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One of the key characteristics of narcissism is not taking responsibility for him or herself. Usually demonstrated through an inflated ego, the way someone with narcissism goes about this can differ. They might make a mistake and simply refuse to accept responsibility for it. When told they have done something wrong, they might chronically blame other people, almost like an immature child. In more subtle ways, they will convince others that the fault really does belong elsewhere. Being the loved one in a relationship with someone living with narcissistic personality disorder can mean losing sight of what responsibility truly belongs to you or not. Psych Central highlights a few examples. Here, we explain the reality of each unrealistic responsibility.

Learning to live with mental health disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder really does mean learning to live with the mental health disorder. ADHD requires a specific way of living which helps manage energy, create organization, and still manage some relaxation. ADHD Needs To Be Organized Getting everything settled in an organized way is important in order to have a clear mind with ADHD. Organization and being settled go back in forth. In order to be settled, someone with ADHD needs to be organized. However, in order to get organized, often someone with ADHD needs to be settled. Creating to do list, using color codes for organizations, and prioritizing activities is helpful in both organization and creating a feeling of being settled, which helps clear an ADHD mind. ADHD Needs To Do Its Own Thing Everyone handles their ADHD in their own way. Those who have ADHD handle themselves differently than other people. ADHD comes with an abundant amount of energy which can’t easily be stopped. Exercising, running, dancing, and any other kind of physical movement can actually lead to the relaxation and focus ADHD needs. For others, constantly moving and doing something might not equate to relaxation. However you manage ADHD, just do it! You know what you need to work with ADHD and create relaxation for yourself, as well as organization and clarity of mind. ADHD Needs Extra Time Most schools offer accommodation for students with ADHD by offering them private testing environments with an extended amount of time to finish the test. Often, those with ADHD need just a little more time to get things done. When you’re planning your day, make room for extra time and plan on getting distracted. You’re learning to live with ADHD and work with it not against it. Distractions happen, accidents happen, mistakes happen. Forgetfulness is common with ADHD because the mind is moving so fast. ADHD Needs Patience Remember that you’re dealing with ADHD- erratic, unpredictable, and spontaneous. Some days will be easier than others! Have patience for yourself, especially when others around you seem to lost track of their patience for you. Use the tools above and each day will be a productive success. ADHD is one of the most commonly co-occurring mental health disorders with addiction and alcoholism. Often, it has gone undiagnosed and has become unmanageable. Avalon By The Sea excels in dual diagnosis treatment, providing quality residential care for mental health and substance use disorders. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.

“Make up is self-confidence applied directly to your face,” one internet meme reads. Famous talk show host, tv show host, and supermodel Tyra Banks once said, “I love the confidence that makeup gives me.” Makeup mogul Bobbi Brown once said that he believes “all women are pretty without makeup and can be pretty powerful with the right makeup.” Many argue that makeup isn’t authentic. Many others argue that makeup can help someone be on the outside who they authentically feel they are on the inside, especially when they can’t show it on their own. Makeup can be a unique tool during recovery from a number of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and even substance use disorder. Feeling confident, looking a certain way, doesn’t mask authenticity but rather empowers someone in recovery to embody their authentic selves. Teen Vogue reports that there is a science behind putting your best face forward when you are feeling less than “pretty” inside and out. Mental health disorders like depression and anxiety include the obnoxious symptom of ruminating thoughts, getting caught in analysis, having anxious thoughts, feelings of pessimism or hopelessness, and more. Called “pitfall patterns”, according to the article, these thought processes “are linked to neurological processes in the brain that have been associated with depression and anxiety, and certain actions-- even those as seemingly simple as a skincare or makeup routine-- can help to uproot them.” Beauty routines like applying makeup during the day “can bestow some pretty powerful cognitive benefits on the brain,” the article writes. The act of putting on makeup, or engaging in any other beauty routine, interrupts the neurological process of negativity with something both positive, productive, and pleasurable. As a result, the process can’t continue and the negativity is stopped in its track. Beauty routines help the brain learn new ways to cope and makes new associations with pleasure. When depression and anxiety, or any other mental health disorder, is co-occurring with substance abuse, this can be an especially helpful tool. “Beauty has the potential to be so much more than just a hobby or a part of daily appearance management,” the article elaborates, “it’s a ritualized form of self-care, a much-needed avenue of routine and control, a means of creating the identity they wish to project, and a space for mindfulness and reflection.” Treating anxiety and depression as primary diagnosis or co-occurring with substance use disorders needs to be approached holistically. The residential treatment programs at Avalon By The Sea are designed to heal mind, body, and spirit. From our serene estate on the iconic coast of Malibu, California, we provide life changing and life healing treatment. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

