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Despite the fact that addiction and substance abuse can take years to develop and to become severe, many people expect that recovery will be a quick fix. Nobody wants to really go through all of the pain and discomfort that are often associated with detoxification and becoming used to a life of sobriety – and if you were to ask most people in addiction recovery, they’d probably snap their fingers to make it happen if they could. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work that way – and, technically speaking, the greater the effort you put towards your recovery, the more rewarding your journey will be in the long run. Long-term residential treatment programs are incredibly beneficial because they give us the time, space, resources, and support that we need to develop a life in recovery – and if you’re looking for an in-depth program that is tailored to your needs, a residential program at Avalon Malibu could be a great option for you.  Long-term, residential treatment programs tend to take more time than people realize because it takes time to undo the damage that addiction has caused; residential programs take approximately 6-12 months total and require that clients live in a comfortable, home-like environment during this time. Clients who choose this option won’t even need to drive to treatment because their treatment will take place near their living facility. Meals are provided and around-the-clock care is also provided to ensure that clients feel stable throughout the duration of their stay. Those in long-term treatment programs have sincere mental, physical and spiritual needs and because the treatment program at Avalon Malibu is incredibly comprehensive, clients who choose this option will be supported throughout their time in the program and beyond. Long-term residential treatment programs provide stable housing, which involves staying in a comfortable room designed for optimum healing and restoration. Nutrition management also becomes a major part of the program, with vitamins and minerals needed to replenish the mind and body; in cases of medical supervision and other addiction-related concerns, there is 24/7 support for individuals in recovery. Both individual and group sessions are held to help foster thinking and personal development, and a person can become involved in a variety of holistic recovery-related activities, such as equine therapy, music therapy, art therapy, massage therapy and much more. Every client has their own unique needs, and that is why residential treatment should be personalized to the individual. Previous sources have interviewed people in addiction recovery to learn more about the problems they face, the obstacles they’ve had to overcome, as well as advice they have for others in seeking out treatment. A common consensus amongst those in addiction recovery is that if you think you have a problem – be it an addiction with alcohol, drugs or other substances – you probably do. Many people let their fear and denial of their issues get in the way of breaking through and seeking help, and this is what holds people back from living a sober, healthy life.   Residential treatment often provides a pathway for clients to find themselves, their purpose and their path in sobriety. In this type of treatment program, it’s typical for a person to follow a strict “routine” that’s set – and there may be rules (such as no technology) to follow too, depending on where you go. These routines often try to help a person go to sleep by a certain time, wake up at a specific time, and attend various recovery-related ventures throughout the day so they can become used to getting involved in different components of treatment.  Residential treatment programs are extremely beneficial for people who don’t have solid support systems at home or who don’t have a stable home environment where they can practice sobriety and be positively reinforced in doing it. Individuals who struggle with severe addiction often find that residential treatment programs are better for them because they’re able to be monitored more closely, and they can receive more guidance in daily living habits for sobriety. Those who are able to make arrangements for other responsibilities such as work projects, children, household duties and more find that residential treatment is most conducive to their healing. Residential treatment programs often have different phases, and each phase holds different levels of activity and expectations; in addition to this, a person may find that aspects of residential treatment aid in getting them back into daily life such as job-seeking assistance, volunteer opportunities to make new friends and develop skills, after-care support, alumni services and more. If you’re ready to take charge of your life and overcome addiction, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu today. There’s an entire team of people here ready to support you – and the residential treatment programs provided allow enough support and resources for a person to become stronger in living a life of sobriety.

