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When our everyday lives become flooded with worries, responsibilities, and a host of other experiences, it becomes easier than ever to put our health on the back-burner. Why wouldn’t it be? After all, everything else seems to feel more important, to take greater precedence than our own mental/physical/spiritual health. What often happens in these moments, however, is we begin doing things that, rather than contributing positively to our wellbeing, detract from it - and before we know it, we’re engulfed in a lot of unhealthy patterns of behavior. Addiction is just one of many factors that can worsen our health all around - but even if you’ve had trouble making the time for yourself before, you can still change your routines to get back on track. First and foremost, you have to remember that the excuses you make can severely damage your abilities to take care of yourself in ways that are needed; the following are the most common excuses we make to neglect ourselves of healthy food, proper sleep and exercise, positive relationships and more:

We can’t escape those moments when someone - or something - aggravates to the point of no return. Anger begins to boil within, and sometimes it feels almost uncontrollable; despite having such an intense urge to act in a hateful manner, however, we do have choices. In these moments, the choices that we take in how we decide to think and act can have major consequences and can influence our lives greatly. Our society often depicts anger as solely a bad emotion, but did you know there are some good sides to it - as well as some productive ways that it can be utilized? According to the American Psychological Association (APA), Dr. Howard Kassinove, a researcher that has been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, explained that: “...While assertive expression is always preferable to angry expression, anger may serve an important alerting function that leads to deeper understanding of the other person and the problem.” Even when anger makes us feel like we’re about to boil over, we can use it in a way to influence actions that are for ours or others’ benefit in the long run. Last year, contributor Frances Bridges told Forbes Magazine that there are several ways to use anger to our benefit:

The language we use in our daily lives involves more than simply exchanging conversation; it’s a symbolic interpretation of what different things mean to us as individuals and as a society, and certain words that are used can have the power to change an entire nation’s point of view on a particular subject. Unfortunately, when it comes to the world of addiction recovery, there are a number of words that are used that only perpetuate negative views of others - and, in turn, further promote discrimination of people who’ve battled addiction but who are trying to improve their lives in the best ways possible.

If you haven’t realized this by now, our moods tend to hold some pretty heavy weight when it comes to how we navigate daily life. A good mood versus a bad mood could yield in extremely different experiences - that is, unless, we know how to manage our emotions effectively. Even the most stressed individual could essentially channel positive energy towards the present moment, giving them strength even the most upsetting of situations.  Tiny Buddha, a website that publishes information related to love and relationships, healthy habits, letting go, meaning and passion, and more, recently published an article related to this exact topic; the writer described energy as: “...Anything that evokes a reaction inside you. In other words, anything that makes you tick, ponder, feel or react. Energy comes to us in different forms. The chair you’re sitting on, the music you’re listening to, or the book you just finished reading, all provoke some sort of reaction within you.” Energy can be positive or negative for us, inciting feelings of rage or annoyance all the way to utter joy and gratefulness. A lot of it depends on how we choose to translate the situations and messages being sent to us, and it also depends on how we choose to live our lives. If you’re wanting to harbor more positive energy on a daily basis, consider incorporating more of the following holistic activities that are absolutely wonderful for your mind, body and spirit:

Emotions run deep, yet our society doesn’t always place much emphasis on talking about them. From a young age, we’re told to “suck it up” to “keep our chin up” and to otherwise keep everything tucked away so that everything seems fine. This is rarely the case, however, as we all going through troubles every now and then. In these instances, holding it in can actually be horrible for our health; just last year, Time Magazine explained that emotional stress,  “...like that blocked from emotions, has not only been linked to mental illness, but also to physical problems like heart disease, intestinal problems, headaches, insomnia, and autoimmune disorders.” In other words, there’s much more to holding in emotions than simply not “seeing” them. In order to avoid some of the harsh consequences that this avoidance can have on the mind, body, and spirit, consider using music to open up those emotional pathways. A 2015 study called “Music and Emotion” confirmed that not only does music have the capabilities to evoke intense emotions such as sadness, nostalgia, tension, relaxation, and pure joy, it also influences the production of dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical, in a healthy way.  Of course, it’s important to utilize music in a healthy way, rather than listening to songs that could send you into a spiral of depression or anxiety. A 2017 study published by Frontiers in Psychology found that even being musically inclined can improve a person’s emotional ability - for example, a person who plays a musical instrument or enjoys singing can greater tell the emotions of others through music. In turn, a greater connection can be built - but even those who aren’t musically inclined will find that they’re able to relate to a beat, a musical composition or a message that’s being conveyed through the songs they’re listening to.  The next time you’re feeling down, either play a soothing song to ground you or play a sad song to help you feel the emotions. Just be sure to manage your emotions in a healthy way - and if you find yourself turning destructive, speak with your therapist right away.

