s going to get better.   Call Avalon Malibu today for information on our residential treatment programs providing excellence in care for mind, body, and spirit. Our trusted treatment programs provide total healing and transformation for clients with primary mental health disorders as well as primary substance use disorders. For more information, call 1 (888) 958-7511 today.

Integrating 12 step meetings and philosophies into treatment is controversial due to the spiritual nature of the program. Many people find benefit to learning the practical applications of the 12 step theory and attending meetings during their time in residential treatment. Socializing With People In Recovery A challenge in early recovery is creating a new social group based on people who are sober and pursuing transformative change in their lives. There is a common philosophy in recovery: not drinking and using isn’t enough. On a daily basis, staying sober might be all you have. Yet, to stay sober long term, you need to look at deeper changes. 12 step meetings are full of people who are committed to that and people who are not. Going to meetings to meet new people is an important practice in learning to find and develop relationships with people who hold the same values that you do. Hearing Inspiring Stories A phenomena that most people can agree with about meetings is the day they don’t want to go to a meeting, they hear something they truly needed to hear. During 12 step meetings, people share about their “experience, strength, and hope”. They use portions of The Big Book Of Alcoholics Anonymous or other AA approved texts to support their personal inspiration. Early recovery during the treatment phase can include many days with bland outlook. Having a “why” and something to believe in for recovery is absolutely essential for continuing to make it through. People have overcome tremendous trauma, challenges, and unthinkable depths in their addictions, only to come to sobriety and live a full, happy life in recovery. Hearing these stories during the earliest days is invaluable. “The Defense Against The First Drink” Working the 12 steps along what is called “a suggested program of recovery” is meant to give someone in recovery the tools they need to act as a “defense” against the “first drink”. According to AA philosophy, the addict or alcoholic has an “allergy” to their substances of choice. Once someone has just one they cannot help themselves but to have more. It isn’t the fifth or sixth and twelfth drink which poses the problem, but the first drink which starts the entire chain of events. AA was one of the first programs to include relapse prevention skills about reaching out, examining one’s feelings, doing a quick personal check, and getting spiritually in line. Opportunities To Be Of Service Due to the anonymous nature of AA, there are no paid positions for all of the meetings. Meetings are run on donations and volunteer positions called “commitments” which can include being a secretary, a greeting person, sweeping the floor, making coffee, giving tokens, bringing literature, or acting as a treasurer, among others. Being of service is a great way to keep yourself busy once you’re in sober living transitioning through lower levels of care. You’ll be committed to going to meetings, having responsibility, and being accountable for it. At Avalon Malibu, we believe the 12 step philosophy and function of 12 step meetings can greatly add to the transformative process of recovery. Our beautiful estate houses our two residential treatment facilities for primary mental health and primary substance use disorders. For a confidential assessment and more information on our trusted programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

Stress is the number one trigger for relapse in both primary mental health disorders and substance use disorders. Interestingly, the brain likes stress. The brain is more prone to notice and adapt to negativity in its environment than it is positivity. Many people who learn to cope with stress in negative ways create reward pathways in their brains which change how they relate to stress. Since the brain is prone to noticing stress, someone who isn’t able to cope with it will feel it more strongly. Mental illnesses thwart the ability to cope with stress, without the right tools and treatments. Recovery, on the other hand, strengthen the brain and enforce new neural pathways which help the brain respond to stress differently. Treatment and therapy for recovery focuses heavily on stress reduction and learning to cope with stress when it arises. Recovery is not the absence of stress. Unfortunately, life continues to happen on life’s terms, which often involves the occasional high amount of stress. Fortunately, there are ways to cope with stresses, big and small, without having to turn to harmful behaviors like substance abuse, self-harm, hurting others, or causing more stress.

Trying to get a good night sleep can become an expensive challenge. There is no need to break the bank in order to catch some Z’s. Keeping A Clean Room Nothing about cleaning your room sounds relaxing. After dealing with the short term stress of having to clean your room, you get to luxuriate in the long-term glory of a full night’s sleep. Having a clean room reduces the clutter in your mind as well as on  your floor. When you fall asleep having just looked at all of your unfinished business laying around your room, you are prone to think about it. Even if your laundry list isn’t the most prominent thing you’re thinking about as you’re counting sheep, somewhere in your mind there is an active note reminding you to clean up sometime soon. Buy Blackout Shades If you’re a difficult person to wake up in the morning, blackout shades might not be the best solution for you. For others who are vulnerable to the first crack of sunlight, blackout shades can be a game changer. Waking up too early, especially after a less than satisfying night's sleep, can be a challenge for overall energy, sustainability, and functioning. Blackout shades naturally reduce the amount of sunlight which gets in through the window. You’ll be able to sleep longer and more deeply without interruption. Resolve  Your Issues Part of the program of recovery suggested by the twelve steps includes continuing to take a daily inventory. At the end of each day, recovering addict and alcoholics are expected to review what happened in their day, specifically looking at any kind of wrongdoing which might necessitate a prompt apology. Going to bed with a steaming brain full of resentment and anger is not helpful for sleep. Instead, the stress can keep you up all night, which makes coping with the stress even more difficult. Create A Bedtime Ritual Ideally, you should start getting “ready” for bed about an hour ahead of bed time. The brain takes an hour to start preparing for sleep. Staying totally active and engaged before you shut off the light and close your eyes doesn’t give your brain any of the important down time it needs to transition into being sleepy. Brush your teeth, wash your face, do some stretches, journal, write a gratitude list, meditate- whatever it is that makes you feel relaxed and completed at the end of the day will help you sleep. The body needs to heal holistically in order to recover. Treating mind, body, and spirit is essential for long term recovery. For trusted programs which produce trusted results, call Avalon Malibu today. We’ll guide you with a confidential assessment and more information on how our residential treatment programs can help you. 1 888-958-7511.