Note: If you are having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Your life matters and you are not alone. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) affects people all across the world, with many of them being women. BPD is typically characterized by an intense fear of abandonment, unstable self-image, self-harm, anger and irritability, and more. Unfortunately, death by suicide takes many people in this community. It’s common with this type of disorder to feel misunderstood and feel an inner sense of turmoil that can’t easily be addressed. For those diagnosed with BPD, self-harm is another devastating occurrence – and the more support that is provided to these individuals, the higher the recovery rate can be. Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is a program typically used to help treat BPD and is a structured program that features cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. For many with BPD, the world is seen in “black and white” – that is, people or events may be seen as “one thing” or “another” and it’s rather challenging for those with this disorder to see the in-betweens. There are 4 major areas of DBT that can really help people with BPD in recovery:

When selecting a treatment center, there are many factors you want to consider. Long-term success in recovery has been shown by many studies to help people achieve their recovery goals, but there are still some important components to consider when selecting where to go. Recovery is a time to develop new coping skills, understand ourselves better, and identifying goals that we can work towards leading happier healthier lives. While you’re researching which treatment center to go to, consider the following factors:

There is so much pain that we experience throughout our lives, yet many of us haven’t been taught healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with these challenging, heartbreaking situations. We spend months, sometimes years, searching for something that will ease the discomfort that we’re feeling; we begin abusing alcohol or drugs to numb the pain and take away the agony – and while it seems to work temporarily, the reality is that over time, we find that we’re not able to get rid of the hurt completely. If you’re ready to dive into some creative, holistic approaches to healing in addiction recovery, you’ll find that music therapy is worth looking into. On the surface, music therapy may be depicted as simply listening to music and finding relief from it; while this could certainly be true, it takes a much stronger precedent in addiction recovery. In fact, music therapy could be defined as a health profession where music is used for therapeutic healing – to address cognitive, emotional issues, physical concerns, and social needs of people in recovery. While addiction recovery is certainly the main focus of treatment, music therapy can also tend to the unique needs of individuals such as those with emotional or behavioral concerns, depression, anxiety, and other related issues. Music therapy is holistically a creative process that could involve more than simply listening to music, but could also involve activities like creating songs, singing, dancing, interpreting the lyrics to songs, and so much more.   Music therapy truly provides a unique mode of communication in which those in recovery can discover some of the core beliefs they’ve picked up throughout their lives – and even for instances in which it’s difficult to talk about, music can bring out important messages through emotion.  Music therapy sessions are always led by a licensed therapist, and it often begins with the therapist trying to get ot know the client a bit better and what their needs are. From there, a variety of activities may be scheduled over a longer period of time and the therapist and client may work together to break through some of the things that have been holding them back – even some post-traumatic growth periods of triumph may occur. Previous studies have found that unique treatment approaches, such as songwriting and lyric analyses, can bring about emotional changes in patients by giving them time to think and reflect on not only the songs and their meaning but also on what they’ve personally gone through – and sometimes greater insight is gained from it. The willingness itself to participate in music therapy offers clients in recovery with a powerful opportunity to harness what they’ve gone through and redefine their story – or, at a fundamental level, to understand what they’ve been going through a little better. Despite many people’s views that music therapy is simply about “strumming a guitar,” it goes beyond that to provide more deeply connected tools for a person, that can be used to gain greater meaning from pain or to help individuals like family members heal from painful situations.  Music therapy sessions tend to have a therapeutic component that involves a sort of structure or system that the therapist and client set in place, but they also have a portion of therapy that involves direct application of music to bring thoughts, feelings, and emotions to life. Everyone’s experience in music therapy will be different – but for many, the journey is worthwhile. Many people in music therapy treatment fear that they need to be an “artist” or to have musical talent, but that’s not the case. In fact, even a person with no musical ability can benefit from music therapy because it’s more about emotional healing than it is about the practicality of being able to play or interpret music. There are several benefits that can derive from music therapy, such as a person being able to have a sense of community and understanding as others may be involved as well. Music therapy can help create positive rifts in the way a person views themselves, especially as they discover that they’re not alone in recovery. Music therapy can also help promote self-discovery and release tension that may be held inside; in most cases, music therapy has a wonderful effect on addiction recovery and can foster safe opportunities to work through a variety of feelings. If you’re ready to seek help, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu today.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects so many people around the world, and the symptoms can truly be debilitating. Many people with PTSD experience nightmares, flashbacks, paranoia, anxiety, depression and more, with some individuals relying on substances to help ease their physical, mental and emotional pain. When PTSD is involved, there is typically a lot of tension throughout the body – a person then becomes easily-startled, stressed, angered, or has trouble sleeping. If this is something you’ve been struggling with, addiction recovery is the time to begin working on some of these issues so that you can go on to lead a healthier, happier life.  Holistic practices are often used to help individuals work through some of the mental, physical and spiritual turmoil that they may go through not just with PTSD, but also with addiction recovery. Without treatment, a person with PTSD may go on to exhibit behaviors that only make things worse – and by pursuing holistic treatment options alongside addiction recovery, like massage therapy, meditation, yoga, art therapy and more, a person can develop a stronger understanding of the PTSD they’re battling and tools they can use to work through it. A common group of people who struggle with PTSD includes those in the professions of police work and firefighters, including people in social work because of the constant trauma they may experience as they save others’ lives. In other instances, childhood trauma can have a significant impact on a person’s well-being even well into adulthood.  Massage therapy reduces cortisol (a stress response) and increases serotonin (which regulates mood, sleep, appetite, etc.) and dopamine (the chemical that makes us feel good). This type of practice can help the body relax, which then translates into the mind relaxing as well. For someone who struggles with both addiction and PTSD, holistic practices are a safe route to go – and can be personalized depending on the person’s needs. Now is the time to take a firm hold on your self-care; it’s time to get your life back.

