Treatment

The term ‘supervised detox’ sounds a bit terrifying, but what exactly does it mean? We know that for many people in addiction recovery, they undergo severe circumstances in which they can’t face alone. Quality treatment is about providing optimal mental, physical and spiritual care so that clients can feel safe and secure while healing; a publication by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) explained that supervised detox may prevent, “…potentially life threatening complications that may appear if the patient was left untreated”. Far too often, those who struggle with addiction attempt to heal at home – and this can be incredibly dangerous, specifically as the mind and body require steady decreases in substance doses to help detoxify a person without sending their body into shock. With supervised detox, a qualified healthcare team is there to support a person 24/7 – which not only ensures that they’re on the right path towards healing, but also ensures their safety as well. As the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) emphasizes, however, supervised detox won’t work as a one-step form of treatment. Those seeking recovery undergo supervised detox as a first step towards health and wellness – from there, it’s time to work towards recovery. Long-term abstinence is best achieved when a person has a “clean slate” – in other words, has gone through detox and is able to start making daily choices that benefit their mental, physical and spiritual wellness. At Avalon Malibu, there are a variety of recovery-related activities that can propel a person’s success in recovery, such as through individual and group therapy, massage therapy, yoga, meditation, art therapy and more. Supervised detox may last a few days, and while it may seem a bit frightening, it’s much less frightening than the prospect of losing your life – or your loved one – to unsafe detoxification practices. Don’t wait any longer to begin the path towards healing. There is an entire team here ready to help you overcome addiction and onto your journey in recovery.

Earlier this year, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Insitute (NIH) explained that sleep is a core function of the human body – and without it, we may experience mental and physical health issues, injuries, loss of producitivity on the job, and greater risk of death. When substances are actively involved in our lives, our sleeping patterns may shift and become less stable because alcohol and other drugs can change the structure of our brain. This means that in active addiction, we’re likely receiving a lot less sleep than what is truly needed – and in recovery, sleep becomes more important than ever before because our mind, body and spirit need that resting period to rejuvenate. There are two basic types of sleeping movement that we all go through: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM. The first is the stage that we’re in when we’re dreaming – and the latter describes a phase in which we’re experiencing deep sleep or slow wave movements. The Fix, a website that regularly publishes information related to addiction and recovery, explains that sleep disturbances are quite normal for those in early recovery. In fact, other studies have shown that those in addiction recovery are more likely to also have a sleeping disorder – and it will take some time to restore this process, but our daily habits can have a significant influence on our progress. Therapist Austin Brown stated, “I think at the most basic level, the stuff that keeps us up at night early in the recovery process is the same fears, anxiety, trauma and regret we used over...It isn’t until we begin settling some of those outstanding emotional balances through recovery work and therapy that we’re able to find general peace.” As you can see, sleep and addiction recovery go hand-in-hand; it’s important that we work hard to restore the mind, body and spirit so that we can also achieve sleep that will help us rejuvenate.

There are many types of approaches that can be taken to addiction recovery – and it all depends on what works best for the client. Holistic, comprehensive treatment is about assessing an individual’s needs and getting an understanding of who they are, including their medical history, their family history, major life stressors, mental health report and more. Put simply, recovery should consider a person’s mental, physical and spiritual wellness – and in some cases, didactic group therapy could be an excellent addition to a person’s program.

Trauma is an unfortunately common experience for many people throughout the world, and a high rate of those in addiction recovery have struggled in the past with trauma as well. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common disorder that develops for those who’ve gone through traumatic events such as accidents, natural disasters, combat, assault and more – and all too often, symptoms like flashbacks, insomnia, anxiety and depression can make it incredibly difficult to enjoy life. Substance abuse tends to take place when a person tries to “drown out” those painful thoughts and feelings – only to realize that the pain remains there, it’s just hidden. Writing therapy can help a person heal by taking the pain that’s on the inside and putting it to paper. Dr. Matthew Tull, an associate professor and director of anxiety disorders research at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, explained in 2018 that journaling can foster post-traumatic growth, which is defined as, “…the positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with a major life crisis or a traumatic event.” Writer’s Digest suggests that traumatic experiences can fuel one’s writing by taking that pain, anger, distress and/or sadness and putting it outwardly towards a writing project. If you’re ready to spark healing from trauma, consider taking on any (or all) of these 5 writing prompts:

We’re not always given the best coping mechanisms growing up, and sometimes we may see people, life and situations as being more “black and white” than they really are. It’s hard to get out of that mindset – and in most cases, this type of thinking can perpetuate conflicts with loved ones and can even escalate the painful emotions we’re already experiencing. Many people in addiction recovery experience this exact feeling; and, in many cases without the correct support, a person will begin to rely on substances because that seems like the only way out of anger, depression, resentment and other discomforting feelings. Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) was originally created to help treat borderline personality disorder (BPD) – a disorder that can make it challenging to see the “in-betweens” or the “gray areas” of life. Oftentimes, however, people without this disorder will face such feelings – and that’s why DBT can be used to help treat a variety of conditions. WebMD explains that DBT addresses a variety of aspects of life that people have issues managing, such as:

In the whirlwind of addiction, it’s hard to identify what’s up from down. Life can feel like an ongoing battle of events, and you may have struggled desperately to come back to surface – only to find that the addiction pulled you back even stronger. Recovery is one of the most transformational periods of growth for a person because they’re finally able to stop and focus on their entire wellbeing – and with that comes a much greater capacity for happiness and fulfillment in life. Stabilization is the most important step to the beginning of a person’s recovery journey, and this is typically through detoxification. Holistic treatment at Avalon Malibu takes into consideration all the aspects that make up a person – focusing on the healing and restoration of their mind, body and spirit. A publication by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) notes that at this stage, clients are typically scared – so in order to become stable, much support and care is provided.

