Treatment

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.

Video games have become more popular over the years. In the late 90s, most children and teenagers enjoyed the escape of entertainment in the form of Donkey Kong and Street Fighter. For a long time, the targeted demographic of video games were boys or young males. That has changed drastically over the years. There have been video games developed that are based on hobbies like fishing or fashion. There are video games based on television shows or movies. There are video games that simulate worlds or virtual reality. In recent years, a new style has been introduced: video games aimed at understanding mental illness or developmental disorders. This transition has been a positive net gain for people playing them.

Childhood trauma is an important event to look at in today's society. There has been a steady increase in violent crimes being committed and psychological damage that has emerged in many adults' lives. The national average of child abuse and neglect victims in 2015 was 683,000 — or 9.2 victims per 1,000 children. According to data collected by the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, the number of youth requiring hospital treatment for physical assault-related injuries would fill every seat in nine stadiums each year. One in four high school students was in at least one physical fight. More than 2/3 of children reported at least one traumatic event by age 16. One in five high school students was bullied at school; one in six experienced cyber bullyings. 19 percent of injured and 12 percent of physically ill youth have post-traumatic stress disorder. More than half of U.S families have been affected by some type of disaster; around 54 percent. Childhood trauma affects millions of people each year. Because of its versatility, there are many types of trauma that can lead to PTSD and long-term effects on health and romantic relationships. As a parent or guardian, there are signs that one can look out for. Experiencing trauma as a child isn't a death sentence. Many valuable solutions can help, including organizations that are focused on combating childhood trauma and neglect.