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For many people in addiction recovery, true growth and understanding take place when they’re able to look within themselves. Deep inward reflection like this creates self-awareness, which in turn provides insight into thoughts and emotions. If you’re ready to see some incredibly positive changes in your recovery, it’s time to sit down and look within.

Watching a loved one battle with addiction is painful, and often baffling. Seeing someone continue to drink and/or use in the face of losing everything worth living for creates confusion and frustration, especially among those who have never experienced addiction personally. If you are struggling with the fear of losing someone you love to addiction, you’re not alone. While the addict may think they are only hurting themselves, the reality is that their addiction impacts everyone who cares about them.  Pain from seeing you’re loved one in active addiction may lead you to wonder if you could have stopped it somehow, or if you can fix it now. Maybe you don’t understand how it could have gotten to this point, and you’re wondering if it will ever get better. Feelings like these are normal. Therapy coupled with support from others who have gone through similar experiences often provides the insight necessary to navigate these emotions healthily. Seeking out your support system and educating yourself on the disease of addiction is the best way to understand and help your addicted loved one.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is experienced by several million people across the United States. Studies report that most people diagnosed with BPD are women, which makes this a vital population of interest in terms of support and treatment. People with BPD often experience varying mood swings, unstable self-image, feelings of worthlessness and insecurity, impaired social relationships, and more. Symptoms of BPD tend to occur early on in life, such as through adolescence and early adulthood, and can greatly impact daily life.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects millions of people around the world. Individuals struggling with OCD typically have a very difficult time pushing certain obsessive thoughts out of mind. Consequently, this leads to compulsive behaviors in an attempt to relieve the stress caused by the obsessions. Unfortunately, compulsions such as cleaning, hoarding, repeatedly checking, counting, and other repetitive behaviors can become incredibly distressing as they get in the way of daily life.

Recent studies have shown that millions of Americans have used cocaine. Due to the high number of users, there have also been thousands of overdoses and emergency room visits. Consequently, treatment for cocaine addiction has become a major topic of discussion. Having the necessary help readily available can greatly reduce the progression of addiction. Furthermore, seeking out treatment becomes easier when recovery resources and options are clear. Therefore, increasing education around these options is imperative.  Cocaine dependency can be treated using a combination of resources. Some of these include medication, therapy, support groups and more. While addiction often follows similar patterns, the people suffering from addiction are all unique, requiring treatment programs that are tailored to their specific needs. Finding the right combination of treatment modalities for you’re individual circumstances is crucial. You can make the most of your recovery experience by taking the time to experiment with the options available to you.

Narcissism doesn’t have the best reputation. When people talk about this term, they tend to associate it with the idea of someone being completely self-absorbed or self-focused, displaying little regard for others. While one form of narcissism may present this way, people often don’t realize that there’s an entire spectrum related to narcissistic behavior. For example, there are healthy levels of narcissism. Believe it or not, we all have narcissistic tendencies. It’s these tendencies that compel us to dress nicely around others or to put our best foot forward when meeting other people. Those who have severely high levels of narcissism can classify as having a narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) – but even in these cases, recovery is possible.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and avoidant personality disorder (APD) both share a number of similar symptoms, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis. Both disorders involve intense fear of criticism and rejection, with a high level of emotional distress that can affect daily life. Therefore, emotional intensity is a major concern among those with either disorder. If loved ones can better understand both of these disorders, it will be much easier to support friends, coworkers and family members who have received either diagnosis.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is one of the most well-known self-help groups out there. People from all different backgrounds come together at these meetings to share their addiction stories, seek support from their fellows, and learn how to progress in their sobriety.  Other self-help groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and even non-12 step programs, such as SMART Recovery and Women for Sobriety, offer wonderful support to people who are in similar circumstances seeking additional help. Self-help groups provide support similar to that found in more formal treatment programs. However, experience has shown that recovery benefits from a combination of both.

When two disorders occur at the same time, it’s referred to as comorbidity, dual diagnosis, or co-occurring disorders. Each person’s experience with this is different and, because of this, it can be hard to tell which disorder actually came first. In some cases, one can lead to the development of the other, while in other cases, one disorder can make symptoms of the other one worse. It becomes tricky to safely manage both at the same time, which is why having a healthcare team at Avalon Malibu could be the best option for recovery. Studies suggest that it’s not all that uncommon for a person to experience both a mental disorder, such as depression, and an addiction, such as alcoholism or drug addiction, at the same time. In fact, people with mental health disorders are actually more likely to abuse substances. So, if you are experiencing co-occurring disorders, the sooner you seek help, the better.

Millions of people in the United States are diagnosed with schizophrenia. Consequently, schizophrenia is considered to be one of the leading causes of disability in our nation today. Common symptoms of this mental illness include delusions, hallucinations, and unorganized speech and behavior patterns. Additionally, feelings like disassociation and/or detachment from oneself, general discontentment, anger, and anxiety are reported by individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Media coverage depicts schizophrenia in a negative light, generating fear around the illness due to a lack of education and understanding among the general public. Here are some facts about Schizophrenia, in hopes of dispelling some of the confusion and stigma associated with the disorder.

Note: If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Your life matters. Each year, millions of people across the world die by suicide, and it’s tragic. While many people don’t realize it, what we see on the T.V. screen and how suicide is depicted in the movies plays a major role in how we view this issue and how it’s talked about in our society. Quite a few shows and movies have received negative attention over the years due to the seeming glamorization of suicide. Preventative measures were not shown in the media until people started speaking up against it.

Unfortunately, education on mental illness is greatly lacking in today’s society. As a result, the issue doesn’t receive enough support. Scenes of people acting out or breaking the law due to mental illness often perpetuate stigmas. People who don’t know someone personally with a mental illness may find it hard to empathize with someone who has a mental illness because they simply don’t understand or can’t relate. Bipolar disorder is one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses. By learning about what many people with bipolar disorder experience, we can help others understand what it really means to have this disorder and how it can affect daily life.