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Synthetic drugs are not as popular as other “mainstream” drugs but can be equally if not more dangerous.

The benefits of mindfulness cannot be ignored. Endless amounts of research has been focused on studying the effects of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation in addition to regular meditation practices. Stress, symptoms of depression, effects of anxiety, cravings for drugs and alcohol- almost any affliction of the mind has been proven to be healed by mindfulness meditation. Providing relaxation and oxygen flow, mindfulness is restorative for mind, body, and spirit. One area of mindfulness which has not been investigated is the difference between men and women. Brown University recently conducted a study which found that in mindfulness, there is actually a battle of the sexes. Women seem to gain more benefit from the use of mindfulness than men do. Telegraph UK reports. “While practicing significantly helped women overcome a downcast mood, it actually made men feel slightly worse than before they began.” Feeling worse after mindfulness is not the same sales pitch so many practitioners advocate for the practice. Over the course of 12 weeks, students practiced more than 41 hours of meditation while taking a class on mindfulness. Women saw improvement but men did not. The reason? According to the article, “The researchers believe that the traditional way in which men and women deal with emotional distress could be behind the disparity.” Men and women are known for processing their emotions differently. By stereotype, men are more closed off emotionally and process their emotions in a subtle, private way. In contrast, women are public with their emotions and fully embrace emotional experiences. However, this is not always the case as men can be quite emotional and women can be quite closed off. Additionally, men can be more closed-minded to new experiences, while women are open-minded. When new experiences are emotionally based in any way, there tends to be a greater divide. Statistically, men are less likely to ask for help when they are struggling with addiction, alcoholism, and other mental health disorders. The male stigma emphasizes strength without weakness, perfection without flaw. Mindfulness might trigger uncomfortability in this because it encourages non-judgment, radical acceptance, and being comfortable in the present moment. Recovery is a constant fight against shame and stigma in defense of embracing the individual. Avalon By The Sea utilizes mindfulness and meditation in addition to clinical, holistic, and alternative techniques. Our versatile programs are designed to meet the needs of each client while fostering healing of mind, body, and spirit. For a confidential assessment and more information on our program, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

Mental illness affects everyone. When you decide to go to treatment, everyone is going to affected by your recovery. Most often, the people who love and care about you the most will be over the moon by your decision to change your life. However, your partner might feel differently. We can’t be certain why the people we are in relationships have a difficult time embracing our recovery. Here are some signs your partner might be uncomfortable with the strides you are making in recovery. Remember, how your partner handles your recovery has nothing to do with you. They are on their own journey. Sometimes, a partner will grow right alongside you. Sometimes, they won’t. If you notice these signs, it might be time to meet with your relationship counselor or evaluate how you want to be treated in a relationship as you grow forward in recovery.

If there is one thing most people going to treatment for an addiction or mental health disorder have in common it’s a shared trait of low self-esteem. Guilt, shame, and long standing personal beliefs have created core perceptions about the self which are less than pretty. Thinking ugly things about ourselves leads us to believing ugly things about ourselves and seeing ugly things about ourselves. Consequently, we live with a lot of self-hatred, self-loathing, self-repudiation- and every other negative emotions we could put toward ourselves. Our low self-esteem causes us to act in ways which are not conducive toward our self-esteem, helping us to feel worse and worse about ourselves. Treatment and recovery is the opportunity to reverse this process. Yes, it’s true. During treatment and recovery, you’re going to learn to love yourself. If only a little bit, you are going to be comfortable looking at your own face in the mirror. You might even be able to say nice things to yourself. You will feel increasingly comfortable with who you are. Who you are includes what you think, how you act, what you feel, and how you look. Whatever you are coming into treatment for, you will learn to love every part of yourself, mind, body, and spirit. Here are some simple reminders to help you get going:

