Recovery Archives - Page 4 of 35 - Enlightened Solutions

How to Process Grief in Addiction Recovery

Written by enlightened solutions on June 8, 2022. Posted in Recovery.

Grief is something we all experience at some point in our lives. Some may experience this feeling more than others. Grieving during addiction recovery comes with an additional set of struggles. Grief can tend to leave us more vulnerable to temptation as a fix to ease the pain we are feeling. This being the case, it is imperative to seek help in the form of therapy and accept support from addiction recovery communities during this time.

5 Stages of Grief

Grief, as we experience it, comes in five separate stages. Each stage encompasses its own perspective, symptoms, thought patterns, and reactions. These five stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages may be experienced in no particular order and the length of time spent in each stage can vary from person to person.

#1. Denial

The denial stage is one most spend the first few days, or even weeks, experiencing after the onset of grieving. This stage involves living in a state of preferred reality as opposed to actual reality. Instead of processing what is really occurring, you may be thinking and responding as if circumstances were different. Many describe a feeling of numbness during this stage. This can sometimes serve as the body’s first line of defense, allowing for a less impactful reaction to the situation.

#2. Anger

The feeling of anger and rage tend to follow the denial stage. At this point, reality has set in, and you may be feeling extremely angry at the reality of the situation. You may be wondering why this has happened to you or feel as though you have been dealt a bad hand in life. Blaming others can be a common response during this phase, as you may be desperate to assign responsibility to someone. It is important to allow yourself time to feel angry and accept these emotions. Anger opens space for coping and healing to begin.

#3. Bargaining

The next stage involves the “what if” scenario. If this one little detail had been different, would the outcome have been the same? While there may be a million different if/then scenarios, the reality does not change. During this phase, you might find yourself trying to negotiate with God or a higher power to reverse what has occurred.

#4. Depression

After throwing in all of your chips and coming to terms with the inefficacy of your negotiations, you may begin to feel empty, hopeless, or withdrawn. The symptoms commonly associated with depression creep in once you have exhausted every effort to avoid, assign blame, or change the outcome of the situation. This may leave you feeling very overwhelmed by life in general or even numb.

#5. Acceptance

The final stage of grief is acceptance. This involves re-entering reality and facing it head-on. While you are not OK with the circumstances, you understand that life will go on, and you will be OK. The stage can include good days and bad days and some days that fall somewhere in between. This is a period of transitioning and adjusting to life as it is now.

Grief and Addiction

Unfortunately, studies have shown a correlation between grief and addiction. Grief can often serve as the trigger for the onset of substance abuse or can be the reason for relapse. As a result, experiencing grief during treatment or in recovery can be especially devastating.

Seeking support during a time of grief is important for everyone. If you are or have battled with addiction, feeling supported and receiving guidance throughout the grieving process is vital. Grief can bring about intense negative emotions, some of which you may feel the need to avoid or escape. This can make it tempting to fall back into bad habits or look for a temporary fix to help ease the pain. Seeking and participating in various forms of therapy, support groups, and engaging with the addiction recovery community can be very beneficial.

Therapy

There are various forms of therapy that can be helpful in coping with times of grief. These can include group therapy specific to your situation or individual grief counseling. Additionally, holistic therapies such as sound or art therapy can be very beneficial to the healing process.

Community

During treatment, you learn to lean on your community in times of need. If you are grieving, this qualifies. Engaging with others who may have a similar background and are going through or have been through similar situations can be an excellent tool for healing. Feeling understood and supported by others during such a difficult time can promote healing and help you move forward.

Grief can be very difficult to cope with for anyone but can be especially tricky for those in treatment or recovering from substance use disorders. Grief comes in five stages, and most experience some form of each stage before they are able to move forward and carry on with some version of life as usual. Seeking support during each stage of grief and learning how to cope with the feelings that may accompany each stage can be vital to remaining on track with treatment and in recovery. You do not have to experience and cope with grief alone. At Enlightened Solutions, we offer a variety of therapeutic options to promote healing and teach coping strategies. We provide a recovery-focused community and take pride in our whole-person treatment approach. If you or someone you love is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, give Enlightened Solutions a call today at (833) 801-LIVE.

Why Is Community Building In Recovery Important?

