Blog

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) emphasizes that addiction is a complex brain disease – and not one single form of treatment can work for everyone. Even after formal treatment has been completed, aftercare is crucial to ensuring a smooth transtion from treatment to home life. In many cases, aftercare is an emotional yet satisfying period of a person’s recovery, because they’re able to take what they’ve learned in treatment and utilize those strategies in their everyday lives. Whether it’s you or a loved one who has recently completed treatment, it’s important to begin considering what aspects of aftercare are needed for a smooth transition – and what will set you or your loved one up for the most success in long-term sobriety. At Avalon Malibu, support is provided on a complete continuum of care. Aftercare is built into all treatment programs, and clients are easily able to remain integrated in addiction recovery support groups even once formal treatment has ended; in fact, many people find that they’re easily able to adapt to home life while attending these types of programs in the evenings throughout the week. Transitional guidance is provided in a number of areas, such as:

We all have them – the days when it feels like the world is falling apart, like we don’t get anything done, like nobody believes in us and we wish we could simply go back to bed. Bad days are unpredictable, and, if we don’t watch closely, we could find ourselves falling into a “rut” in recovery. There will always be ups and downs, especially as we’re learning to find our balance – but part of healing is discovering healthy techniques and coping mechanisms for when these bad days arise. Writer Joni Edelman, a woman who works on her mental health, shared with the Huffington Post in 2017 her experience with having bad days. She listed some basic questions that she asks herself to promote positive coping skills on these days, such as:

Our lives are entirely complex, filled with thousands of thoughts, feelings, moments and more. All of these impact us not only on a daily basis, but also in the long-run – in the grand scheme of our lives. True health and well-being is based in 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 – because addiction in and of itself can take away from these areas more than we realize.

We all need a strong reason for why we want to improve our lives or make positive changes, and addiction recovery isn’t any different. Everyone’s reason for pursuing a life of sobriety is different – but that reason is incredibly important, because it’s what keeps us motivated. Writer Kendra Sebelius explained for Healthy Place, a website that publishes relevant information related to a variety of health conditions, that motivation is what helps us push through despite the struggles. In every journey, there will be obstacles to overcome – and if we can keep our eye on what matters to us in the long run, we’ll be more likely to achieve our recovery goals

It’s a common experience here within the United States; individuals meet up on the weekend, or after work, and begin drinking until they’re belligerently intoxicated. College students experiment with blackouts at parties, and many highschools have their first drink at the age of 14-15. Our society holds such a heavy stigma on addiction, yet social norms seem to perpetuate alcohol use in an almost positive light. In 2016, writer Layla Bryndzia shared her views on The Odyssey, a website that publishes information related to home, communities and more. She explained, “For most college students, a typical weekend starts with happy hour on Friday, going out later that night, getting completely sloshed, waking up on Saturday with a killer hangover, then doing it all over again the next weekend.” We always read the signs that warn us of drinking and driving, drinking and violence and more – yet why do so many Americans seem to not take this notion seriously? In 2015, Adweek highlighted the fact that alcohol ads have increased by 400% over the years – and while that certainly perpetuates the ease of buying alcohol over drinking a glass of water, it could very well be the fact that Americans are stressed – and they’re looking for ways to numb the pain.  The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) explains that there are a number of stressors that are placing Americans at higher risk for alcohol intoxication; a new job, a death in the family, moving cross-country, breaking up, getting married and more are all incredibly major life events that can bring out nerves and the urge to drink. In addition to this, daily stressors and living with a mental illness can make it hard to manage symptoms – and in these cases, Americans may bypass drinking “responsibly” in favor of drinking to cope.

In 2017, a young woman’s story was published via the U.S. News; at 11 years old, she had her first blackout as she was partying with her cousin. She explained, “I thought it was really insane…it’s like the brain suffers a mechanical failure. The problem with all this is that it’s funny in some ways and horrible in others.  Drinking too much and too fast can cause blackouts, and they’re incredibly common – especially in a culture that supports excessive drinking. If blackouts are occurring frequently in a person’s life, this could be a sign that they’re battling alcoholism – but in many cases, individuals don’t even know this because it’s considered quite a “normal” experience. Healthline, a website that publishes information related to a variety of health conditions, notes that as a person’s blood alcohol level increases, the rate and length of a person’s memory loss will also increase. The ”day after” or the “morning after” are often situations filled with humiliating details, but the after-math effects are serious; along with not remembering what a person is doing while experiencing a blackout, they may also have: impaired vision, impaired judgment, difficulty standing, walking and more. For those who understand the severe impact of alcoholism, recovery is about understanding not only the harmful effects that these behaviors can cause to our body and to those around us, but also understanding the mechanisms for how alcohol directly affects the brain.

