Mental Health Archives - Page 12 of 15

Self-Love is the Solution

Written by enlightened solutions on November 8, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Self-love is the solution true happiness. There are many ways one can express themselves through self-love. Self-love is expressed in a variety of ways that each have their own special impact on how life can be interpreted. The act of being mindful of one’s surroundings places an appreciation for what is really going on around with the body and soul. Addicts struggle with this while in the disease and that’s a realization discovered once all substances exit the body. Listening to the body is will encourage the addict to take proper care of its vital needs. This includes nourishing the body with essential nutrients. Getting enough exercise keeps the body moving throughout the years. Stimulating the mind by activities such reading will keep it functioning like a well-oiled machine.

The concept of self-love is both selfish and selfless. Genuinely caring about other’s needs and having compassion, is regarded to be a factor of staying sane. It is not ideal to be selfish in a way that is narcissistic. For example, being of service will actually help with self-esteem. On the inside, an average person’s heart will feel full. While in the disease of addiction, the addict has let his/her mind take over control. The mind’s powerful voice disregards others, for its own selfish needs. This turns out to be miserable because the addict’s mind can never reach satisfaction. In our world today having compassion for others serves the addict in a ways that keeps sobriety intact. Therefore, learning about how to help out the surrounding community is an act of self-love in itself.

Projecting negative thoughts onto oneself is never a good idea. Addicts in the disease have the tendency to have depressing thoughts while lacking hope for the future. After the addict has safely quit drinking or using, there must be some kind of change in thought pattern. Degrading or putting oneself down, can lead to a sad, lonely life. God did not put us on earth to fail. Addicts should take sobriety and run with it in all directions. The addict should begin to say nice words about themselves such as affirmations or prayers. Manifesting wonderful futures as well as praying for the good of others is self-love that most find it hard to see while in and out of the disease. It’s okay to start small with a gratitude list, some volunteer work, or starting to rid the body of all toxins. Self-love is crucial to living life to the fullest, All recovering addicts must embrace this sooner than later. Share the love!

Enlightened Solutions encourages patients to practice self-love in all areas of life. Our wellness and nutrition groups enhance patient’s life skills in always staying in the solution. Call 833-801-5483 today for information on our partial care programs in New Jersey.

Trauma Blocks the Flow of the Present

Written by enlightened solutions on November 7, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Trauma is an effect of an experience that overwhelms an individual’s emotional system from processing and releasing the experience itself. Beyond this, in the healing community there is a vast range of definitions for both trauma itself and what substantiates formal diagnosis of lasting trauma. The trauma-informed approach is to base this diagnosis on the subjective definitions of the person experiencing trauma.

Lasting trauma is commonly thought to be the result of severe experiences, such as rape, natural disaster, or combat service, to name only a few. Yet, many people experience the ongoing effects of trauma from less severe experiences. For the creation of healthy communities, it is valuable to acknowledge all of these experiences as traumatic. Any person experiencing untreated self-defined trauma is imprisoned in the past, even if the experience is not externally justified to have lasting effects.

Trauma has the effect dividing a person’s life between the present moment and this past traumatic experience. The two primary ways that the interference of trauma expresses are triggers and filters. Triggers are cued by present-day experiences, sometimes seemingly unrelated, to relive the originating event. This time-traveling by the sufferer will split the attention available for the present moment as these traumatic memories, mental, emotional or body, continue running in the background of daily life.

Filters caused by trauma bring a false theme into a person’s interpretation of life. For example, a person with untreated trauma resulting from sexual violence may experience most men as potential perpetrators. Or the person with untreated combat trauma may orient in relationships from a combative position. These filters alter engagement with life by passing through a falsifying lens, affecting their perception of themselves and all of life that surrounds them. The effects also take form in external life as they influence life with actions stemming from these filters.

Being on a pathway to living our purpose requires that we live fully in the present. Trauma significantly limits our ability to do this. It is critical that if someone is suffering from trauma originating from any event, perceived or actual, receives the treatment necessary to fully bring them back into the present. To do anything less would be a great societal harm as this person’s unique gift in living will not be actualized.

