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Willie Nelson once said, “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” There’s no question that mental health recovery can be a scary journey – after all, it involves change, growth, and transformation – all of which most of us are nearly terrified of. However, our perception is what guides us through life, and having a positive perception of your recovery can give you the motivation that you need to succeed. When it comes to mental health, a reputable treatment program can provide you with essential tools to help you better manage your symptoms. While you’re working hard in your program by attending individual and group therapy sessions and activities, you want to ensure you’re taking major strides on your own as well. Positive psychology is a great foundation to motivate, inspire, and uplift your spirits during this time of change. As explained by a 2014 study published in the Eastern Asian Archives of Psychiatry, positive psychology is an umbrella term used to describe positive emotions and aspects of being such as creativity, optimism, resiliency, empathy, compassion, humor, life satisfaction, and more. How can you incorporate positive psychology into your recovery? The following are a few excellent exercises:

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is often characterized by a sense of grandiosity, lack of empathy, and a need for admiration. It is estimated that nearly 1 in 16 Americans has NPD at some point in their lives, leading many people to believe that their opinions and interests should taken precedence over others’. Those with NPD may have a tough time forming close relationships because of their exaggerated sense of self-importance. As noted in a review of NPD published by EBSCO Information Services, there are two subtypes of NPD: overt and covert. Those with overt NPD display entitlement, denial of weakness and exploitive behavior, whereas those with covert NPD display hypersensitivity to insult, feelings of shame, helplessness or inadequacy, and social withdrawal. There is no known cure for NPD, but it is possible for those with the disorder to seek treatment and develop tools to better relate to others in a more positive way. Treatment may include medication, but should first and foremost involve psychotherapy, also known as “talk therapy”. It may take quite some time for those with NPD to find breakthrough in therapy because it is focused more on their personality traits, but those who are willing to learn more about their disorder and how they come to view themselves and the world, as well as how these perceptions dominate their behaviors are likely to see improvement. The following are likely going to be some key focal points of therapy:

There are several types of bipolar disorder (BPD), but symptoms most often involve extreme mood swings, with manic and/or depressive phases. Both may last weeks or months, with manic phases including symptoms of high energy, racing thoughts, reduced need for sleep, impulsive actions and loss of touch with reality – some describe this as feeling like a “god” or “on top of the world”. Depressive phases typically consist of feeling sad or hopeless, significant weight loss, feelings of worthlessness, insomnia or getting too much sleep, decreased ability to think or concentrate, and more. According to a 2013 study published in Current Psychiatry Reports, an estimate of up to 45% people with BPD also have an alcohol use disorder (AUD). A 2015 study titled “Bipolar Disorder Comorbid with Alcohol Use Disorder: Focus on Neurocognitive Correlates” denotes that both BPD and addictions such as alcoholism share common mechanisms: high impulsivity, executive dysfunction, increased likelihood of sensitivity to stressors, and more. There are several reasons why an alcohol disorder may take place alongside BPD:

As stated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), marijuana use can lead to the development of marijuana use disorder; research estimates that 30% of people who use marijuana have some degree of this disorder. Furthermore, individuals who use marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop marijuana use disorder when they get older. As such, marijuana use disorder is classified as a dependency to marijuana; although many people believe a person cannot become dependent or addicted to the drug, it is possible. A 2014 study conducted by researchers from Harvard University Medical School found that marijuana abusers show lower positive and higher negative emotionality scores along with greater stress and irritability, which is related to the fact that more marijuana use can lower a person’s sensitivity to rewards that would typically cause pleasure. When marijuana is consumed, an influx of “feel good” chemicals in the brain, otherwise known as dopamine, are released. The brain becomes used to this influx so when it is taken away because the person is no longer using the drug, the brain experiences less pleasure – giving an individual more negative emotion reactivity. These physiological reactions are like other addictions, as the brain becomes used to an increase in dopamine production from the drug itself.