Written by enlightened solutions on June 6, 2022. Posted in Recovery.

We are our best selves when we surround ourselves with people who care about us and desire for us to achieve our goals. Recovery is challenging work and is best managed when we have the loving support of others in our lives. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) explains that there are ten components in recovery for mental health and addiction issues. Of those components, three are focused on community: relational, peer support, and person-driven. These three aspects of recovery signify the importance of community and force the recognition of recovery requiring a community of support.

Recovery Does Not Occur in a Vacuum

Our recovery impacts more than our own lives, just as our disease impacted more than ourselves. The beauty of recovery is not only in our ability to focus on living our best lives for ourselves but also in our willingness to invite others into our lives and help them as they help us.

Recovery happens best when we allow others to help us. Most recovery programs involve the development of a support system, whether it be from friends and family or from others who are also striving for their own recovery. One important thing to remember as we push toward recovery is that we need help, and we cannot recover on our own.

Why Have Community?

Having a community or a healthy support system enables people to live their best lives and be their best selves. Having a healthy support system is having a healthy community. While every member of the support system may be struggling with different problems on different days, there remains the possibility of support for that person and for yourself through the different members and allies in your support system.

When you are struggling in recovery from addiction to alcohol and/or other substances or behaviors, having a friend who can hold you accountable can enable you to succeed in recovery.

Finding Community

The most beneficial aspect of community as you press into recovery is the solid realization that you are not alone.
Addiction robs us of our dignity and our lives. As we progressed in our disease, we felt increasingly alone, escaping from our support systems and hiding our behaviors. Choosing recovery means choosing life and choosing to engage with those we love, opening ourselves up to being loved.

Recovery involves choosing people over behaviors. This choice suddenly helps us find community and the impressive knowledge that we are no longer alone.

Why Is Recovery Relational?

As SAMHSA explains, “Recovery is supported through relationships and social networks. A crucial factor in the recovery process is the presence and involvement of people who believe in the person’s ability to recover.” Support systems are essential to recovery. Having a support system can be a defining factor in the success or failure of one’s recovery. Having people who believe in your ability to overcome addiction to alcohol and/or other substances and behaviors can be the catalyst for change in your life.

Your support system needs to have people who do not stigmatize you based on your disease. You are not your disease, and having a support system consisting of people who see you beyond your diagnosis and past behaviors is critical to your success.

Many people care about you. You may not realize that, but as you progress in your recovery, you will find yourself surrounded by people who care about you and want to see you succeed.

What Does Peer Support Mean?

Peer support involves your allies in recovery. While there are people who think support comes best from those who understand the disease, such as health professionals and/or others who have struggled, in truth, support can come from anyone. Your allies in support are your friends, neighbors, family, faith leaders, and community members – those with whom you are willing to share your struggle and ask for help.

Another valued aspect of peer support is your helping others. Do not believe any internal dialogue suggesting you are incapable of helping others because of your own struggles. Instead, recognize how, because of your life experiences, you can offer unique insights into the struggles of other people. You play a role in your support system. You can help others too. By helping others, you are helping yourself.

Quality of Support

You have the right to recover. A diagnosis does not define you. You have the right to live your best life. As such, you need to be surrounded by people who believe in you and are willing to help you engage yourself to your highest potential.

As an individual navigating recovery, you have the right to choose your support system. You are empowered to know what you need and who is best able to support you as you push into a life of recovery. Developing a support system is not just about having a certain number of people ready to support you. Remember that quantity of persons able to support you does not equate to the quality of support.

Your Community Is Vital

As an individual, you have the right to recover in your own way, choose those in your support system, and ask for help. Asking for help is critical to your recovery, which is why a support system is so vital for your recovery and overall wellbeing.

Understanding that you are not alone in your pursuit of recovery is the basic building block of a successful recovery. At Enlightened Solutions, we recognize your need to have a solid support system, which is why we have an integrated approach to recovery in all of our clinical settings. As you pursue recovery, Enlightened Solutions provides resources for you and your family to help ensure your success. Our clinicians come alongside you as your allies in recovery. The most important thing we want you to realize as you pursue recovery is that you are not alone. We are ready and willing to help you take the next steps toward your recovery. Contact Enlightened Solutions and learn how we can help you begin building your best life and become your best self. Call us at (833) 801-LIVE and choose a life of community and growth.

