Treatment

The internet is an incredible tool that gives us access to a wealth of information in just one click. With the world at our fingertips, we may be tempted to seek answers to all of our problems by searching online, but don’t let your search bar replace a visit to the doctor’s office — especially when it comes to matters of mental and emotional health. You may know your way around WebMD and other online medical consultation websites, but a self-diagnosis based on a few internet articles is ineffective and can sometimes be dangerous.

When it comes to addiction recovery, the number of diverse options available can be overwhelming. It can be difficult to know what your needs are, especially if you're seeking help for the first time or have recently relapsed and are unsure about what comes next. As you explore your options, you might come across partial hospitalization programs, or PHPs, and wonder who should be in this level of care. Keep reading to learn more about PHP and whether it can help you reach your recovery goals.

Massage therapy is more than a “spa day” favorite or celebrity pastime; when combined with traditional therapies, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or a 12-Step program, massage therapy can effectively reduce stress and muscle pain in individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD).

The day you complete a recovery program can be an incredibly joyful experience. At the same time, it can be pretty scary. You may be in a structured in-patient treatment facility or regular outpatient appointments, but the idea of suddenly tackling recovery and sobriety alone can cause a lot of stress. This is why it is important to develop an aftercare plan for an easier transition. The purpose of an aftercare plan is to support your transition from recovery, prevent relapse, and meet goals.

Using experiential therapy in recovery has become increasingly popular in recent years. In these therapies, a patient uses creative tools to re-create situations or emotions from the past. Experiential therapy recreates experiences that bring subconscious feelings, urges, or behaviors into a person's conscious awareness. These techniques are not used in recovery on their own, but often supplement parts of treatment programs to provide a patient with tailor-made treatments. It's hard to create a formal definition of experiential therapy because so many therapeutic methods can be used. Baecause of this, there are a lot of misconceptions about these techniques. Whichever technique is used, experiential therapy should provide insight into the nature of a person's behaviors and feelings.

A “fun run” might not sound like a fun way to spend your day, but speed walking and running are excellent forms of exercise for their numerous mental and physical benefits. Everyone needs to keep active to stay healthy, and if you’re considering new ways to exercise, running might be right for you.

Establishing a friendship is difficult at any age. Meeting new people is tough — especially during a period of social distancing — and learning to be vulnerable with another person is typically a long and arduous process. Individuals coping with substance use disorder (SUD) and any comorbid disorders, such as anxiety, may find opening up to be more challenging than peers without SUD. Finding new friends is no easy task, but when you forge meaningful friendships with new people, you make progress in your recovery journey.

Anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder that is characterized by weight loss (or lack of needed weight gain in children). There are different types of eating disorders people suffer from around the world today. At least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the United States. One in five anorexia deaths are by suicide. 50 to 80 percent of the risk for anorexia is genetic. 33 to 50 percent of anorexia patients suffer from comorbid mood disorders, like depression and anxiety. These mood disorders are more common with a binging and purging type of eating disorder, rather than a restrictive one. Nearly half of all Americans know at least one person who suffers from an eating disorder. An estimated 10 to 15 percent of people with bulimia are males. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of mental health disorders. Five to ten percent of anorexics die within ten years of developing this disease. 18 to 20 percent die after twenty years, leaving the remaining 30 to 40 percent fully recovered. Anorexia is very common in young adults and is the third most common mental illness within that age group. 95 percent of people suffering from an eating disorder range from 12-25 years old. 50 percent of children between 11 and 13 with an eating disorder see themselves as overweight. Eating disorders can affect any race — it is seen in countries all over the world. In Japan, it is the leading psychological disorder in young women. Symptoms to look out for include:

A part of addiction recovery that often goes unspoken is the fact that we change as people. We learn more about who we are, we reinvent ourselves, and we create a life that’s more fitting to what we want. In many cases, this involves a change in social networks. The people with whom we used to abuse substances no longer fit into our life anymore and new connections take hold. Life begins to shift more towards a recovery perspective, and this changes everything. Although this will feel like a significant change, it’s something that you should embrace, not fear.

PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a type of anxiety disorder that may develop after a person has experienced a traumatic event. However, there is also complex PTSD, which may be diagnosed by a healthcare professional if a person has experienced prolonged or repeated trauma over months or years. PTSD is generally related to a single event, while complex PTSD is related to a series of events or prolonged trauma. Symptoms of PTSD can emerge after an individual has experienced a traumatic event such as physical assault, sexual abuse, or car accident. PTSD affects 7-8 percent of Americans at some point in their lives. These symptoms are a result of changes in some regions of the brain that deal with emotion, memory, and reasoning — the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. The symptoms of complex PTSD can be more detrimental and intense than those of PTSD. Types of ongoing trauma that may lead to complex PTSD include:

If you are brand new to recovery, you may not know what all the jargon means. Twelve steps are mentioned often, and you know that people go to gatherings that are called meetings, but that might be the extent of your knowledge. To admit that you suffer from substance use disorder is very difficult. It is hard for us because it is a disease that tells you you do not have it in the first place. To get to those first 24 hours sober is sometimes the hardest part. It is important to remember that recovery is a journey, not a race. Everyone does this thing one day at a time, just like the rest of us. Those who reach these milestones are usually awarded a chip that has the amount of time on it.

Acceptance is a part of the 12-step program, and we hear "acceptance is the answer" in meetings all the time. However, acceptance is not just the illusion of not caring.