Previous research has shown that depression can have a significant effect on our mental, physical and spiritual standing. Many people diagnosed with depression also battle sleep issues like insomnia, appetite problems (such as over or under-eating), lack of energy, difficulties concentrating, low self-esteem, and more. In other instances, there are a number of other physical symptoms that may be experienced such as migraines, joint pain such as fibromyalgia, digestive problems such as constipation and bloating, chest pain, back pain with tension in the neck, and more – which can certainly have a negative impact on daily life. Previous studies have shown that nearly 70% of people with depression also experience aches and pains; if you’ve been struggling with symptoms of depression, massage therapy at Avalon Malibu could help you greatly. A relaxing, full-body massage involving massage oil and lotions can greatly help reduce symptoms of depression that weigh heavily on a person’s daily life. Another major benefit of massage therapy is that there are different types of massage that can help people depending on their needs. For example, therapeutic massage can help a person achieve a full-body sense of relaxation, while a sports massage can help those who are quite active throughout the day or participate in particular sports. Whatever your needs are, you can speak with your therapist to see what would work best for you moving forward. Massage therapy has been shown to relieve stress, reduce anxiety, manage lower back pain, reduce muscle tension, relieve tension headaches, improve balance, lower blood pressure, and so much more. Avalon Malibu offers an exceptional massage therapy program alongside traditional treatment for addiction recovery – and having this alongside your regular program activities, including other holistic practices like meditation and yoga, you’ll feel more confident in moving forward in healing. As previous research has shown, massage therapy benefits the mind, body, and spirit. A relaxing environment in massage therapy can help you to release pent-up stress and other emotions that may be weighing heavily on your body as you progress through treatment. If you haven’t already, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu to learn more about massage therapy and treatment programs that could assist you on your journey to recovery. It’s never too late to seek the help you need.

Many people consider diary writing to be “stupid” when indeed it can be very helpful. In fact, diary writing has been used for so many years – and by so many people - to uncover deeply hidden feelings, make sense of behavioral patterns, and find new ways of understanding events that have happened in the past. Have you ever tried diary or journal writing before? While it may seem “silly” or “childish”, there are so many benefits in doing this. Who knows, you may learn something new about yourself that could aid in greater strength and healing while in recovery.