Methamphetamine (also known as meth) is an incredibly scary drug to consider if you’re loved one is struggling with an addiction. Approximately 1.2 million people report using meth each year, and while meth use has seen a decrease over the years, it’s still a major topic of concern. One of the most challenging situations we could ever experience is to discover that our sibling, friend, coworker, spouse or other family member has been dabbling in substance abuse – and illict drugs like methamphetamine can bring about terrifying thoughts and fears for our loved one’s safety. If your loved one has decided to seek treatment, it’s important to note that there is still hope for them to recover. It will be a long road – but it’s worth it.

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) gets the brunt end of many jokes, as people tend to throw the term “narcissistic” around way too easily. Individuals who simply appear vain or self-conceited may be considered to have NPD by the general public, by there are specific diagnostic criteria that need to be met in order for a person to genuinely have this disorder. In fact, everyone has narcissism – if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have enough confidence in ourselves to pursue jobs and other opportunities. Even with the bad reputation that often surrounds NPD, the truth is that those with this disorder deserve more support – because just like any other mental illness, people with NPD have underlying concerns that need to be respectfully addressed. Medical News Today recently explained that NPD is a dramatic personality disorder; those who are diagnosed with this tend to have a preoccupation with success and power, as well as an excessive sense of superiority. On the outside looking in, it may seem as though people with NPD have all the self-love in the world – but in reality, there’s often an underlying blanket of insecurity and lack of self-esteem. Earlier this year, writer Katie Heaney shared the story of a man with NPD whom she interviewed via The Cut, a website that publishes information and stories related to style, self, culture and power. The man explained: “People judge narcissists’ actions, and they have no clue whether it’s narcissism or not…people get almost everything wrong about narcissism because they confuse it with psychopathy.” Those with NPD tend to not realize that they’re defending themselves in ways that harm others; in fact, most people with NPD only want to feel genuinely worthy. If you or a loved one are struggling with signs of NPD, speak with a professional from Avalon Malibu today. Holistic care can provide many options for treatment, and with a team of people there for support, recovery is possible.

We’ve heard this term a lot growing up, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what a “gateway drug” is. Throughout our high school years is typically when we talk about this term, but did you know that adults can deal with gateway drugs, too? Cambridge dictionary defines a gateway drug as, “A drug whose use may make it more likely that someone uses other, more dangerous drugs.” Despite the fact that this term is associated mostly with younger populations, the opioid epidemic has shown loads of gateway drug access for individuals moving from prescription medications to drugs like heroin, which is now at an all time high with over 948,000 reporting using it. Cases like these show us that illicit drug use can make its way into a person’s life even a person would never have originally contemplated it. In fact, a government study that assessed substance rates from 2002 to 2012 found that heroin initiation was 19 times higher for those who’d previously reported nonmedical pain reliever use than those who didn’t; how do instances like these arise? Well, it’s due to a few reasons, such as:

Marijuana addiction is often debated because of the belief that marijuana doesn’t cause physical dependency. While researchers are still exploring this topic, it’s been proven that a person can become psychologically dependent on marijuana – yet because it’s not as easily seen, it’s often easy to deny. If you believe your loved one may be struggling with marijuana dependency, consider the following signs:

The American Holistic Health Association (AHHA) explains that holistic health is an approach to life. It emphasizes the connection of the mind, body and spirit – and with this approach, we’re all responsible for maintaining our own levels of wellbeing. Holistic practices in addiction recovery are used to help restore the balance of a person, and they’ve become increasingly popular as Western societies have begun realizing just how much of an impact these practices can have on a person’s wellness. Susan Walter, MBA and current president of AHHA, explained that holistic health is based on several truths:

There is so much pain that we experience throughout our lives, yet many of us aren’t equipped with the right tools to appropriately work through the thoughts and emotions that have dug their way deep inside of us. We spend months, sometimes years, searching for something that will ease the discomfort that we’re feeling; we abuse substances like drugs or alcohol to cover up on the outside what we’re feeling on the inside – and while it seems to work temporarily, the reality is that it’s never a long term solution. 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.