If you are struggling with addiction, alcoholism, and/or mental health, know that there is hope. There is a solution. Harmoniously fusing together the best elements of clinical care, holistic healing, and 12-step philosophy, Enlightened Solutions has created a program of total transformation for men and women seeking recovery. Call 833-801-5483 today for information on our partial care programs in New Jersey.

Seeing Depression as a Deep Emotional Awakening

Written by enlightened solutions on November 2, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Addiction Recovery. Leave a Comment

The way that depression is experienced is influenced by the way that it is defined. For many, depression is considered a static state. Depression is on or depression is off. Sometimes this may be true, but often, depression is more like a dimmer light switch. Depression is slowly turned on and is slowly turned back off. The way that we related to it when it is slightly on is different than the relating that happens when it is at full throttle.

When depression knocks on the door of life, it is time to adjust the way that we are living. It can begin as a slight numbness. In fact, if one is not living in a daily relationship with their emotional world, depression may stealthily slip in unnoticed. If depression is notice at an early stage, actions may be taken to enliven the spirit. If the early beckoning goes unnoticed, depression will begin to call our names louder, like a mother from the 80s calling a child home to the porch from a neighborhood bike ride. Depression will make sure that you have heard its call. Until responded to, it will continue deepen its hold until you are listening.

Being hunted by depression is painful and exhausting – the running and hiding, only to inevitably surrender. Depression simply wants to offer you an opportunity to evolve in life. In the same way that depression can slowly set in, it is often a slow process to find relief from depression. It involves taking daily actions that allow the healing process to begin. It is the daily consistency of these actions that moves you back out of depression. The consistent, daily practices needed to produce freedom from depression cultivates one of depression’s greatest gifts, patience. With the expansion of patience, you become a person who perseveres. As patience, perseverance and daily mindfulness through practices are integrated in you, you have a heightened awareness the next time the fog of numbness rolls in. Although you have momentarily lost your sense of sight in this fog, you trust the strength of your other senses to guide you through it as you take immediate action.

Another potential outcome that a journey with depression fosters is the determination to live more attuned to your daily emotional state. It can begin by simply pausing several times a day and asking the internal self: what do I feel? What do I need? These questions will amend the conditions that beckon depression.

Eating Disorders are a Disconnect Between Mind and Body

Written by enlightened solutions on October 30, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Sadly, so many people in Western culture suffer with imbalances in their relationship to food and their bodies. These imbalances can manifest in a variety of ways which diagnosed as overeating, anorexia and bulimia to name a few. While the names and expression of these imbalances may vary, at the core, these people are suffering from a disconnect between the mind and the body. Food and the way that it nourishes our physical life can be a profoundly mystical experience. When a disorder has presented, the sufferer has lost the beautiful cycle of food sustaining the physical body so that a life is being lived for its spiritual purpose.

Often, these imbalances are often paired with dysfunction in the way that people connect commune with others while consuming food. Our ancestors experienced deeply reliant community in relationship with food whether they were of hunting and gathering or agricultural times. The food connection was not limited to the consuming of food, but included a necessary shared lifestyle to make food possible for all. Over the generations, we have lost this communion with others around the life-cycle of our food. This cultural change is present in eating disorders, whether expressed as co-addiction, the shared addictive consumption of food, binge eating in isolation or eating in community only to purge in secrecy later. Consider how each of these manifestations may be altered by having a lifestyle of communion around food if secrecy from others related to food was not possible in our lifestyle.

It is in the separation and secrecy from others that our mind is given the space to get trapped in a obsessive-compulsive loop. In separation from a tribe, the irrationality of our addicted mind can seem rational. Our desire to escape from powerful feelings overrides our ability to make a healthy choice. The recovery journey offers the opportunity to reconnect to others by vulnerably sharing where our minds is taking us with food. This becomes a wonderful bridge to invest in beautifully connected relationships by revealing where the addicted mind wants to go and receiving the support to make different choices to heal the mind and body. Communion with food and others can be possible today.

