sobriety

Recovery month is a time to celebrate your progress and educate others on the impact of addiction. Sometimes, it's difficult to find sober activities to participate in, especially during recovery month. After all, you have worked hard to get where you are and want to join others in the celebration. This blog will discuss sober things to do in Malibu, provide suggestions, and explore the benefits of an alumni program at Avalon Malibu.

Did you know that it's possible to use journal prompts for recovery? In fact, journaling can be an incredibly powerful tool in promoting a long-lasting recovery. Let's dive into some journal prompts you can use if you're interested.

Entering substance addiction treatment is similar to entering a foreign culture. We don’t know the language, customs, or what to expect. Likewise, sobriety is like entering a foreign country.   Foreign cultures ask us to extend ourselves beyond our comfort zone. We need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Change occurs somewhere between “I don’t think I can” and “I did.” Substance addiction treatment takes place in the same space. When we don’t think we can handle another truth or revelation yet remain committed to our treatment, we open ourselves up to the moment of realization. We realize we are stronger than we thought, not broken, and can move forward without our old comfort zones. We can strive to go farther, learn more, and break out of old habits.   Old habits can include people, places, and things. Once we complete substance addiction treatment, we have the knowledge we learned and, even so, often went back to our old lives. We can choose to fall back into our former way of life or use the strength we found in treatment to move forward.

Recovery is a lifelong journey that involves many people and services, from dedicated supports and established recovery programs to interconnected peers working towards their own sober goals. Moving through each phase of recovery is a test on its own, and emerging through these programs transformed is cause for celebration.

The first step to getting sober is the physical aspect of not using anymore. Taking each day at a time is a key pillar to success in the early days of recovery, but just avoiding the use of drugs or alcohol isn’t a sustainable solution to long-term sobriety. This is where what’s known as emotional sobriety comes into play, requiring a mindset and lifestyle shift to learn to regulate your emotions.

Reaching a sobriety milestone is a huge deal since recovery is a lifelong process with high rates of relapse to combat. Whether it’s your milestone or a loved one’s, taking the time to recognize the inherent accomplishment of a sober birthday is a wonderful way to bring more motivation and encouragement to staying the course. Sobriety can feel like a very serious subject at times, but using your sobriety birthday to bring in levity and joy to honor your progress and self-growth you’ve experienced in your journey is a welcomed change of pace to break up the seriousness of going to therapy and meetings. Sobriety birthdays are meant to be fun, marked with celebration with friends or family, but also they invite you to reflect on your learnings from your journey. What Is a Sobriety Birthday and How Do I Properly Celebrate? A sobriety birthday can go by many names like sober anniversary, sober date, or recovery anniversary, just to name a few. Since your sobriety birthday is personal to you, you get the choice of picking which day was the most significant in you getting sober. Most commonly, it is the day you stopped using, the day after you last used, or the day you entered rehab. Most Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings give plastic chips or coins to mark the monthly and yearly milestones for how long someone has been sober. When it is someone’s sobriety anniversary, it is a cause for celebration. There are plenty of ways to mark this special day for yourself, like going out to dinner with friends, family, or your sponsor, treating yourself to something special, enjoying a cake or dessert of choice for the occasion, or doing something meaningful like volunteering or sending over something thoughtful to the staff at your treatment center. If it is a loved one’s sobriety birthday, you can send them a letter or card saying how proud you are, give a small gift, treat them to a special lunch or dinner, or do something that your loved one enjoys. Additionally, it is important to verbally affirm how proud you are of their achievement by saying sentiments like “You are an inspiration to me” or “I’m so happy you are taking such great care of yourself, and you deserve this beautiful life you are creating for yourself” as positive reinforcement. A sobriety birthday is an important day to reflect on your journey and celebrate the progress you’ve made in recovery. There are plenty of ways to mark the occasion in a healthy and positive light that, most importantly, doesn’t include using drugs or alcohol. If you or a loved one is struggling to get or remain sober, call Avalon Malibu. At Avalon, we specialize in offering clients a comprehensive approach to recovery, addressing the whole person’s needs along the way. Living a life of joy, connection, and vitality is possible, but choosing to get the right treatment is the first step to making a new life possible. Call us today at (844) 857-5992 and begin working towards having brighter days ahead.

A major part of recovery is changing your lifestyle to fit the healthier way of life you are choosing to create for yourself. With this comes along filtering out certain influences that do not align with your sober life. Sometimes, negative influences aren’t always obvious, especially if something or someone has been a significant part of your life for a considerable amount of time. Looking closely at your behavior and the behavior of others will help you be able to identify who or what is bringing positivity or negativity into your space. Negative Influences to Remove From Your Life in Recovery

Take a moment to pause and ask yourself what your relationship with control looks like. Do you believe that you can control what happens to you in life? Whether you’re struggling with addiction and self-control or recovering from trauma and want to control the world around you, people have varying beliefs about how much they can influence their own lives. By first cultivating an awareness of your relationship with control, you can then start working towards a more balanced relationship with life.