Everyone in recovery can benefit from having people in their recovery network to learn and grow from; just as a student may speak with a graduated alumni from a college program to receive tips and tricks for succeeded in school, this connection can foster a healthy, ongoing interaction of support between people. A 2016 study titled, “Implementation of a Substance Use Recovery Support Mobile Phone App in Community Settings” found that alumni of addiction recovery treatment can help build awareness and interest to various components of recovery – and recovery tools, such as through mobile apps, can become more accessible to those beginning their recovery journey when they’ve been given the opportunity to learn from alumni.

Earlier this year, website Happier Human, which posts articles related to happiness, health and overall wellbeing, explained that gratitude is a sense of feeling happy – which stems from appreciation. When we’re feeling more grateful, we’re likely to be in a better mood and to experience more positive emotions: Gilbert K. Chesterton once stated, “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” Gratitude is a powerful force for many in recovery because it’s all about acknowledging the people, places, circumstances, thoughts, emotions, and otherwise series of events that have led us to where we’re at today. When we express gratitude, we send out positivity into the world – and rather than expecting to have received help from someone, or from assuming that we deserve everything that comes our way, we acknowledge all of the life forces that have come together to get us to where we’re currently at in life.

In a sense, we all develop some form of dependency at one point or another; whether we expect it or not, we become entrenched in a relationship, a career, shopping, eating, or a different hobby – and if we’re not careful, we may find ourselves planning our lives around these events in an unhealthy way. We all must rely on things like our relationships or our career, but in healthy ways; it becomes dangerous when our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors transform because of them. The first step to developing a new lifestyle after drug dependency is to remember that it will feel uncomfortable for a little while, and that patience is key. In 2016, The Health Journals stated, “The good news is that the brain can be made to re-adapt to life without addiction. But coming clean can require extraordinary patience and perseverance…as well as support, accountability and medical intervention for the person addicted.” Luckily, there are so many holistic recovery-related activities that a person can fill their time with to help them get readjusted. Volunteering, picking up a new hobby, meditation, yoga, art therapy, attending support groups and spending time with a healthy friend or family member are a few great ways to developing a fresh lifestyle based on sobriety. Secondly, continuously work on building an internal (mind) script of positivity and inspiration. A few years ago, writer Katherine Davis shared her sobriety experience via the Huffington Post; she explained that despite the emotional rollercoaster she went through, she tried to stay focused on what her goals and dreams were. She asked herself, “What steps can you take today to accomplish these?”  Thinking positively and reassuring yourself that you are doing exactly what you need to be doing can serve as a beautiful foundation for a strong recovery. Lastly, understand and accept your mistakes. Part of being human is making mistakes and, as we make them, we grow and become better. Recognize that mistakes are inevitable, but as long as we take it day by day, that’s what matters. If you’re ready to begin your holistic journey, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu today.

Mindfulness is the practice of staying grounded, aware of one’s surroundings and what they are doing, and not feeling overwhelmed or over-reactive about what’s happening in their environment. Mindfulness can help greatly with addiction recovery because it opens mental space for the development of tools to be used in stressful situations and to better work through challenging thoughts and feelings. For example, mindfulness has been used in cognitive-behavioral therapy and has helped individuals with anger, anxiety and circumstances that could increase a person’s risk for relapse.

Addiction is a complex brain disease, and neuroscience can open up many pathways for understanding as we dive further into it. Last year, Medical News Today, a website that publishes information related to various health conditions, explained that neuroscientists “focus on the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive functions, or how people think.” There are a wide range of research interests within neuroscience, such as: mathematics, science, chemistry, philosophy, psychology and medicine. With neuroscience, a number of aspects of nervous system are explored:

Opioid addiction takes the lives of nearly 130 people each and every day within the United States; it’s a serious national crisis that has destroyed families, costed companies nearly $80 billion dollars a year, and has holistically left serious social and economic consequences. In an attempt to combat these harsh effects of the opioid epidemic, researchers have been challenging themselves to find preventative measures; tools and resources to help those in our communities seek help before the addiction becomes more severe, or greater support and outlets once people need treatment.  Earlier this year, Georgia Tech published an article that covered a study conducted by researchers – this study sought to assess 1.44 million comments from Reddit, a popular posting platform, to explore some potential risk factors that give insight into opioid addiction itself. The researchers found 3 particular opioids that were “most commonly used”, including:

The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies states that trauma is: “…Used to describe negative events that are emotionally painful and that overwhelm a person’s ability to cope.” Healing from trauma is incredibly challenging, but it is often the time spent to restore and rejuvenate from these devastating events that make us stronger in the long run. It’s not uncommon for those in addiction recovery to have previously experienced childhood trauma, and these deep-rooted issues may even be what has sparked a long road of substance abuse - in an attempt to ease the painful feelings that came in as the aftermath of these events.