Anxiety is different from stress. Living with anxiety means living with a mental health condition in which you experience the burden of a persistently overwhelming sense of worrying. Stress can cause anxiety and vice versa. Meeting the symptoms of a diagnosable anxiety disorder means living with the influence of anxiety on your quality of life and ability to function without any stress. Addiction and alcoholism are commonly co-occurring with anxiety disorders. Drinking alcohol and using drugs helps to numb the brain and relieve the pressure of anxious thinking. Becoming a coping mechanism, anxiety and co-occurring addiction can become a dangerous duo. Treatment is available for both addiction and anxiety, as they are co-occurring, or as they are independent. Anxiety doesn’t mean you just have a lot of stress or worry too much. You can learn how to cope with life in a healthy and effective way. These facts come from The Independent:

Drugs and alcohol can feel like our only friends at the end of our addiction. Having isolated ourselves in some way to our addictions, drugs and alcohol were what we had left. Even if our worlds were full, our hearts we're empty. Only drugs and alcohol understood us. Yet it wasn’t a real relationship. Substances are not people and the relationship was not healthy. It is important to learn about your relationship to substances. What were the underlying reasons for using? What purpose did using serve in your life? Why do you feel it is so hard to let go of your addiction? By seeing your relationship objectively, you can begin to detach from it. Identify How You Want To Build A Relationship With Yourself: Now that you are saying goodbye to drugs and alcohol, you have to focus on a relationship with yourself. It takes time to even approach this subject. In time, you will start to think about how you want your life to be without drug and alcohol addiction in the picture. Who do you want to be? How do you want to feel? What do you want your life to look like? The more you clarify your vision of yourself in the future, the more you realize drugs and alcohol were never going to help you get there. Allow Yourself Time, This Too Shall Pass: One day, it isn’t going to hurt your heart to think of drugs and alcohol. You won’t feel the pain of loss anymore. Eventually, you will find closure on this period of your life as you transition into a new one. Don’t expect your grieving process to happen in a hurry or look any particular way. Let your experience be what it is and be present within it. Engage In Self-Care: For many people drug and alcohol abuse were the ways that they took care of themselves. To deal with a bad time, to celebrate a good time, to have a little bit of “me” time during the day, taking care of the self became synonymous with consuming drugs and alcohol. Recovery puts a lot of emphasis on self-care. Participating in self-care is important for the grieving process. You learn to take care of yourself and nurture your needs in mind, body, and spirit, in order to fully heal. Feeling a loss with drug and alcohol addiction is common. Living in a safe environment with the structure of clinical care, along with the nurturing healing of holistic treatments, can ensure a safe grieving process without relapse. Avalon Malibu proudly serves as one of southern California's leading treatment facilities providing trusted programs for change. For a confidential assessment, call 1 (888) 958-7511 today.

Recovery from mental health sounds odd to some people. Are mental health disorders things that go away in the brain or do they live on like cancers in remission? Relapse is a word commonly used for the treatment of depression, for example, but the recurrence of depression can’t be found through imaging scans. Recovery from mental health encompasses the critical life changes, therapy, and treatment which takes place mind, body, and spirit. With dedication to therapy, diet, nutrition, exercise, medication, lifestyle changes, communication, and spiritual wellness, recovery is possible. One writer who struggled with narcissism and found a way to recover from it explained her story to Salon. She writes about a significant trauma which happened in her teenage years and caused her relationship with attention and validation to become overwhelming. As a coping mechanism, she increasingly adopted the attitudes and behaviors as well as many of the characteristics of a narcissist. Rather than cope with negative experiences in life, like emotional pain, she became hardened and attached to inflation of the ego. Thankfully, she realized that she wasn’t truly living and needed to change. Realistically, she explains to her readers that doing “the work” isn’t as glamorous as it is made out to be. “I wish I could say it’s amazing to do the work to course-correct from the dangerous entanglements of narcissism. It’s not, but it is worth it.” She describes, “Disengaging and moving forward is lonely and disorienting. You’re constantly tested with new scenarios in which you continue the pattern or not. I have often felt confused, weak or forgotten because I’m no longer a pawn or a player in a high-stakes chess match.” The most challenging part, she expresses, “is the challenge of defining your healthy self and determining how to wield that newfound self-respect and freedom.” Recovering from narcissism demands a certain element of self-awareness and a desire to change. Confronting a painful and traumatic past takes hard therapeutic and emotional work. When the payoff of narcissistic tendencies is no longer beneficial, being stuck within the behaviors can become painful in itself. Having healthy relationships with others is possible. More importantly, it is possible to restore a healthy relationship with yourself. Avalon Malibu wants to see you thrive in a  harmonious balance of mind, body, and spirit. Our residential treatment facility dedicated to primary mental health treatment is located on a beautiful estate overlooking the iconic Malibu coast. For a confidential assessment and more information on our trusted programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