Most talk of addiction is centered on opioids, alcohol, marijuana or other related drugs – but barbiturates aren’t discussed as often and this can make it even more challenging to seek help if it’s needed. Barbiturates are depressant drugs used to treat anxiety and muscle spasms, prevent seizures and to help a person sleep; the two primary ways of using these types of drugs are injecting a liquid or by swallowing pills. Medical News Today notes that barbiturates were first developed in 1864 – and since then, benzodiazepines have taken the place of many barbiturates for treating different conditions. Recreational use of barbiturates can place a person at increased risk for addiction. There are several effects that come from barbiturate use for those who don’t need it for medical purposes:

Individual psychotherapy (also known as talk therapy) can afford us the opportunity to dig deep within ourselves; the therapist-client relationship is so important because it fosters a person’s growth and development in areas of a person’s life they wish to thrive in. Recovery involves so many different aspects of healing and restoration – and individual therapy isn’t the only way those in addiction recovery can grow. Group psychotherapy sessions provide a unique, safe space for individuals to build upon the foundation they’ve developed in other areas of treatment; because it’s a format different from individual therapy sessions, clients can gain different benefits from attending.

Recovery is a time when we can take a step back and focus on our health. Before recovery, you may have struggled greatly substance abuse and/or mental illness, leaving you with little room to lead the life you’ve always wanted. Holistic recovery is less about treating solely your addiction or mental illness – it’s more about treating you as an entire person. The Association for Addiction Professionals describes holistic recovery as this: “Recovery encompasses an individual’s whole life, including mind, body, spirit and community. The array of services and supports available should be integrated and coordinated.” In the past, professionals have focused primarily on the addiction/mental illness as the sole focus on treatment – but as researchers have been studying for many years, it’s more about compassion for everything a person’s gone through that truly helps them heal. There are many aspects of a person, such as:

In many cases, it feels as though we simply woke up one day, just to find that we’re suddenly struggling with symptoms of mental illness. We may begin feeling more anxious than normal, more depressed about our lives or more paranoid about seeing friends or family. Before, everything seemed fine – so why are we going through this now? While it may feel as though mental illness simply came “out of the blue”, it had to have started somewhere, right? Let’s take a look at some potential causes for the development of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, phobias and more. Genetics: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains that if someone in your family has a mental illness, the odds that you will develop one increase. First-degree relatives – such as your parents, siblings and children are the best sources of information, followed by your second-degree relatives, such as your nieces and nephews, half-brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc. Environment: Our lifestyle both growing up and as adults can have major impacts on the development of mental illness. Some of these environmental risk factors can include: smoking, sleep deprivation, pollution, exposure to toxins during childhood, extreme weather conditions, hazardous work conditions and more. Other environmental factors could involve people – such as the early loss of a parent, poverty, social stigma, etc. Trauma: Traumatic events can have a significant impact on a person’s livelihood, and sometimes this can lead to the development of a mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Substance Abuse: In some cases, addiction can bring out symptoms that cause a person to develop a mental illness. When this happens, a person then has two conditions to treat, often called a co-occurring disorder. If you’re ready to get started towards complete health and rejuvenation, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu today.

As we progress through recovery, we learn more about ourselves; we learn more of what matters to us, what we struggle with in life as well as our personal beliefs about ourselves and life. Essentially, life is a classroom with so many different lessons – and for many people in recovery, the concept of boundaries is a bit blurry. Even after seeking treatment, it’s common for those in recovery to deal with cravings to use again; people, places, situations and emotions can spark that feeling to return to substance abuse, because that’s what’s made us feel comforted in the past. With this new stage of life, however, it’s important that you develop certain boundaries with yourself so that you can stay on the road to success. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), highlights the work of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in forming a relapse prevention plan, which truly helps those in recovery establish healthy boundaries with themselves. A scenario of a person who previously struggled with alcoholism, for example, may work on identifying several factors:

We’re not given a “Book of Life” when we’re born, and if that were the case, a lot less people would struggle with mental illness, addiction, and other painful experiences because we’d have already taken the right steps to seeking help. It just doesn’t work that way – and, unfortunately, it’s typically not until we’re well into adulthood that we begin recognizing distressing symptoms. Even as adults, we may believe that this is how life really is – and we may not seek any help at all. If this is something you can relate to, it’s important to know that seeking treatment is not only going to provide you with more answers regarding your day-to-day experiences, but it will also help you prevent any conditions you have from developing further.