How to Integrate Mindfulness and Recovery

Written by enlightened solutions on July 15, 2021. Posted in Healthy Living. Leave a Comment

It is easy to start moving through life on auto-pilot when we are engrossed in our daily routines. Technology offers a world of distraction at our fingertips, so there’s a tendency to miss out on the richness of day-to-day experiences, even in our quiet moments.

There’s a reason why substance abuse started as a coping mechanism for dealing with life’s stressors for many of us. Addiction consistently obscures the present moment.

Mindfulness refers to a set of meditation practices that focus on being present in the moment. In addition to its spiritual and mental health benefits, mindfulness provides an effective alternative to more toxic, addictive coping strategies.

Mindfulness: A Perfect Complement to Recovery

Mindfulness trains our brains to focus on the moment in ways that are complementary to the recovery mindset. People sometimes stumble in their recovery journeys when their minds wander and begin to obsess with the future or past, bringing on cravings and cyclical addictive thinking. The practice of mindfulness combats this thinking in a variety of ways:

The Moment – A lot of addictive thinking occurs when the mind strays and obsesses over the past or the future. Mindfulness is a practice of paying attention to the present moment – which is exactly where recovery happens best.
Reflection – Reflection is a huge part of addiction recovery each day. Mindfulness meditation provides a gentle avenue for checking in with yourself and your healing journey on a day-to-day basis. Self-awareness also helps people in recovery be honest with themselves about where and why challenges to sobriety are happening. With this knowledge, it becomes easier to stay in safe situations and avoid difficult ones.
Recognition – Mindfulness practice doesn’t forbid thinking during meditation, but it does encourage you to recognize that your thoughts are just thoughts. It is easier to avoid cycles of thoughts about relapse, self-doubt, or negative labeling when you internalize the practice of acknowledging the thought then letting it go.

How to Start

Getting started with mindfulness is simple. A few small lifestyle changes can help you start down the path to a very rewarding lifelong practice. Here are our tips to help you begin:

1. Get Present

For many of us, mindfulness means putting in a bit of effort to pull our awareness back into the present. When you feel yourself reaching for a phone or a distraction in moments of lower stimulation, refocus. Even during routine tasks like chores around the home, try to notice the physical sensations, textures, scents, and natural melodies that are easy to tune out when we’re going through the motions. You can also look inwards to check in with your feelings and stressors at that moment and take stock. This practice helps us perceive reality with more clarity and helps us to cope with its challenges more readily.

2. Breathe with Intention

Just breathe may seem like a tired adage; however, focusing on our breath truly helps restore a sense of reality and control when feeling overwhelmed. It’s a good idea to look into some simple breathing exercises to implement throughout the day. For example, when you get a quiet moment, take a few seconds to inhale at a normal rate through the nose before exhaling at a measured slow pace through your mouth. Do this with intention a few times a day, noting how it feels, and you’ve already stepped into mindful practice.

3. Pause

Don’t be afraid to slow down and be still. It is too simple to get caught up in day to day activity and forget that our to-do list is not the best measure of our worth. We matter just as much when we are taking the time to be still, listen, and feel, as we do when we’re checking off our responsibilities and appointments in professional and personal spheres. Get comfortable with a sense of inner stillness, and let your support come from within.

Get Help with Enlightened Solutions

At Enlightened Solutions, we offer a range of alternative modalities to complement our mainstream therapy offerings, including meditation, yoga, art and music therapy, and reiki. Our focus is on healing the whole person rather than merely treating the addiction. If you are struggling with addiction and want to enroll in an addiction treatment program with a holistic approach, please reach out at (833) 801-5483.

The Inner Workings of Rehab

Written by enlightened solutions on July 6, 2021. Posted in Addiction, Addiction Recovery, Recovery, treatment. Leave a Comment

Recovery from alcohol or drug addiction isn’t easy. Overcoming addictive behaviors and staying sober requires motivation, support, and expertise. Rehab centers offer just this. They offer evidence-based treatment approaches under the guidance of professional staff and provide compassionate care to help you develop the skills to overcome your addiction and remain committed to sober living.

What Is the Difference Between Inpatient and Outpatient Rehab?