Boundaries are a foreign concept to many people. What does it mean to set healthy boundaries in your relationships with other people? Isn’t it a bit awkward to say this is what can be and this is what can’t be, don’t cross the line? If boundaries were communicated with 100% transparency and authenticity, the world would be a funny place. We’d spend a lot of time hearing about the wealth of life experiences which brought someone to decide that this was a healthy boundary they needed to set in their lives. Boundaries can be specific to the individual and their unique needs. Some boundaries are more general and can be applied to anyone in any relationship. Setting healthy boundaries isn’t hard to do. The awkward blatant communication isn’t necessary. Instead, boundaries are usually set through actions. Ceasing to enable certain behaviors, communicating one’s needs in a compromise, and saying “no” are classic boundaries. It isn’t hard to set boundaries, but it can be uncomfortable. For that reason, it is important to practice setting boundaries. Overtime, creating and setting healthy boundaries becomes a natural part of the recovery process. Here are three important boundaries to understand and set: “No”. Saying no is automatically setting poignant and descriptive two letter boundary. When you say no, you clearly define something about you that you don’t like, aren’t willing to do, or a level you aren’t willing to go to. Shaking It Off. Letting people get to you for any kind of reason is an invasion of your own boundaries. Inside your world, there is peace and serenity. When you let a resentment, anger, guilt, shame, or any other kind of toxic attachment to another person enter and disrupt your internal sanctuary, you are violating a boundary. Your space, your thoughts, and your feelings are for you. Shaking it off and letting it go is a way you maintain healthy boundaries. What happens with or to someone else ends where you begin. The spaces have a healthy difference. Not Your Problem. Setting boundaries doesn’t mean you lose your sense of empathy or your ability to connect with others. It simply means you don’t get yourself lost in other people and vice versa. Boundaries means there is a clear distinction of who you are and who someone else is. Recovery is about setting new boundaries which separate you from old, toxic behaviors which harmed your ability to happily live your life. Avalon Malibu strives to provide trusted programs which produce total healing in mind, body, and spirit. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

Is it a mental health condition or a mental illness? A mental disorder or a brain disorder? Should the way we describe mental health make a difference in how a condition, disorder, or illness is treated? More importantly, should the way we describe mental health make a difference in how a person is treated? Unfortunately, in a society full of shame, stigma, and stereotype, the labels we use make all the difference in the world. Perceptions based on terminology can greatly influence the way one is treated outside of treatment and the way treatment gets funded by the government or covered by insurance. One Psych Central contributor argues that it’s a matter of what happens to a person versus who a person is. She emphasizes that physical illnesses, diseases, and disorders are perceived as issues which happen to a person, like an action taken against them. For example, someone diagnosed with cancer is not called cancerous. Yet, someone who is diagnosed with depression is called depressed. She elaborates, “We get heart disease, but we are bipolar. We get cancer, but we are obsessive-compulsive. Heart disease and cancer are separate from us. Bipolar Disorder and OCD are us. Indeed, many people mistakenly believe that those with ‘mental illnesses’ typically have no insight or understanding as to what is going on with them.” Previous ideologies regarding the body’s ability to reproduce and heal itself didn’t go far beyond muscle and tissue. The brain is both muscle and tissue with the ability to regenerate. Addicts, alcoholics, and those with other primary or co-occurring mental health conditions change their brains. As the article points out citing research into neuroplasticity, the mind can change the brain. Numerous brain studies have revealed that changing habit, learning new things, and creating new behaviors doesn’t just change the way one thinks or acts but ultimately changes the chemistry of the brain. Neural pathways are altered entirely. “To me,” the author writes, “this is clear evidence that our brains are not who we are. They are an organ in our bodies that to some extent at least, can be trained.” It is for this reason realizing recovery is possible is paramount. Recovery from mental health “illnesses” “disorders” and “conditions” is possible because changing the brain is possible. If you are in need of recovery from a mental health condition which has disrupted your ability to control your life, help is available. Avalon Malibu proudly serves as one of California’s only certified primary mental health treatment facilities. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.