You might be surprised as to which mental illness has has the highest mortality rate. Depression is often linked to suicide, but isn’t always the cause of it. Substance use disorders like various drug addictions have soared in fatal overdose deaths, outnumbering car accidents and gun violence. Alcoholism can cause serious health complications and lead to alcohol influenced injuries. One of the most severe and deadly mental illnesses is anorexia nervosa. What Is Anorexia Nervosa? Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which someone heavily restricts their diet to the point of starvation. An unhealthy preoccupation with weight and body image leads to extreme dieting and exercise. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, “Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss...difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature; and in many individuals, distorted body image.” Common behaviors of anorexia nervosa include:

Methamphetamine, most popularly known as “crystal meth” or “ice” is a powerful synthetic stimulant drug. Addiction to meth can have a serious effect on the mind and body, making detox a fragile time period during someone’s recovery from drugs and alcohol. Most of the symptoms of meth detox are directly opposite to the symptoms of being under the influence of meth. Addiction to meth can be identified through symptoms like:

After years of abusing drugs and alcohol, or struggling with the symptoms of mental health disorders, emotions like sadness can feel new and overwhelming. Sadness is what it is. In order to move past sadness, we have to move through sadness. Make Room For Sadness To Be, Because It Is Sadness is a natural emotion we all experience because we are healthy human beings. Only people with severe psychiatric disorders are constitutionally incapable of feeling sadness or connecting to it. For everyone else, sadness is something we experience on different levels. Sadness can come from grief, loss, acceptance, empathy, and even compassion. We cannot deny sadness no matter how we try. Sadness is often a healing emotion which allows us to understand the difficulties in life. Let Sadness Be, Because It Is Trying to change or deny our sadness is harmful to our self-esteem and emotional wellbeing. When we try to shame or guilt ourselves out of feeling an emotion we send yourself negative messages. Instead of allowing ourselves to authentically experience our emotions and process them in a healthy way, we tell ourselves it isn’t okay to feel sad, we shouldn’t be feeling sad, there is something wrong with us for being sad- all of which translate to you’re not good enough and you’re not okay. It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to feel sadness. You can still be yourself while you experience sadness. Identify Sadness In Your Body, Because It’s There Our emotions aren’t just invisible chemical processes in our minds. Emotions are energy which flow through the body. Trying to stop ourselves from feeling stops the natural flow of energy which can cause us even more emotional pain or cause physical illness. Identifying where sadness lives in your body can help you use holistic healing methods to release that energy. Releasing the physical energy of sadness can help you release the emotional energy. Give Yourself Time, Because You Deserve It We are so quick to judge ourselves for being sad. We think we shouldn’t be sad, so we criticize ourselves and push ourselves to “get over it” as quickly as possible. Grief is a process. Loss is a process. Sadness is a process. As we learn in recovery, we can only change one day at a time. Give yourself the patience, empathy, kindness, and compassion you would show to a friend. Avalon By The Sea promises trusted treatment with trusted results. Home to two primary care facilities for substance use disorders and mental health disorders, Avalon provides exceptional residential treatment for healing mind, body, and spirit. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