3 Interesting Ways to Incorporate Chakra Therapy into Daily Living

Written by enlightened solutions on October 20, 2017. Posted in Addiction Recovery, Alternative Therapy. Leave a Comment

The chakras are 7 energy whirlpools that vibrate at various points between the base of your spinal column and the top of your head. Each chakra has unique spiritual properties and focusing on any one will elevate the functioning of all. However, there are times that it is beneficial to focus on a specific chakra with alignment to the unique challenges being presented by life. Following are some examples to enhance your spiritual experience by engaging your chakras:

Food: there are many ways to engage food as chakra therapy. Some examples: eat root vegetables to address to the insecurities that may be experienced in one’s physical safety; consume strawberries to balance your sacral chakra which holds the energy for creative and sensual expression. The way that these foods become therapy is by focusing on the intention as you consume them.
Sleep: as bedtime approaches, you can have a short dialogue with a specific chakra. An example could be to focus on the heart chakra and invite the heart to use sleep as a period of healing instead of hiding from the pains of life. This practice is amplified by sleeping with a green stone on or near the heart so that the intention is being held safely by it as you release consciousness.
Exercise: to focus on bringing more power into your life, an individual may focus on running from their solar plexus, located at the midpoint between the pubic bone and the belly button. Imagining a yellow surge of energy that allows the runners stride to lead from this location of the body. Through this visual, both the quality and color of this chakra is engaged. Another way to engage this practice is through intention while dancing. If there is a need to elevate sensual energy in your life, you can dance with a heightened awareness of moving through the hips and pelvis combined with visualizing the color orange in this location.

Healing from Painful Past

Written by enlightened solutions on October 17, 2017. Posted in Healthy Living, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

There is a misconception that when an addict quits using, they will go on to live life without issue. Although this may be true to some extent, ridding the body of all substances is only the beginning to living a full sober life. There are many excuses and possibly some valid reasons why alcoholics feel they needed to use their drug of choice. When it comes down to it, there is an underlying cause of why the alcoholic feels they must numb the body. The addict mind is different from the non-addict mind. Addicts don’t have the ability to let things go, persisting to replay events over and over in the mind. It’s exhausting, and one might think why they would put themselves through it if they can shut it up with alcohol or drugs? This is where it gets tricky. Alcoholics will become reliant on the substance and use it to get through life at all cost. This doesn’t end well, given that addicts have a craving for alcohol and drugs that will not allow them to practice any kind of moderation.

Once there is a substance entered into the body in any form, the craving consumes the mind. At this point, there’s no use in maintaining any healthy way of dealing or coping with an unideal situation. Relationships begin to slip away and the alcoholic starts down an unhealthy path to destruction. Thing gets progressively worse and there no way of telling when the alcoholic/addict will decide to get help. When the addict has the willingness to do whatever it takes to stay sober, there will be real potential for growth. We can help get them there.

In AA, it is believed that in order to stay on the path to sobriety, a spiritual experience must take place. Admitting the powerlessness over alcohol is the first step. These steps will coincide with the healing process that an alcoholic will receive in therapy specializing knowledge in addiction. There are different ways of approaching an alcoholic who is in the healing process as well as different therapeutic treatments. Each alcoholic responds differently which is why it’s important to have a well-rounded rehabilitation experience. Feeling safe in an environment caves the way for transformation. Learning about self-love and respect that will enable the patient’s ability to manifest what they are really capable of life. Healing consists of processing the history that never sat well with the alcoholic. Taking a look at the root of the problem and letting it go, will set the alcoholic free!

Enlightened Solutions believes that healing the mind body and spirit is the first step into a life of healthy relationships and sobriety. With a holistic, clinical, and 12 step approach, the addict will learn many tools in guiding a patient to transformation. For more information call 833-801-5483.

How Sound Therapy Works

Written by enlightened solutions on October 16, 2017. Posted in Alternative Therapy. Leave a Comment

Sound therapy is rooted in the concept of energetic vibrations. To understand the power of sound therapy, consider this in the context of each person’s energetic field. This is the idea that each person has a circle of energy that extends beyond the solid matter of their own body. Since every person is surrounded by their own energetic field, it is understood that these fields, permeable matter, overlap with the fields of others. It is through this overlap that the interconnection of life can be explored.