The word grateful is an adjective. According to definition, it is a “feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful.” Gratefulness, or gratitude, is about thankfulness. It’s a feeling as well as an action. Being grateful is more than saying thank you or showing appreciation. It’s a feeling that you embody and embrace, incorporating it as part of your lifestyle. For recovery, gratitude is an essential practice, as well as feeling. Without gratitude, there is a lack in appreciation for recovery. Recovery isn’t always easy! Staying sober, not relying on old behaviors, staying away from destructive patterns, takes a lot of work. On some days the work is easy. Other days can be quite the challenge. Gratitude is easier to practice when things are good. We can be appreciative and thankful for what feels good and easy. We can feel less defensive or aggressive toward what doesn't cause us stress or challenge us in any way. Unfortunately, life isn’t always easy. Recovery is about learning to “live life on life’s terms” which means accepting that there are good days and bad days. Gratitude can be the bridge which walks us over troubled waters when the storms are raging. Even on the bad days, we can be grateful for a number of things in life. All we have to do is practice gratitude to find it. Here are a few ways how:

Borderline personality disorder is difficult to understand for those who live with it and those who are in relationships with people who have it. It seems there is no identifying the source of the relentless emotional pain which comes with borderline. Psychology Today reports on new research which has identified some of the sources of the emotional pain those with borderline experience on a daily basis.

Your time in treatment is all about you. Part of working on you involves making friends and creating connection with those around you.

Bipolar disorder can become an unruly part of life when it goes untreated. After a loved one finally enters treatment for bipolar disorder, you can start to take care of yourself while continuing to take care of them in a new way.

Mind, body, and spirit- this is the most simple definition of what approaching something from a holistic standpoint means. The holistic approach is being used to treat all areas of mental health, from addiction and alcoholism (substance use disorders) to depression and anxiety (mood disorders) to bipolar and borderline (personality disorders). Any kind of mental health disorder, it has been discovered, doesn’t only affect mental health. Instead, most treatment providers have discovered that mental health issues affect both physical health and spiritual health as well. Holistic treatment means creating an integrative plan for each client which assesses all three areas of mind, body, and spirit. Their mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, and spiritual well being have to be treated at the same time in order to ensure a greater chance at lifelong recovery. Isolating just one area of treatment negates the other areas of treatment. For mental health issues, there can not be any room for neglect. When someone makes the decision to call for help and enter treatment for a significant amount of time in their life, they need to heal. Most often, people who enter treatment are not well, perhaps more in one area than another. Still, in order to fully recover, they have to heal holistically.

Living with anxiety disorder in a peaceful and manageable way is possible with treatment and a commitment to recovery. If you’re living with anxiety, you might identify with some of these common struggles.

If there is any one factor which contributes to the continuation of heroin and opioid addiction, it might be the withdrawals. Symptoms of withdrawals for heroin and opioid addiction are some of the most severe. Body aches to the extreme, flu like symptoms beyond normal, restless legs, and an incessant craving for drugs leave addicts trying to recover so weak and vulnerable, they often return to using drugs. Despite the inherent consequences of using opioids once again- like having to go through withdrawal once again- the relief of opioids is preferable to the symptoms of withdrawal. Anything, most addicts feel, to make the pain and cravings stop. Making detox from heroin and opioids easier is a primary focus of many researchers and treatment providers. If they can reduce the severity of detox symptoms, they might have a better chance of keeping more addicts seeking recovery in recovery. For many years now turning to alternative therapy types like yoga, massage, and acupuncture, have become relied upon practices for reducing pain and increasing wellness during detox. Acupuncture is an ancient treatment method used in eastern traditions. Unlike western medicine, eastern medicine is preventative. Most western medicine seeks to treat the problem once the problem is already present. Acupuncture helps to treat the immediate symptoms of withdrawal while simultaneously equipping the body. Reducing the severity of symptoms helps the body prepare to fight future symptoms with a greater sense of strength as well as ease. Acupuncture works by using acupressure points which correlate to different channels for energy, targeting emotional experiences as well as functions of specific organs. In the philosophy of acupuncture, and most eastern medicine, everything is connected. An unexpressed emotion leads to stagnant energy which can cause dysfunction in an organ. Needless to say, the mind, body, and spirit of a heroin and/or opioid addict is dysfunctional. Acupuncture helps clear old energy, heal the body, purify the mind, and replenish the spirit. Acupuncture In And Out Of Treatment Finding an acupuncturist outside of treatment requires a few simple steps. First, call your insurance to see if preventative treatments like acupuncture are covered. You can find an acupuncture provider within your network. If not, search for acupuncturists in your area. You might be able to find an acupuncturist who specifically works with addiction. If not, call a few acupuncturists and explain your situation. They might be able to come do a treatment in your home if you have chosen to do home detox. Detox is most safely done in a supervised, clinical setting. If you or a loved one have become addicted to heroin and are in need of treatment, Avalon By The Sea is here to help. Our beautiful estate is home to our addiction treatment center, surrounded by the serene coastline of Malibu, California. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