Addiction and alcoholism are mental health disorders which spin out of control. One loses their ability to manage themselves, manage their lives, and manage the way they drink alcohol or consume drugs. Recovery usually comes to fruition when someone realizes their lives have gotten completely out of control. Recovery is supposed to create the hop that life can be managed. Is control ever completely returned? It depends on who you ask and what their spiritual beliefs are. Surrender is a major spiritual part of recovery. Many believe that they gain control of their lives by surrendering it to a higher power. They don’t want control of their lives again because they don’t feel they have the real ability to maintain it. It’s a spiritual paradox- in order to gain control, you have to give it up. For those who are less spiritually inclined, the answer is essentially yes. By learning relapse prevention techniques, creating a solid recovery lifestyle, and healing the mind as well as the body, it is possible to maintain ‘control’ over drinking and drug use. Control in this case would simply mean that you do not give into cravings, impulsive decisions or any other choice making which would lead you to choose drugs and alcohol again. For many, that is an acceptable amount of control and more than they could ask for. Feeling “in control” is an illusion, when put in the larger perspective. Stand in front of an active ocean, waves lapping on the shore, and try to stop a wave. You won’t be able to. Many things in life are simply out of our control. Learning to accept these things is what helps us maintain our personal sense of control and helps us stay sober by understanding we cannot control everything, or everyone, any of the time. For those out of control moments, there are a few simple actions you can take to gain control of your energy, your thoughts, and your behaviors.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston University School of Medicine sought to discover if the reward system works differently for alcoholic women as opposed to alcoholic men, as well as if there is a different in contrast between alcoholic brains and non alcoholic brains of men and women. They found that the structure of the reward system in alcoholic women is larger than alcoholic men, as well as nonalcoholic men and nonalcoholic women. Compared to nonalcoholic women, the reward system structure in the brain of alcoholic women were 4.4 percent larger. In contrast, the reward system structure of alcoholic men was actually 4.1% smaller than nonalcoholic men. An increasing amount of research is showing that women are more vulnerable to alcoholism than men. Recent research found that the gender gap between men and women alcoholics is closing as women are drinking more than males and developing alcoholism at a younger age than men. Treatment for alcoholism in a clinical setting is often highly individualized to meet the unique needs of each client. Alcoholism is not a generalized issue, as this research proves. Rather, it can be different from one person to the other, one gender to the other. For the study, researchers gathered 60 total participants who underwent serious survey and MRI testing. Alcoholics had been in recovery for anywhere from four weeks to more than thirty years. The study revealed more than the importance of highlighting gender differences in alcoholism. Many alcoholics in recovery initially struggle with an existential conflict of whether or not recovery is “worth” it because they are unsure if it actually makes a difference. Plenty of research using brain imaging science exists to prove that the various methods used in treating alcoholism work to heal the brain. This particular study found that each year of sobriety the recovering alcoholic participants had “was associated with a 1.8 percent decrease in the size of the ventricles in the brain suggesting that recovery from damage to the brain due to alcoholism is possible.” Few things need to be heard by those in recovery more than “recovery is possible.” Men and women alike need to understand that overtime, their brain will recover, their lives will change, and maintaining sobriety for a lifetime is possible. If you or a loved one are struggling from alcoholism, help is available. Avalon By The Sea offers residential treatment designed to promote transformative healing of mind, body, and spirit. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

Medication reliance can be either a relief or a regret. Those who are in need of treatment for depression sometimes avoid getting the help they need because they are afraid of going on medication. Antidepressants are designed to help restore the chemical imbalance in the brain which depression creates, and also creates depression. During the early months of treatment and recovery, medication can be a great tool for managing the low moods and energy of depression. With medication, someone in recovery can focus on what they need to focus on instead of being in a constant state of distraction due to mood, exhaustion, and more. Depression is known for creating a fog in mental clarity, confusion, and difficulty grasping cognitive functions. By clearing the mind and encouraging more energy, one can participate more readily in their treatment. When depression is co-occurring with addiction and alcoholism, it is especially effective. In order to make the most of treatment for addiction, one needs to manage their depression. Without treating both, there is a greater risk for relapse. How Long Will I Have To Take Medication? Medication might be a short term treatment or a long term treatment depending on the severity of depression. Depression as it is co-occurring with substance use disorders can be either a cause or a side effect. Undiagnosed and untreated depression creates a higher risk for developing a substance use disorder. Likewise, abuse of substances like alcohol, which is a depressant, and other drugs can cause depression. Substance abuse alters the way the brain functions and produces feelings of pleasure. You and your psychiatrist or prescribing doctor will work together to determine what you need. Medication for depression is highly individualized. What is best for one person might not be the best for you. By staying honest about your emotional state and experience with cravings, your doctor will best be able to help you manage depression medications. Are There Side Effects For Depression Medication? Any commercial for a pharmaceutical medication will let you know that they all come with a long list of side effects. Some are common, some are rare. Each person reacts to medication differently. How you react to medication might differ from how someone else will react to medication. Report any unusual side effects or changes in health and behavior to your doctor. Avalon By The Sea is one of California’s only treatment facilities providing residential care for primary mental health issues. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