There are so many instances when we have a particular goal in mind, but that goal becomes distorted as – for whatever reason – we begin to pull ourselves away from it, maybe without even realizing it.  No matter where you’re at in life right now, think about the ways in which you’ve self-sabotaged your own relationships, professional career, parenting endeavors and more. Self-sabotage is defined as any action that we take that gets in the way of us achieving a particular goal. Working towards getting a promotion at work? Self-sabotaging behavior may involve you waiting until the last minute to complete a project, rushing to get the job done and then it looks bad on you. On a diet? Self-sabotage may involve going back on the plan that you set for yourself consistently so that you can’t reach your nutrition goals. No matter what it is, self-sabotage has a sneaky way of making sure that we fail. Why is this? There are so many reasons for self-sabotage, including 1) feeling like we’re not good enough, 2) wanting control over the situation – if we force ourselves to fail, at least we controlled the failure 3) fear of being “called out” by someone as a fraud, 4) feeling too comfortable with being in a particular place in life (such as addiction), 5) making it easier on ourselves and 6) being bored and wanting something interested to transpire from it. Self-sabotage can certainly happen in addiction and mental illness recovery; and if we’re not careful, it can ruin our entire healing and restoration process.  You know deep down that you’re engaging in these self-sabotaging behaviors, so make the decision to stop them. Talk to your therapist about what to do. Ask for help. Use your tools. As long as you keep trying in recovery, you’re winning. There’s no doubt about it. If you’re ready to embark on the journey towards healing, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu today. It’s never too late to seek the help you need.

Whether it occurred before addiction began or once it’d already developed, toxic relationships can negatively affect the way a person views themselves – and even their life. It’s natural for every relationship to have ups and downs over time, especially as personalities, beliefs, attitudes, and values clash over certain situations. In some unfortunate cases, however, certain relationships can perpetuate a sense of toxicity; in many other cases, relationships can be broken because of the changes that are displayed in a person when active addiction is involved.  If you’ve lost important relationships throughout your life – which, if that’s the case, you’re not the only one – it can feel nerve-wracking to start over in building new relationships. We can’t always get by on surface-level conversations – to build a truly meaningful life, we have to develop a strong support system that we can lean on in times of need and during times of triumph.

Millions of people all across the world struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Common symptoms of this disorder include frightening flashbacks and nightmares, paranoia, agitation, anxiety, depression, and more, which obviously makes it hard to function in daily life for many people. Not everyone who goes through a traumatic event develops PTSD, but of those who do, it can leave long-lasting physical and/or emotional damages. If you’ve been diagnosed with PTSD, it’s possible that you may feel things will never get better – that you’ll constantly be stuck in a state of misery. But that’s not true. Writing therapy, in particular, has been shown in numerous studies to help people work through their emotions and traumatic memories to find healing and strength. With writing therapy, a person may experience relief from stress, improved immune system functioning, and the ability to understand and learn from one’s emotions – which can have a significantly positive effect not only in their daily functioning but in how they view themselves, the world and others as well. The reason why writing therapy is so beneficial is that it combines expressive writing and CBT techniques to help individuals find new ways of viewing and expressing themselves and their life stories, particularly in their mental script. It’s hard to talk about painful events in one’s life, but writing about it can help. After all, you’re your story. When writing it down, you can write it however you want – you get to choose what you want to say and how you want to say it. For many people, this gives them a sense of control because they do not have to be questioned or confronted regarding what they’ve written; writing therapy gives them an opportunity to get everything out of their system and out into the open. If you haven’t already, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu to begin working towards your own healing journey. There are so many things you can write about, and you may find that you become more resilient from it.