Group therapy is an effective yet controversial part of the treatment process. Often ridiculed for being ineffective, many debate whether going to ‘rehab’ for a drug addiction or mental illness needs to include so much group therapy. Everyone recovers differently, which is why many treatment plans today are highly individualized to meet the specific needs of each client. Group therapy is a way to engage with other clients, support one another on a social level, and benefit from participating in different therapy types. Traditional methods of individual therapy are effective as well, which is why they are included multiple times a week in a treatment plan. Most individual therapists in treatment centers utilize cognitive behavioral therapy which is one of the most widely used and evidence based treatment types for mental health rehabilitation. However, there are issues with regarding cognitive behavioral therapy as the gold standard of addiction and mental health treatment. Cognitive functions and the cognition are a part of the brain can become severely damaged through substance abuse and the untreated side effects of mental illnesses. When the cognition is impaired, called cognitive deficits, grasping the process and many broad messages of cognitive behavioral therapy can be difficult. Too many clients in the early part of their recovery process find themselves in this state and as a result struggle to feel as though they are “getting it”. Consequently, the cognitive behavioral therapy is not as effective. Medical Daily reports on a new study which found that mindfulness based group therapy was found to be as effective if not potentially more so than traditional individual therapy using the CBT method. Patients studied for the research were struggling with either anxiety disorders, depression, or other stress-related disorders. Addiction and alcoholism are frequently co-occurring with any of these disorders. “The researchers evaluated how the patient's’ symptoms changed over the course of the study, either with mindfulness group therapy or CBT. The results revealed both groups’ scores on the various questionnaires decreased significantly.” Conclusively, the researchers emphasize mindfulness as a “viable treatment” for mental health. Mindfulness based therapy treatments are essential for providing the holistic treatment needed to fully recover from addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. Avalon By The Sea offers residential care for primary substance use and primary mental health disorders. For information on our residential treatment programs, call 1 888-958-7511.

What does a surgeon do when a patient presents their addiction history and there’s no effective alternative treatments available? Such is the conflict coming upon many surgeons today in the face of the opioid epidemic. Addicts in recovery learn how to live life on life’s terms. Sometimes that can include a traumatic injury, experiencing physical pain, or having to undergo serious surgery. Opioids are part of anesthesiology, they’re prescribed before and after surgery, and they’re taken home as a prescription to treat pain. When taken as prescribed, only as long as the pain exists, it isn’t considered a relapse for a recovering opioid addict. Unfortunately, chemical dependency is chemical dependency. Once a chemical is reintroduced there is a high risk for relapse, especially if someone is in the early stages of addiction and recovery. NPR wrote on the subject. Doctors feel that when they come into this situation, they should have an addiction specialist ready. “If a surgeon or anesthesiologist were treating a patient with serious diabetes, they’d consult an endocrinologist. Addiction...is no different.” Citing Dr. Stuart Gitlow, past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the article emphasizes an important point. Doctors can’t control what their patients are going to do with their opioid prescriptions, or what they will do after the prescription is done. What doctors can do is work with patients, and an addiction specialist, to create a plan of action for safety and recovery. “The biggest question is what to do to ensure this patient’s safety going forward during the period for which he’s experiencing pain…” Problematically, “...there aren’t enough addiction specialists to meet the need,” the article explains. 2.5 million Americans are estimated to be addicted to either heroin or prescription opioids. To work with those 2.5 million people, there are only 5,000 addiction specialists available. Most addiction specialists work in treatment and therapeutic settings, not hospitals. Hospitals are often criticized for not being the place to treat addiction, yet emergency rooms are criticized for not doing enough to treat addiction. For those in recovery anticipating living with an opioid addiction, there is a simple philosophy which resonates throughout sobriety: don’t pick up no matter what. However, when opioids are introduced to the blood stream it’s easier said than done. Work with your sponsor and your immediate treatment team or support network to develop a plan of action for staying accountable while taking opioid drugs. Attend meetings, even if they’re online or on the phone. Let someone help you manage your medications. Stay honest about any cravings you are experiencing. Continue communicating about everything. Avalon By The Sea is dedicated to helping clients learn how to live life in a healthy and sober way. Incorporating life skills into clinical recovery in addition to holistic healing. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.