There are two types of rehab centers – inpatient and outpatient. Outpatient centers offer part-time programs that fit in around your daily life. Programs may offer 10-20 hours of treatment each week so you can continue to work and fulfill other obligations.

Inpatient programs are intensive, residential rehab programs where you stay in the treatment facility. Programs vary in length but most last at least thirty days. Inpatient programs offer a safe and controlled environment with twenty-four-hour medical support. They tend to be more effective than outpatient programs for more severe cases of addiction.

What Treatment Options Do Rehab Centers Offer?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the most effective treatment programs offer a combination of different treatment options tailored to match each individual’s needs. Everyone’s experience of addiction is different, and no single treatment approach suits everyone. Rehabilitation programs tend to offer a variety of different therapies and holistic healing approaches to provide a treatment experience that works for you.

These treatment options may include:

Individual therapy
12-step program
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Dialectical-behavioral therapy
Group therapy and support groups
Experiential therapies such as music therapy, art therapy, and equine therapy
Dual diagnosis
Family therapy
Yoga and meditation
Medically assisted detox

Addiction treatment programs help you identify the causes of your addiction and develop the skills to overcome them. This may involve learning what your triggers are and how to avoid them or developing coping skills to deal with triggers in healthy ways.

Rehabilitation also aims to improve your mental and spiritual well-being. It is a chance to find joy and inspiration in sober life and commit to your recovery journey.

What Is Dual Diagnosis and How Does It Help Treat Addiction?

Almost 50% of people with a substance use disorder also suffer from another mental health condition. Co-occurring disorders like anxiety and depression can be the driving force behind addiction. If ignored, they can cause addictive behaviors to resurface, even after years of sobriety.

Dual diagnosis programs treat co-occurring disorders alongside addiction. They offer a holistic healing approach that aims to treat the entire person. Dual diagnosis helps you overcome the underlying causes of your addiction so you can maintain sobriety in the long term.

What Are The Different Stages of a Rehab Experience?

A recovery program usually begins with an in-depth assessment of the nature of your addiction and your circumstances. This allows therapists, medics, psychologists, and other staff to design a treatment plan to suit you.

For most people, the next stage in the recovery process is detox, to remove all traces of the substance and its toxins from your body. Rehab centers typically offer medically assisted detox to ensure that withdrawal is as safe and comfortable as possible.

After detox, the main part of the treatment program begins. You participate in therapy sessions, support groups, and other treatment modalities over several weeks or months. During this time, you learn and develop the skills you need to overcome addiction.

The final stage of rehabilitation is aftercare. Recovery is a lifelong process that requires continued support and commitment. Rehab programs may connect you with support groups in your local area, provide you with a sober companion, or offer guidance to family members.

Aftercare programs help you to stay supported and motivated once you have left a rehab center and guide you to lifelong recovery.

If you are struggling with addiction or substance abuse, recovery can seem scary or even impossible. However, with the proper support, anyone can recover from addiction.

At Enlightened Solutions, we offer our clients a variety of evidence-based tools to assist them with moving forward in their sober journey. We focus on healing the whole person and not just treating their addiction. Our world-class treatment program is rooted in the 12-step philosophy and offers each client an individualized recovery plan.

We offer a range of advanced treatment modalities, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), family constellation therapy, art and music therapy, yoga and meditation, massage, acupuncture and chiropractic care, and equine-assisted therapy. Our location near the southern shore of New Jersey offers unparalleled healing and relaxation.

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, please call us at (833) 801-5483 for more information.

How to Have a Sober St. Patrick’s Day

Written by enlightened solutions on March 15, 2021. Posted in Addiction Recovery, Sober Living. Leave a Comment

For some people, St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the life of St. Patrick (c. 385-461), the patron saint of Ireland. March 17 is associated with his death and commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. The day now is also a celebration of Irish culture and heritage and can include parades and festivals.

St. Patrick’s day is also a day to drink. In the United States, St. Patrick’s Day is one of the most popular drinking holidays, right up there with New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. The holiday can be a fun and festive time. St. Patrick’s Day can be challenging for people who don’t drink when recovering from alcohol use disorder. The sight and smell of alcohol can seem to be everywhere and can trigger cravings. It is quite possible, however, to have a fun, celebratory time and maintain your sobriety.