Sound therapy is the exploration of how different frequencies of sound can influence the quality of a person’s energetic field. There is an optimal frequency state for each individual associated with their balanced state of physical, emotional and spiritual presence. This frequency may be different for different people. When a given person is out of balance in any one of these states, physical emotional or spiritual, the energetic field is also affected. Since there is an overlap between people, when one individual is out of balance, their energetic field may influence the field of those people with whom they come into contact. The frequency of sound is one method to calibrate your field to its optimal frequency. This application of sound therapy, and other practices, is sometimes referred to as ‘energy hygiene’.

When you begin your journey with sound therapy, remember that individuals function at different frequencies, so the different frequencies of sound my influence some people positively and some people negatively. It is advantageous to explore sounds when in a neutral state to discover which sounds are soothing. This discovery process from a neutral state allows one to identify which sounds will be most effective when a distressing incident occurs.

Making Sound Therapy Work For You

The process of identifying advantageous sounds to support an individual’s equilibrium reflects the journey that different individuals take in recovery to discover a higher power of their own understanding. While some people have a higher power that does not resonate with other people in recovery, the process of building a relationship with that power is replicable in spite of the difference in concepts. The same is true for the sound journey – surrender to the exploration of sound and discover which audible vibrations are soothing. Trust these sounds in your spiritual toolkit, even if they do not have the same impact for others.

Can Crystals Help Anxiety Attacks?

Written by enlightened solutions on October 12, 2017. Posted in Alternative Therapy. Leave a Comment

Anxiety is a common experience of addicts entering recovery, especially in the earliest stages of recovery. It is one of the feelings that addicts are seeking to mask with substances. Anxiety is the escalation of excitement. Excitement has risen to an intensity that causes distress. Crystals are a simple yet powerful tool to support the ability to be present with this, and other, emotions.

One of the primary ways that crystals support with anxiety is to have a grounding effect on the escalating energy. Rocks, in general, can help root down energy that is rising. The rooting down of this energy can keep it at manageable levels for the addict.

Being in contact with a gem also activates the senses. Anxiety, and the escalation of any emotion, is simply the intensification of the amount of attention on a triggering event. Any amount of attention currency that can be placed elsewhere will soften the intensity of the emotion. The senses are one of the most accessible ways to shift the attention.

Crystals have very long lives and they have been holding energy for the planet throughout. They can also be engaged to hold energy for the addict in recovery. When there is a specific challenge present, it is possible to release some, or all, of this energy to the crystal through a meditation practice. The crystal can hold this energy for you until the full moon comes. On the eve of the full moon, you can place the stone in the full-moon light and this will transmute and release the energy. You can also achieve this by submerging it in water with sea salt at any given time. Remember to express gratitude to the gem for processing the energy for you as well as any other earth resources involved in the release process.

When beginning a journey with crystals or other gemstones, remember to trust the process. The mind will want to know all the facts! Allow yourself to be in the mystery of the unknown with these ancient healers. Explore intuition when choosing a gem to guide healing. Let in the gentle reminder that these rocks hold the ancient wisdom of the life of the planet.

Stress Around the Holidays

Written by enlightened solutions on October 9, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Family Recovery. Leave a Comment

With the holidays approaching, it’s important to have tools set in place for all the unforeseen events that take place during this special time of year.There are many triggers that come into play, and it’s suggested that alcoholics in early recovery take all precautions seriously. There are many tips that make the holiday season much more tolerable and even enjoyable!. When the alcoholic is able to stay in gratitude, it becomes more of a pleasant experience. After living through certain tragic holiday scenarios with families, it’s a new opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones. This is wonderful and will be cherished by all who can appreciate the miracle taking place. For those alcoholics that have lost everyone due to the consequences of the disease, there are ways to get through these times without falling into self-pity. It all comes down to gratitude. Staying grateful for each miracle, each day of sobriety, will always be helpful in staying connected to a higher power. When there is this connection, the alcoholic will be guided towards the light.

