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Recovery requires inspiration. If you are ready to face your addiction and get sober, be inspired by these three important tips and words of encouragement. Don’t Give Up Some days are going to be harder than others. Doubt is going to overshadow hope. A day might fly by or it will crawl. Weathering the storm now will put you in the best place to face more storms in the future without turning to drugs and alcohol. Even when you feel you’ve hit your limit and you’ve got nothing left- don’t give up. You can and you will make it. It’s completely possible. Feel your feelings, experience your experiences. Take it one single day or one single hour at a time. You’re The Only One You Can Do This For People try to get sober to please other people- the wife that won’t stop crying, the parents who cut us off, the friends who don’t want to hang out with us anymore. We get sober for our children, we get sober for our jobs, we get sober for the government and the law. Dedicating our sobriety and doing it in honor of people is one thing, but doing it for other people is another. This journey is about you. Nobody else is doing what you are doing right now. Your recovery is yours. As a result, everyone else in your life will be affected. People rarely make it when it isn’t about them changing their own lives for their own lives sake. Why? The truth It’s Worth It Right now in the depths of your struggles you might not be able to see how. Going through detox, suffering symptoms of withdrawal, dealing with uncomfortable and unfamiliar emotions...it all seems like too much. Looking into the future brings you nothing but anxiety and that’s hard to handle right now. If you could look and see what millions of others around the world are seeing every day, you might paint a different picture for yourself. You don’t have to know how or why, but you have to trust that it simply will be. Your life is about to change in ways you can only begin to predict. You are going to feel better, be happier, and live differently. Every struggle, every trial, and every tribulation is worth it. One day you are going to look back and realize the people who told you that were right all along. Avalon By The Sea of Malibu offers certified treatment for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. We know the road to recovery is hard. You don’t have to do it alone. Start your journey today, with us. For a confidential assessment and more information on our treatment programs, call 1-888-958-7511.

Navigating the holidays for the newly sober is rarely easy. It's rarely easy for those who are not in recovery! Despite the stress commonly associated with big meals, sensitive family discussions and tight schedules, those in recovery might actually be better equipped for the impending triggers. Just remember that with tips like these, those who've sought treatment for addiction or a mental health condition can successfully reconnect with their loved ones and rediscover the spirit of the holidays with enlightenment and understanding.

Transitioning back into everyday life is a challenge after being in the routine, safety, and comfort of treatment. If you are doing a step down process, you will have outpatient or aftercare services where you can continue to check in with a professional staff as well as your recovery peers. Remember that you are capable of handling life on life’s terms. Examine Your Job Some of us left jobs behind to seek treatment and have the opportunity to return to them. Others did not have jobs and are now able to seek out part time or full time employment as a result of recovery. Work is where we end up spending a majority of our time unless we have a special schedule or are retired. It is important for your work environment to be conducive to your mental health. Though the economy is struggling and jobs are hard, you must trust that your mental wellness is more important than this job. If you are experiencing stress, abuse, emotional distress, or not enough opportunities to take breaks and take care of yourself, it might be time to look for another job. You deserve to be in a place where you feel okay. Your job life can have a ripple effect on the rest of your life. Treatment was hard work and you went through a lot to get here. If necessary, move forward from this job, career, or company, to another one. Examine Your Environment After treatment, sometimes home doesn’t feel like home anymore. We might have left behind a path of destruction or many memories of a painful past. Cleaning up the wreckage is part of our recovery, but we also have the right to move forward from our environment to start fresh. Moving forward from your last home life before treatment can take a few different forms. You can: Move entirely Move to a different area of the same town Do a deep cleaning and get rid of triggering things Redecorate Repaint Remodel Small changes can make a big impact in the home. Paint color can change the tone of the house. A new bedset can completely change the mood of the room. Ultimately, the way your house looks does not dictate your emotions. However, it can help you to feel more welcomed, safe, and secure, when you get home each day. Examine Your Feelings Treatment for mental illness has taught you how to identify, communicate, and manage your emotions. A drastic move or career change might not be the best idea. Before making any major decisions, take time to mindfully check in with yourself to see what might be coming up. Avalon By The Sea is Southern California’s premiere mental health treatment facility and one of the only licensed centers for treating psychiatric issues as a primary diagnosis. We offer excellent aftercare and transitional services to our clients to ensure that their transition back into life after treatment is as seamless as possible. For a confidential assessment or more information about our mental health treatment program, call 1-855-464-8409.

Modern treatments for a variety of conditions tend to be more holistic than in the past1. While a physician may be able to prescribe medications to deal with some symptoms of an illness, they will often encourage patients to make changes to their lifestyles to assist in the healing process. Everyone benefits from better general health, and that includes people with mental illness. Various forms of art therapy, including writing, can deliver many benefits.

In recent decades, the treatment of most patients with mental disorders has generally switched from institutionalized care to outpatient care. Getting the family involved has been shown to lead to better outcomes. Unfortunately, there is still some resistance among mental health professionals to just how involved families can become. A big part of the problem is that most doctors believe that patient confidentiality must be protected, even when preserving confidentiality may mean that patients are missing out on support and help that could be of great benefit to them1. Because of the nature of many mental illnesses, patients may not be able to grasp the benefits of waiving confidentiality and getting families involved.

Art is a relaxing and inspiring activity for many people; however, the benefits of artistic expression can extend much further. Art therapy has shown to be a valuable complement to medication and talk therapy for many forms of mental illness, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the practice of art therapy and discuss its benefits for people struggling with mental illness.

The art of massage has a long history as a therapeutic practice and has been used since ancient times to relieve sore muscles, loosen stiff connective tissue, ease away stress or simply to aid relaxation.

Anxiety and depression affect more than forty million adults age 18 and over, making them two of the most common mental health concerns in the United States. Since these illnesses involve a complex set of emotional and functional challenges, they require a holistic treatment for anxiety that addresses more than symptoms.

At first consideration, the concepts of “acceptance” and “change” seem diametrically opposed. Acceptance implies that something is suitable or satisfactory, whereas the need for change indicates that something is inadequate or lacking in some way. Yet these two opposite components form the core of dialectical behavior therapy.

Neurofeedback therapy is a biofeedback technique that focuses on helping a person learn to directly affect their own brain function. The approach is a reputable and scientifically proven technique practiced by specially trained psychotherapists. Drawing on the growing knowledge from the field of neuroscience, doctors are trying to reach beyond the symptoms of mental illness to address the circuits that cause them.

We’ve all heard the saying, “you are what you eat,” and it’s no mystery that proper nutrition is an essential building block for healthy living. When it comes to nutritious eating, not all foods are created equal. Some foods contain such an abundance of beneficial nutrients that scientists have dubbed them “superfoods.” These powerhouse foods are not only helping make people healthier, but they are being used to help people overcome addictions and to repair the damage done to their bodies by the abused substances.

Bipolar disorder has become something of a mental health buzzword, and the disorder is even sometimes associated with creativity and charisma. This may be due, at least in part, to the number of celebrities and artists who have been publicly open about their own struggles with the condition. When it comes to multiple personality disorder, however, there still seems to be a cloud of ignorance and confusion. This highlights the need for further education and dialog about both disorders to help improve public awareness, understanding and compassion.