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Self-management and Recovery Training (SMART) is a non-profit organization that holds meetings in the United States and several other countries, including Denmark, Ireland, Australia, and the UK. It is a 4-point system that has helped people all the world recover from all types of addictions. If your treatment program provides you the option to utilize SMART Recovery, you will gain access to many benefits:

Based on the best-selling book titled The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, author Don Miguel Ruiz writes of his own personal experience with addiction and how his self-limiting beliefs robbed him of his joy and potential. His booked has sparked attention worldwide and is used in all areas of life. We believe it fits perfectly into treatment and recovery, because a lot of our addictions and mental illnesses stem from low feelings of self-worth and more. Here are the following Four Agreements, with a description for each:

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, nearly 38% of adults in the United States utilize complementary and alternative medicine. These holistic treatment methods include acupuncture, biofeedback, Reiki, naturopathy, meditation, massage, and more. Somatic therapy is a form of holistic treatment that helps rejuvenate the mind and body through both psychotherapy and physical movement. This form of therapy takes the approach that a person’s thoughts, attitudes, feelings, and beliefs can influence their physical well-being, while a person’s lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise can influence their mental well-being. Many contemporary practitioners believe that the mind and body are of one entity that can be altered by the environment, interpersonal interactions, posture, muscular pain, and other messages received from the body. It is through this communication of the body that we can learn of negative effects on a person’s autonomic nervous system. Somatic therapy helps clients to become more aware of the signals their body is sending them – signs that they need to release tension in certain areas. Several techniques are used during a somatic therapy session to help relieve tension, such as breathing exercises, sensation awareness, physical exercise, voice work, massage, and more. There are many benefits that have been described from somatic therapy, including:

Valium and Vicodin are listed under two separate drug classifications, and these two drugs are used for completely different reasons. Valium (the brand name for diazepam) is a benzodiazepine often used to treat anxiety disorders, seizures, restless legs syndrome and more. It has known side effects of drowsiness, muscle weakness, and/or loss of coordination. Vicodin, on the other hand, is an opioid based medication (the brand name for hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen). This drug is a drug used to treat moderate to severe pain, and is not used for mental health purposes.

Xanax (the brand name for alprazolam) is a benzodiazepine and is considered one of the most addictive benzodiazepine medications on the market today. Known for quickly making changes to the brain, up to 44% of Xanax users become dependent on the drug. Medicinally, Xanax has been prescribed to patients who experience panic disorders, anxiety disorders, or anxiety caused by depression. However, others use this drug recreationally because of its euphoric effects. The Chicago Tribune states that Xanax addiction has the potential to become America’s next drug concern, as many Americans are overestimating the benefits and underestimating the risks of this drug. Xanax works by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain, which results in feelings of relaxation and calmness. Xanax slows down the movement of brain chemicals, boosting the effects of GABA. When taken as prescribed by a doctor, Xanax can be relatively safe and effective. However, it’s once a person has begun taking more than needed and/or more often that they begin to develop tolerance and later, dependence. This can easily become dangerous as a person with dependence to the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms while not taking the drug, such as anxiety, depressed mood, restlessness, poor memory, muscle aches and tension, tremors, and seizures. Xanax may work differently in the body if you have alcoholism, alcoholic liver disease, hepatic function, impaired renal function, if you are an older adult, and if you are obese. Some individuals who are struggling with mental illness have attempted to self-medicate using Xanax, but the drug can worsen any of these symptoms because of abuse. A level of caution is always necessary when taking Xanax, even if it’s prescribed. Due to its addiction potential, even people who have followed the doctor’s directions exactly as prescribed have still struggled with dependence. If you’ve been prescribed Xanax, the best method is to regularly check in with your doctor to monitor your progress and to see if you need to slowly taper down. Always consult the help of a medical professional if you experience any symptoms of concern.

Panic disorder is characterized by seemingly out-of-the-blue panic attacks, causing the person who experiences them to live in fear of them reoccurring. With this disorder, a panic attack can occur unexpectedly, even waking someone from sleep. Panic disorder typically begins in early adulthood (20s), but children may also experience this disorder. The reactions to panic attacks are often strong, with many people feeling as though they’ve had a heart attack. If you have panic disorder, you’ve likely felt ashamed or embarrassed to attend work, school, and social situations in fear that you may have a panic attack again.

People with avoidant personality disorder (APD) have similar symptoms to those with social anxiety disorder (SAD) but their symptoms are more severe. However, it is said that because both disorders hold many of the same symptoms, they are often diagnosed together. Like SAD, people with APD fear rejection, ridicule, and humiliation by others. There are several key traits of APD:

Self-esteem is the overall opinion that you have of yourself and your abilities. If you have a healthy self-esteem, you feel good about yourself and feel worthy of respect from others. If you have a low self-esteem, you place little value on your opinions and ideas; you may also worry that you aren’t deserving of respect from others. Self-esteem is a crucial piece of who we are because it is a combination of several factors, including:

If you have a serious mental illness, you may have felt overwhelmed, fearful, and so flustered that you could barely think. You may have felt your chest tightening, as though the world was caving in. During these moments, it can feel like the world is falling apart – and it may feel like nobody can save you. Many people have experienced these feelings, and this is when treatment becomes a critical component of your recovery. When you first enter treatment for your mental illness, stabilization will be the first step. Stabilization, in a broad sense, may mean something different depending on the person. In the world of mental health recovery, it means reaching a psychological state of peace. Several interventions may be used to help you reach this:

Massage therapy has helped millions of people with tension and stress. The American Massage Therapy Association found that in 2015, massage therapy was nearly a $12.1 billion industry. In a general sense, massage therapy involves “pressing, rubbing, and manipulating the skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments”, according to Mayo Clinic. There are several diverse types of massage therapy, including:

According to the American Holistic Health Association, “holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person – body, mind, and spirit”. Holistic medicine considers the environmental, nutritional, physical, emotional, spiritual, and lifestyle components of a person’s life. The 2007 National Health Interview Survey revealed that approximately 38% of adults used complementary and alternative medicine. In total, 83 million adults spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket for these services, and those numbers have likely increased. Holistic medicine consists of several different practices:

With the opioid crisis, many people are in search of pain management techniques to help them work through the pain without having to use medication they once used before that could potentially lead them to addiction. If you experience chronic pain, this may be a challenging time for you as you learn to navigate healthy ways to manage your pain while avoiding prescription drug abuse, addiction, and overdose. Thankfully, there are a variety of holistic practices that you can incorporate into your daily routine that may help with pain: