Treatment

It is said that there are three parts to the recovery program. That is the recovery part, service aspect, and the unity portion of the program. These three parts of the program are what is said to be the "recipe" for success in long term sobriety. When you first get sober, the program of recovery itself can be confusing. If it is your first time trying to get sober you may be wondering to yourself what are the steps, or what does a sponsor do?

When a loved one or friend is battling addiction, it becomes very evident when everything they used to care about – work responsibilities, family obligations, relationships, and more – start being placed on the backburner. They probably don’t discuss personal matters with you nearly as much as they used to. They likely keep to themselves most of the time, and it’s clear to see that they’re not truly happy. This is because addiction truly isolates us – it forces us into these small boxes filled with obsessions of substance use, and it blocks out everything else that makes up a happy, healthy life.

Many people decide to complete an at-home detox or a “body cleanse” in an attempt to remedy their “problem” of eating too much unhealthy food or drinking too much alcohol. Detoxification is a process by which the body naturally dispels any toxic or unhealthy substances – but there are numerous companies that claim to help us “detox” through the use of specific diet ramifications and supplements, even when we don’t quite understand what they entail. Self-detoxing can be dangerous if it’s done the wrong way. Keep reading to learn how you can protect your body and detox in healthier ways.

A personality disorder is defined as a type of mental disorder in which a person has a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning, and behaving. Personality disorders can affect nearly every aspect of a person’s life – including their relationships. Dating someone with a personality disorder can be challenging, particularly those with dependent personality disorder (DPD). Common symptoms of DPD include low self-esteem, being “clingy,” difficulty making decisions on their own, a sincere hatred of being alone, a pattern of jumping from one relationship to the next, and the general instability that often comes with fear of abandonment. If you are in a relationship with someone who has DPD, it’s important to recognize the symptoms they may be experiencing and to learn how you can work with them through challenging situations.

Most of us know of someone with an addiction. Some of us have incredibly close relationships with these individuals, and it’s hard to see them struggle with substance abuse. Perhaps you’ve tried to confront your loved one many times, only to hear fake promises of treatment – and it hurts. As a family member, you want to do everything you can to help your loved one get to where they need to be. But if you’re not careful, you may end up depleting all of your own time, energy, and money, while having your heart broken in the process.

One of the best feelings in recovery is one of strength, gratitude, and stability. Of course, this always takes time. Whether you are seeking treatment for addiction or mental illness, it’s important to get yourself into a state of calm and clarity to start off your journey to recovery.

When we feel anxious about something, our body activates its stress response to help deal with the threat. This stress response is a natural reaction that causes the body to secrete stress hormones that travel to targeted areas and bring about physiological, psychological, and emotional changes. It is these changes that ultimately lead us to “fight or flight” mode. Even if there’s nothing immediately happening to us, the mind and body can feel like it is – and that’s when anxiety can worsen.

Can you recall a moment today, yesterday, or a time from the past where you felt pretty satisfied one minute and then suddenly, before you knew it, you started feeling very agitated? Sometimes it happens in the blink of an eye. This change in feelings can happen for many reasons – an adjustment in the chemical balance of your brain, the fact that you were tired or hungry, or maybe even a situation or memory that triggered it. When it happens, these changes are called mood swings – often defined as rapid and extreme fluctuations in mood, alternating between feelings of happiness and feelings of anger, agitation, or depression. Everyone experiences mood swings, but people with bipolar disorder may experience them a bit more frequently and more intensely than others.

In some cases, the signs of mental illness appear subtly and over time. We may not even realize we have a mental illness until it’s front and center in our lives. From the day we are born to the present day in our life, there are a number of different factors that can influence the way a mental illness develops, as well as how we manage it over the years. By understanding these factors, you’ll be a step ahead in recovery.

Millions of people across the world are diagnosed with schizophrenia, yet so many people still do not know much about this disorder. Individuals with schizophrenia often experience delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, and negative symptoms such as feeling detached from oneself, general discontentment, anger, anxiety, and more. Unfortunately, movies and media often depict this disorder as dangerous – but the more we understand how it really affects those we love, the less fear we may feel about it.

“I’m too old for yoga.”

In recent years there has been a severe increase in the selling and use of opioids. So much so, that it has been deemed a crisis or epidemic because of how fast opioid addiction continues to spread and how many lives are lost daily, as a result. Tragically, many opioid addicts are young and they’re dying much quicker and faster than those who chose to dabble in other substances. Much like the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, the opioid epidemic has received significant media coverage and is becoming the poster child for the war on drugs.