They both sound similar – codependency and dependent personality disorder (DPD) – but are they the same? What level of dependency constitutes as having a mental disorder versus an unhealthy view of relationships? Whether you’ve recently been diagnosed or are concerned about a loved one, there are some distinct differences between the two. Both can be very distressing and there are ways to treat each – but DPD is classified as a mental disorder whereas codependency is not. The following is a brief breakdown of what each means:

Individualized treatment has become more widespread than ever before, as researchers have found that each person’s unique history, experiences, and background contribute to their needs in recovery. Whether you’re attending treatment for a mental illness or addiction, your family dynamic can provide a lot of information to your healthcare team. When a therapist asks you questions regarding your family, this gives them insight into how you were raised and what problems you may have endured when you were younger. Most of us carry the weight of these issues far into adulthood, affecting our mental health and potentially factoring in as a cause of our substance abuse. Family systems theory was coined by American psychiatrist Dr. Murray Bowen and is based on the idea that a person is always connected to their relationships; they cannot be looked at individually without exploring the dynamic of their relationships and how they fit into a larger, complex system that serves as an emotional unit. According to Dr. Bowen, changes of behavior in one family member are likely to have an influence on everyone else in the family. The theory further suggests that as boundaries of a family system tend to change, roles within the family must change to maintain the family’s stability. If a family refuses to change their pattern of behavior, dysfunction may occur. Family doesn’t always mean “mother” or “father” – family is often made up of traditional families such as couples, single parents, adoptive families, foster relationships, grandparents raising children and stepfamilies, extended families such as grandparents, uncles, cousins, etc., and elected families such as godparents, friends, etc. The way in which you relate and communicate with these various systems says a lot about you and how you experience life. From this, a treatment center can explore what your needs are and what type of treatment would be best for you. Family systems are a major informant of what you need for treatment, but this is not the only factor. Your mental health and substance use history, genetics, biology, abuse history, personality, behavioral patterns and more can provide a lot of information as well.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the United States spends a total of $740 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity, and healthcare for all kinds of substance abuse. The opioid epidemic has sparked a national debate on prescription abuse; the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have outlined the dangers of prescription medication overdose and how the U.S has seen a major increase of morbidity rates related to prescription abuse. If you’ve been prescribed medication, it’s important to follow the directions exactly as they say; taking more than or for longer than recommended by your doctor could yield dangerous health consequences. The National Safety Council reports 60 people as dying from opioid prescriptions each day, equating to approximately 22,000 people each year. Furthermore, 70% of people who abuse prescriptions have reported obtaining them from friends or relatives – making you a key source for those close to you to abuse medication. Prescription drugs are becoming abused more than any other drug – what is fueling this epidemic? A variety of misconceptions have led more and more people to abuse prescription drugs, including beliefs that:

Goal-setting has been used in a variety of instances as an effective way of monitoring progress. People with mental illness often have trouble meeting their goals, as serious mental illnesses can involve symptoms that can be challenging to overcome. With the right treatment program, a person can develop tools to help them better manage their symptoms while strengthening their grasp on recovery. Personal goal-setting is an excellent way to identify specific milestones that you want to surpass. A 2017 study published in the journal Issues in Mental Health Nursing involved the assessment of 27 individuals who were invited to set goals they wish to have achieved by the end of a week-long Recovery Camp dedicated to those with serious mental illness. The researchers identified four collective goal-setting themes from participants: Connectedness – many people in recovery soon discover that they are not alone. Goals for recovery may involve reaching out to others for support, speaking with someone from group therapy or a group activity, or participating and interacting in more recovery-related activities. Developing Healthy Habits – this could include eating more nutritiously, practicing better self-care, thinking more positively, treating oneself with more kindness on bad days, getting better sleep, exercising more, etc. Challenging Oneself – in order to boost your progress in recovery, you could set goals to challenge yourself; examples of this may include partaking in an activity or doing something that’s good for you that you wouldn’t have tried before, practicing forgiveness of yourself and/or others, being assertive and telling others the truth even if it’s challenging, and more. Recovery – goals that are recovery-based may involve meeting with a therapist once a week and reviewing progress, making the decision to speak up more in group therapy, practicing the tools you’ve learned in therapy once a day, etc. Goals can serve as excellent reminders of how far you’ve come, where you’re at, and where you’d like to be in the future. You can track your goals by taking notes, writing them down on a calendar, keeping a diary, creating a progress chart, planning out the steps, selecting a timeframe, and more. Share your thoughts with your therapist so that you have another person to help keep you accountable.

