Mental Health

It only takes a minute or less to get the good vibes flowing and your mood improving.

Isolation is a practice which indicates avoiding. When someone isolates too much, they might be on a path to relapse, or experiencing troubling symptoms of their mental health disorder.

One of the major arguments against experimenting with drugs and alcohol at an early age is that it halts the developmental process. Studies have revealed that substances like alcohol and especially marijuana can impair cognitive functioning, thus slowing the development of the cognitive areas of the brain. Many people who enter treatment find that they pick up where they left off emotionally. Meaning, in some way, once they are clean from their substances of choice, they feel as though they are emotionally at the age of when they started using. Growing up is a part of recovery. While the brain doesn’t age anew, it does learn as well as relearn new patterns, habits, and behaviors. Thankfully, the brain is not completely irreconcilable. The brain is one of the few organs in the human body which is capable of regenerating. Regeneration Different activities cause the brain to regenerate. Meditation, for example, has been found to increase grey matter in the brain, which is basically brain tissue which becomes available for new information. Further evidence has been discovered that new nerve cells can grow in the adult mind as well. Changing thinking patterns, patterns of behavior, and habits all contribute to the growth and development of new circuitry, new cells, and fresh grey matter, proving you can literally change your mind. However, the change doesn’t happen overnight. It is essential to maintain change over time. Habits weren’t built in a day and they won’t break in a day. With time, real concrete change will occur. As a result, you will change your mind, your thoughts, and by consequence, your life. Need for Help Such changes begin with a simple thought: i need help. Admittance is a powerful habit breaker in the mind. You destroy the chains of ignorance and denial, setting forth a standard which can never be forgotten. From now on you will either confront your problems head on or choose to ignore them. Unlike before, you won't be able to ignore all the signs of having a problem. Once you built the pathway to awareness, your mind will develop a lower tolerance for being unaware. This will spread to many areas of your life improving your health in mind and body. Avalon By The Sea provides certified primary care for both mental health and substance use disorders. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 (888) 958-7511 today.

Your loved one is happy, chipper, optimistic, and feeling hopeful. Yet, something about their outlook on life worries you. It just doesn’t seem authentic or believable. You’re afraid they might be overcompensating. In private conversation, they express a different tone around you. Watching them carefully, you notice that when they think nobody's looking, they appear much more somber.

Living with anxiety can make you feel like you are all alone in your thoughts. There are some anxieties we all face, every day, that you can rest assured you are not alone in.

Don’t Talk To Them In The Moment A cardinal rule of telling someone you love that they need help is not talking to them in one of their most helpless moments. For those with substance use disorders it is best not to confront them while they are intoxicated. Finding the right time to talk to someone with a mental health disorder can be tricky. How does one know the right time to talk to someone who is depressed or dealing with anxiety? It is best to schedule a time to talk and check in with them to make sure they are sticking to the commitment. Try not to make it obvious- they could suspect a confrontation or an intervention and run- both literally and figuratively.

Borderline personality disorder is a complicated mental illness which thrives in chaotic relationships and emotional pain. Here are some of the symptoms:

“Be kind whenever possible,” the Dalai Lama famously said, “It is always possible.” Kindness in recovery is an essential practice. Few things are more cruel than addiction and alcoholism or the symptoms of unmanaged mental health disorders. Recovery takes tolerance, patience, and kindness to be effective.

Generalizing mental health disorders by their symptoms does the specificity of each disorder a grave injustice. Eloquently described by Scientific American contributor Edmund S. Higgins, “the problem is that the brain is exceedingly complex. Behavior, emotions, and cognition are manifestations of networks of cells that are turned on or off at the right time.” Higgins touches on an important fact of treating mental illness- it’s about treating the brain. For mental health disorders like addiction and alcoholism, formally referred to as substance use disorders, there is ongoing research and experimentation being conducted to locate the exact cells in the brain which contribute to cravings and impulsivity. As though there may be a cure hidden within these tiny spots, scientists understand that the overall symptoms of addiction are not greater than some of its parts. Higgins continues to say, “The capacity to affect specific cells in the brain without altering other cells remains a massive challenge.” Continuing to treat mental illness as a whole without looking at specific parts is effective in curing the symptoms, but has thus far contributed little to solving the entire problem.

Living with anxiety that goes unregulated can be unmanageable. Just a few simple habits throughout the day can help reduce the impact of anxiety symptoms and make life easier by improving mental and physical health.

Mental illness is not a weakness. It comes with many strengths marked by the label “disability.” On tough days when you’re feeling like you’ve been dealt the losing hand, remember these three things.

Each day is full of opportunities big and small to either harm or support our mental health. Here are a few ways you can give yourself an extra bit of self care.