Alcoholics working a 12-step program must also stay connected to its members. There is an immense amount of support in these support groups and all alcoholics should “stay in the pack” when navigating life at this time of year. Being aware of triggers and hearing how others stay sober will keep the alcoholic in action. Being in a state of fear during these times can derail any alcoholic and hearing faith in others will hopefully give the alcoholic hope. In regards to the inevitable holiday parties,alcoholics must put their sobriety first. If that means skipping a year of festivities, then that’s what needs to happen. Nothing should come before sobriety. In many AA communities they offer meeting marathons on Thanksgiving and Christmas. These give alcoholics a safe place for 24 hours if needed. AA members are there to help each other through thick and thin, and these are especially dire times.

When the alcoholic begins to feel lonely and depressed, it’s time to remember what had gotten them to this point. Continuing down a path of self-love is imperative. Often times, people like to indulge in the holidays. The idea of giving a gift out of love and appreciation is wonderful. However, people can get too caught up in all of the stuff. While on a sober spiritual path, the alcoholic can begin to see that it’s not the stuff that makes people happy. It’s the love and laughter that brings joy. Abusing alcohol and drugs can skew anyone’s view on the meaning of the holidays. It’s when the alcoholic clearly sees the true beauty in why holidays are so special, that a transformation takes place. Grace flows freely and soon what felt like a chore to see family, will become a privilege. Those who are without families will find new ones in the rooms of AA and that is beautiful.

Our holistic, clinical and 12-step approach at Enlightened Solutions will teach patients the awareness of triggers and tools to stay on a solid road to recovery. Just like koi fish in our logo, patients will learn to rise prosper as they integrate back into the chaotic world. To learn more call: 833-801-5483.

Three Methods to Stay Grounded

Written by enlightened solutions on October 3, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Addiction Recovery. Leave a Comment

Alcoholics in early recovery are given many suggestions to get through the difficult times ahead. Each day is a struggle but there are ways to make what might seem like a complicated process, a simple one. Staying grounded is a tool to become one with a higher power. It’s through clearing the chakras that the stem connecting people to mother earth, can be fully applied. Sitting in daily meditation, letting the feeling of peace and serenity become natural, will soon allow for the breath to flow at a calming pace. There are different ways to meditate and it’s okay to start off with hesitation. It’s important to remember not to let some other belief about meditation, allow for judgement. It’s a learning process, and whenever the mind goes off into another direction, just simply bring it back to the breath. Sometimes counting in and out, or saying a mantra will regulate the breath and stay on focus. It takes practice, and there’s no need for perfection.

Some may feel like crying is a form of weakness. This cannot be further from the truth. It’s imperative that feelings that have been stuffed down, be let out. Many alcoholics will suppress pain by shoving down and numbing themselves with alcohol and drugs. There might be years and years of pain stored up, and this includes post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a coping mechanism, alcoholics will ignore this fact with the abuse of substances. If the alcoholic doesn’t know any other ways to cope, it’s what they will turn to anytime something painful comes up. Letting the emotion flow out is a way of releasing this pain. Common therapy methods to deal with PTSD are Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). These can help the alcoholic reach down and discover the trauma, its cause, and work towards moving forward. Otherwise, the alcoholic will not be able to grow. In early recovery, the alcohol might be out of the picture, but the healing process has just began.

The last suggestion is to get on a routine. A schedule will help the alcoholic to stay on a steady path to recovery. The alcoholic might become overly confident with excess energy or exhibit displays of exhaustion. Having 12-step meetings to attend, work, and other activities, will make it hard for the alcoholic to isolate or over do it. For example, if the alcoholic is also a workaholic, there should be time in the daily schedule for a walk out in nature, yoga, or a five minute meditation. Early recovery is about building a sturdy foundation that lays the groundwork for successfully living sober. Each alcohol has a different journey and no two programs will be exactly the same. It’s about embracing a new healthy lifestyle, that doesn’t include abusing substances or picking up other bad habits. It’s easy to give up one vice for another, and that is why the alcoholic must follow the suggestions of those who have knowledge in this topic of healing. If an alcoholic listens to these recommendations, it’s possible to change their lives indefinitely.

Enlightened Solutions will help you gain the tools to become more grounded in a fast pace world. Our holistic approach will enlighten lives and encourage patients to find their inner peace. Our partial program let’s you take a look into what’s at the root of the problem and move forward in life. For more information call: 833-801-LIVE

Tag: Mental Health