Approximately 1.5 million people are diagnosed with schizophrenia each year; schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder experienced with symptoms of hallucinations, delusions, difficulty with thinking and concentration, lack of motivation, and more. Onset of this disorder can be hard to tell, but signs often including a sudden change of friends, a drop-in school grades, sleeping problems, and irritability. There is much stigma that surrounds mental illness, but unfortunately those with schizophrenia receive much stereotyping due to media and societal misunderstanding. As a 2015 study published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology confirmed, realistic opinions regarding schizophrenia and other mental disorders is associated with lower prejudicial attitudes and social rejection.

For some, alcohol doesn’t cause much more than a hangover. For others, however, alcohol can become very dangerous – both in terms of addiction and in health. If you have a health condition such as diabetes, alcohol can affect your blood sugar, placing you at a health risk. Educating yourself on how alcohol affects the body is a wonderful way to take preventative measures towards your safety. Alcohol is considered a depressant – a sedative-hypnotic drug – that depresses the central nervous system. Alcohol can interfere with hormones in the body needed to maintain blood sugar levels. A person with diabetes experiences either low blood sugar levels already or reduced capacity to produce insulin, and excessive drinking of alcohol can either lead to dangerously low blood sugar or reduce the overall effectiveness of insulin that is produced. Alcohol can affect a person’s diabetes because the liver must work to remove alcohol from the blood rather than towards managing blood sugar levels – if you have diabetes, always speak with a doctor before consuming alcohol. Why would someone with diabetes or a related condition be of concern? One challenge that many with health conditions such as diabetes face is self-control. A study conducted by a researcher from Florida State University found that when glucose is low (ex. insulin is low or insensitive), a person may fail to exert more self-control over their emotions, stress responses, impulsive decisions, criminal and aggressive behavior, attention, and cessation of smoking. Conversely, alcohol reduces glucose throughout the body, impairing many similar forms of self-control. As you can see, alcohol does not mix well with health conditions such as diabetes.

John Forsyth and George Eifert described in the book titled, “The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” the true essence of fear experienced with phobias and anxiety alike. They stated, “More deeply you may know, with absolute certainty, that anxiety has brought ruin to you and your life. You may feel frustrated and exhausted. You may feel broken, damaged, and at your wit’s end. You may think something is wrong with you. And you are looking for a way out.” Perhaps this is how you’re feeling right now. If you have a phobia, you likely know that you have an irrational fear towards something – whether it be social situations, trains, spiders, or something else, but you can’t help but to make each decision in effort to avoid facing whatever it is you’re fearing. This impending fear takes over your thoughts, decisions, interactions, and at times, your physiological responses – feeling as though your mind and body have quite literally been “hi-jacked”. You’re not alone; an estimated 19.2 million Americans have a specific phobia, with many having several phobias. A 2015 study titled, “Spider or No Spider? Neural Correlates of Sustained and Phasic Fear in Spider Phobia” confirmed that in phobic patients, significantly higher amygdala activation was present when presented with an image of their phobic fear; the amygdala is an almond-shaped structure in the middle of the brain’s temporal lobes that controls automatic responses to fear, arousal, and emotional stimulation. While exposure therapy has proven successful for many people, those that do not find success may be using mental safety precautions – such as dissociation - to protect themselves, not allowing the exposure to disconfirm any pre-existing negative beliefs they had. If you experience this, speak with your treatment center to make subtle changes to your treatment regime. Most often, treatment involves a variety of techniques to determine what works best for you – medication, psychotherapy, group therapy, and other complementary forms of treatment may be used to help you overcome the fears that have been holding you back. Your phobia does not define you, and it does not have to take control over your life. Make the decision to seek the help you need today.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder that involves excessive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions). OCD affects nearly 3.3 million people in the United States; if untreated, it can cause much distress in various aspects of life. If you’ve been diagnosed with OCD, you may have obsessions related to contamination, loss of control, religious or moral concerns, fear of losing things you may need, order and symmetry, and more. Many people seek treatment for OCD and find that while there is no cure, treatment can drastically reduce distressing symptoms and may help a person better manage their life, living happier and healthier.