Celebrities have been more open now than ever regarding their struggles with mental illness and addiction. Their stories have inspired and motivated people all over the United States to seek help for their problems; country star Brantley Gilbert is one of them. The 33-year-old who sings “One Hell of an Amen” and “Country Must Be Countrywide” has had back-to-back platinum albums. While the singer has been sober for 7 years now, he reflects on his time back when life was rougher – when he had a completely different frame of mind and when he handled his problems differently. According to People Magazine, Brantley’s road to addiction began soon after graduating from high school, where he was the son of a Baptist preacher. He began drinking a lot of hard liquor and took opiates to relieve some of the pain he experienced from playing football – which soon led to him relying on the medication for relaxation. Once Brantley signed a record deal, he was reaching for bottles and pills any moment he could – he described to People that once he had the chance to pursue music full time, “every day was a party”. It wasn’t until 2011 that Brantley Gilbert had to be hospitalized for pancreatitis; doctors told him that if he didn’t stop drinking, he was not going to make it to his next birthday. In December of 2011, Brantley stopped abusing substances. He called his manager and explained his fears – that he wasn’t going to be able to afford the house that he was having built, that he wasn’t going to be able to perform and shows, and more. Shortly afterwards, country music star Keith Urban showed up and gave Brantley a pep talk. Brantley credits Keith Urban for giving him the motivation that he needed to jumpstart his recovery. Since living rehab, Brantley hasn’t dabbled with any of the substances he used to. He has a beautiful family and is focusing on his music, the love of his life, and raising their child. No matter who you are, challenges will always occur – after all, that’s a major part of life. Recovery is possible, however. If you haven’t already, speak with a professional from a reputable treatment center so that you can begin your journey to recovery today.

Sobriety for most people involves total abstinence. No illicit or illegal substance can be used or abused for mind altering purposes. For some, the idea of giving up mind altering substances entirely is daunting. Sober support group meetings are typically accompanied by coffee, sugary treat such as doughnuts or cookies, and a cloud of smoke from cigarettes. Caffeine, sugar, and nicotine are methods of support for a recovering addict or alcoholic. Today’s beverage industry offers teas, energy drinks, and supplemented juices that can help someone catch an extra buzz. There are numerous other legal, even natural, substances which can create a mind-altered state. What defines one substance from another as being harmful? Does drinking a chamomile tea which causes drowsiness count as a relapse? The answer is no. There are no clearly defined terms for what is and is not appropriate for sobriety. Some substances or drink are more concerning than others for the intensity of their mind-altering properties and their potential for abuse. Abuse, or using a substance in a way it is not intended, can be a hard line to draw as it is mostly subjective. Pain relievers relieve pain and calming teas create calm. Should they be avoided? Using a substance in higher quantities, all day long, or for avoidance, is abuse. One substance causing controversy in the world of sobriety is Kava. Kava bars are opening up in local neighborhoods, offering a natural remedy to the day’s stress. What is Kava? Kava is a plant found in the south pacific known as a natural remedy for numerous afflictions. When consumed, Kava interacts with the central nervous system, making the effect quick and impactful. The effectiveness of Kava is not widely researched, so the side effects are vast. Kava negatively interacts with many medications and can worsen symptoms of mental health issues like depression. Often served as a tea, Kava can create dissociative feelings and uncomfortable calm. In large, abusive quantities, Kava can cause mild hallucinations. Why Is Kava A Concern For Sobriety? People in early recovery are drawn to kava for it’s powerful effect on calming their high nerves. Kava does not show up on a urinary test and has not yet been proven to cause dependency. However, the reliance upon a mood altering substance is problematic. Recovery is a process of learning to regulate and manage one’s emotional state without chemical support (other than a prescription). Many begin to rely on Kava out of habit and sensation, though not out of chemical dependency. However, the brief sense of euphoric relief brought on by Kava can be enough to stimulate memories in the brain associated with using. Eventually, the kava might not be substantial in curing the ailments relief is being sought for. Other substances might come to mind. Without the tools in place to act as defense, relapse becomes imminent.Avalon By The Sea advocates total abstinence in sobriety. Our treatment program for substance use disorders is housed in a warm, private, luxury environment while offering quality evidence based care. For a confidential assessment or more information on our programs, call 1 (888) 958-7511.