Love feels good. Love feels so good that it is often warned against in the early stages of addiction treatment, especially addiction to opioid drugs. Love produces all kinds of chemicals and hormones in the brain. During the early of phases of treatment when the brain still isn’t quite functioning at capacity, love can become a little overwhelming to the point of becoming a need- a need so great it almost turns into a craving and can even act like an addiction. “Rehab romance” or romantic fraternizing between clients during treatment, is frowned upon because it can meddle the mind and get in the way of focusing on treatment. However, new research suggests that a little bit of love could actually go a long way when it comes to opioid addiction treatment. More specifically, one group of researchers believe that the use of oxytocin could prevent opioid relapse. Relapse is a high risk for those in treatment and recovery for opioid addiction. Cravings are the most severe when opioid addiction is severe because of the intense way opioids change the way the brain manages pain and pleasure. Since love feels so good, the pleasurable effects of oxytocin could help in relapse prevention. Reporting on the research, Inverse cites one of the study’s authors who stated that the “findings in the review suggest the use of oxytocin, the pro-social hormone, could be an effective therapy for the prevention of relapse to drug use in drug-dependent individuals.” For the study, researchers looked at every available piece of existing research on oxytocin and made the revolutionary connection. “Research has shown that the oxytocin system is particularly affected by opioid use because of the role oxytocin plays in addiction,” the article explains. “Scientists believe that addictive behavior may indicate low levels of oxytocin.” Low levels of oxytocin can affect the way someone comprehends their social relations, how they bond with other people, manage stress, and interacts with memory. A lack of oxytocin could be the reason why so many addicts tend to share a feeling of being the odd man out or chronically separate from their peers. Unable to establish a feeling of connection with others can lead to isolation, which is a major red flag for relapse. Therefore, using oxytocin as a treatment method can encourage those feelings of connection, a greater sense of love and attachment, and a deeper desire to stay sober from opioids. Avalon By The Sea offers transformational growth and change through dedicated treatment programs for opioid addiction. From detox to outpatient, we provide our clients with excellence in care from our beautiful estate on the California coast. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

Experiential learning is one of the most impactful ways of learning. Gaining life skills experience is important during the treatment process. Recovery isn’t just something that is learned and kept in a notebook. Recovery is something lived. The tools and skills learned during treatment one day have to be applied in a real life setting, when there are no peers, no therapists, and no safety of structure available. “Where the rubber hits the road” is where recovery really comes into play. Finding the confidence in oneself to utilize those tools and stay healthy in the world outside of treatment is sometimes a challenge. Addicts and alcoholics have often tried many times to stay sober and be successful in their recovery. Not believing in themselves, they can falter more easily because they don’t believe they have the capacity to apply their recovery to their lives. Ropes courses are an experiential learning tool which helps put confidence to the test in a real time situation. An experiential therapeutic technique, those in recovery are able to see just what they are made of. Full of safety precautions and the guidance of trained therapists, each client pushes their limits and ultimately discovers that they are capable of, quite literally, overcoming any challenge which comes their way. Working with, and against, their minds as well as their bodies, they are able to see that they can work with themselves in support and against their self-defeating thoughts. Research has found that participating in ropes courses “significantly increases the participants’ levels of leadership and work efficacy” for up to six weeks after the challenge. A boost in confidence is precisely what those in recovery need during their time in treatment. They need encouragement to know that recovery is possible and that they are capable of achieving it. Avalon By The Sea offers experiential therapy with ropes courses on a seasonal basis. Our programs are full of unique learning opportunities where clients are challenged to grow. Focusing on mind, body, and spirit, our residential treatment programs are curated to the needs of the client to promote transformative healing. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs of recovery, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.