Recovery is filled with ups and downs, and sometimes we may experience different mindsets for it. The beginning of recovery can be challenging because you don’t know what to expect, but even months – or years – later, recovery can be filled with moments of confidence and doubt, just as life is filled with these things. Issues may arise, however, when we start doubting our recovery and allowing those doubts to get the best of us. We may start telling ourselves lies – even if we don’t realize it – and this can affect our approach to healing if we don’t “check-in” with ourselves soon.  If this is where you’re at right now, take a deep breath and remind yourself that it’s normal to go through these moments of change – and by recognizing these 3 types of common lies we tell ourselves, we’ll better be able to combat them if they occur:

Each day, we’re filled with thousands of thoughts, feelings, moments and more. All of these impact us not only on a daily basis but add up over time to create what our daily lives entail – and since they all combine to form our lived experiences, they’re all equally important. True health and well-being are based on three primary areas that tend to cover nearly every aspect of living: mind, body, and spirit. Part of addiction recovery is working on emphasizing these three areas of life – oftentimes, addiction can take away from these most vital components of living and so during recovery, we have to strengthen them again. When we’re actively involved in substance abuse, our brain becomes flooded with dopamine, a “feel good” chemical that causes us to involuntarily want more and more of the drug. In many cases, loved ones will state that their brother, sister, mother, etc. are acting differently than they used to – for instance, people may suddenly lie, steal, or act defensively/mean when substances are involved, even if they would never say anything or act a certain way if they were sober. In fact, many addiction recovery professionals associate addiction with “hijacking” a person, because they no longer are themselves.  This is one of the most commonly discussed areas of addiction, and that’s because it’s the easiest to see; addiction can significantly affect the body in the way the brain functions, but also in the way the body functions. A clear indicator of this is when someone becomes intoxicated – a person is no longer able to think clearly, and it may become more difficult for them to make rational choices. Health organizations state that long-term addiction can lead to a number of physical health problems such as: a weakened immune system, damaged kidneys, liver or lungs, heart problems, rotted teeth, skin infections and more.   The least discussed by society – but one of the most important aspects to discuss in addiction treatment – is how a person’s spirit becomes affected by substance abuse. Substances can take over nearly every aspect of a person’s life, and this can cause them to lose important relationships with friends and family, their career progression, meaningful hobbies and more. Over time, a person’s life can become centered by only substances and less with things that contribute to happiness, health, and fulfillment.    Treatment is about not only treating the addiction but also helping a person regain balance in mind, body, and spirit. Everyone is on different paths and have different needs, which is why a personalized treatment plan is crucial – without it, certain needs may not be met, and it may become easier for a person to dive back into their old lifestyle. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help individuals reduce old, negative thought patterns that are keeping them down and replace them with newer, more productive ones to uplift their happiness and health. In addition to that, group therapy can provide valuable lessons and experiences along with moments of connection to build social support. When individuals in recovery begin to focus on nutrition management, they’ll find that their mind, body, and spirit become replenished. Even effective tools of treatment such as dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), can provide incredibly useful tools for everyday life.  Exercise is a crucial component of healing and growth in recovery, as it reduces stress, improves serotonin levels, and sets us up to think more clearly. Nutrition not only affects the brain but the body too – and with healthier eating habits, we’re likely to suffer less with mental illness and despair; furthermore, proper rest can help the body heal itself from the damages of addiction – which is greatly needed for a person’s full recovery. If you’re looking for some excellent, sober-filled activities to dive into, rock climbing and playing sports could not only give you a chance to connect with others but could yield you with positive physical benefits such as greater flexibility and strength enhanced blood circulation and others. Mindfulness can help us regain a sense of balance amidst the chaos; psychologists say that mindfulness can help reduce rumination and stress while boosting working memory, focus, less emotional reactivity, greater meta-cognitive flexibility, relationship satisfaction and so much more. Even activities such as yoga can not only aid the body and mind but the spirit, too – with a greater sense of grounding, we can make decisions that are more proactive for our health. Not to mention, social support can provide a wonderful base for a happier, healthier life and can help individuals find nurturement throughout their sobriety journey. Lastly, therapy can greatly help individuals work through deep problems they may not otherwise have dealt with – in effect, all of these strategies can help a person’s mind, body and spirit grow. If you’re ready to seek help, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu today.