Remember Your “Why”

If you are concerned about maintaining your sobriety on St Patrick’s Day, remember your “why” or the reasons you decided that abstaining from alcohol was the right choice for you. Spend some time writing these reasons down–the act of writing is helpful to many people because it engages more senses. You feel the pen in your hand and your hand resting on the paper, or you feel the computer keys under your fingertips. You see the words appearing on the page or the computer screen. You hear the pen or pencil on the paper or the gentle tap of the computer keys.

Write about how your life has improved since you stopped drinking and what your life was like before. Write about why maintaining your sobriety is important to you.

Staying Sober Around People Who Are Drinking

If being with people who are drinking won’t derail your sobriety, you could volunteer as the designated driver for your friends. If a group of friends is going to a party, you can be the sober friend who gets everyone home safely. If your friends are going out to bars, you can drive them from bar to bar, keeping everyone safe. Many bars and restaurants give free non-alcoholic drinks to designated drivers and, if you are at a party, being the driver provides you an excellent reason not to drink, a reason that even the most ardent drink-pusher should accept. Being the designated driver in either scenario enables you to be with your friends and gives you a very concrete way to be of service.

Plan a Sober Celebration

Another way to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day and maintain your sobriety is to plan a sober celebration and invite like-minded friends.

Do you and your friends enjoy movies? If so, plan an Irish-themed movie night. Mix up some festive “mocktails,” prepare tasty snacks, dim the lights, and enjoy the show. Movies you can select from include My Left Foot, which won the Oscar for best picture in 1989; The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, or Once, released in 2007.

If you and your friends enjoy cooking, you could get together and prepare an Irish meal. Corned beef and cabbage are traditionally eaten on St. Patrick’s Day. You could also whip up some Irish stew and soda bread. Other traditional Irish dishes include black and white pudding, served at breakfast; coddle, a stew traditionally made with leftovers; and barmbrack, served at “tea time.” After dinner, you could play Irish trivia or listen to Irish music.

If you are part of a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), there may be an alcohol-free event planned in your area. Check online, or information may be available at one of the meetings you attend. Remember that many people want to go to a meeting during holidays; many chapters plan to hold meetings on those dates. You should be able to find a meeting to attend on St. Patrick’s Day. If you decide to go to a meeting on St. Patrick’s Day, you will likely find many people in attendance.

Virtual Events and “Sober St. Patrick’s Day”

Some communities sponsor alcohol-free events, and there are virtual events that you could attend online. For example, 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of “Sober St. Patrick’s Day,” a global virtual celebration beginning at 4 p.m. in New York and 8 p.m. in Ireland. The virtual evening includes a cook-along and a preview of a musical tale about the life of St. Patrick. The evening is organized by the Sober St. Patrick’s Day Foundation, Inc.

Holidays throughout the year, including St. Patrick’s Day, can be challenging for people in recovery from alcohol use disorder. At Enlightened Solutions, a drug and alcohol treatment center located in New Jersey, we equip our clients with the life skills they need to cope with urges and cravings and successfully maintain their sober lifestyle. We are a licensed co-occurring treatment facility; in addition to treating substance use disorder, we also treat mental health issues that often go along with addiction. Our focus is on healing the whole person, not just on treating the addiction. Our center is rooted in the 12-Step philosophy, and we create an individualized treatment plan for each client, including modern therapeutic techniques and ancient wellness practices. In addition to talk therapy and group support, we offer our clients a range of holistic treatment modalities, including family constellation therapy, brain mapping, yoga and meditation, and art and music therapy. If you are ready to be free from an addiction, or you have concerns about a family member or friend, please call us at (833) 801-5483 for more information. We are here to help.

Exercise Your Way to Mental Health

Written by enlightened solutions on October 16, 2020. Posted in Healthy Living, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Participating in an exercise program has many health benefits, both physical and mental. Regular exercise helps with heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, weight management, and many other health issues. Regular exercise is also highly beneficial for mental health. Ask a runner why he or she runs and you will often hear about the “runner’s high”–a feeling of euphoria combined with reduced anxiety and a lessened sensitivity to pain. Endorphins have long been connected with the “runner’s high” and researchers in Germany have found that the brain’s endocannabinoid system may be involved as well. An endocannabinoid called anandamide has been found in people’s blood after they run. This endocannabinoid can travel from the blood to the brain.

Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

According to an article published in The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, aerobic exercise, including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing, has been proven to reduce anxiety, depression, and negative mood. Exercise improves self-esteem and cognitive function and can also help with social withdrawal. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise three to five days a week is all you need, researchers say. The benefits include improved sleep, stress relief, increased mental alertness, and an overall improved mood. Regular exercise also leads to greater self-confidence, more social interaction, and is a healthy way to cope with stress.

Mental health professionals usually recommend that people struggling with depression and anxiety exercise regularly, provided that the client doesn’t have a health problem that precludes physical exercise. A young psychiatrist once said that if he could put the mental health benefits of exercise in a bottle, he would become a wealthy man!

Exercise in Addiction Recovery

Because of the mental and physical benefits of exercise, many treatment facilities include fitness in their programs. As one fitness specialist said, he works with clients to help them start an exercise program or get exercise back into their lives. According to a blog on an addiction site, an exercise program provides structure to a person’s day and can be a vital part of recovery. Exercise takes up time and is a healthy way to spend the time that used to be spent drinking or using. A blog on the Harvard Health website said that exercise can be a powerful tool to distract a person in recovery from cravings and can help people to build positive social connections. According to the blog’s author, Claire Twark, M.D., organizations are cropping up to promote physical activity for people in recovery. One of these is The Phoenix, which has locations across the country and also offers classes online. The Phoenix offers CrossFit, yoga, rock climbing, boxing, running, and hiking, and is open to anyone who has been sober for 48 hours, as well as their support groups.

Starting an Exercise Program

While mental health professionals recommend exercise for their clients, for someone suffering from depression, the task may seem overwhelming at first. To start, figure out what type of exercise you want to do. You may like exercising alone or you may prefer the dynamic of a fitness class. You may like to pick a couple of different activities to mix things up a little. You could decide that you will jog three times per week and go to a yoga class on two days. Or you may start out by taking a friendly dog for a walk.

After you have identified an activity or activities that you think you will enjoy, enlist some social support. Maybe you have a work-out buddy or maybe you report on your exercise program to a therapist or life coach. Exercising with a friend may be a motivator on days when you just don’t feel like working out or you might want to have something to report the next time you talk to your therapist.

Whatever exercise you have selected, it’s important to start off slow to prevent physical injury and burn-out. Your ultimate goal may be to run a marathon, but you need to start off slow and gradually increase the distance you run. It’s also important to set reasonable goals. If you haven’t exercised in a number of years, deciding that you are going to go to an exercise class six days a week probably isn’t realistic. A more reasonable goal might be to go to class three days a week and after a few weeks add another class to your schedule.

Decide what time of day you will work out. Some people love to start the day with a brisk walk or a swim, while other people prefer to work out later in the day. Whatever you choose, put it on your calendar and make exercise a priority.

A positive mind-set will help you with your exercise regime as well. Try not to think of exercise as a chore or as one more thing to add to your daunting to-do list. Try to think of your exercise sessions as something that you get to do for yourself, something that you look forward to. If you aren’t logging the miles you anticipated or making it to class as often as you had planned, take a little time to figure out what’s holding you back. Also, be prepared for setbacks and obstacles and figure out how to solve them. If you are a runner, there might be days when you run indoors on a treadmill because of the weather, for example. You may have to switch from running to walking to give an injury a chance to heal.

Whether you are struggling with depression, an addiction, or just want to experience the mental and physical benefits of exercise, find a physical activity that you enjoy and move your body. As Nike says: “Just Do It.”

Exercise is a vital part of an addiction recovery program and a huge help to people struggling with depression. Many treatment facilities include fitness among their alternative therapies because of the many physical and mental benefits of regular exercise. An important part of the recovery journey is creating a healthy lifestyle to replace the lifestyle of addiction. Exercise is a healthy way to cope with stress and the painful feelings that have been numbed by drugs or alcohol. In addition to the mental health benefits provided by exercise, exercise offers many physical benefits as well, including weight management, improved cardiovascular health, a lower incidence of diabetes, stimulating the immune system, and lowering the risk of developing some types of cancers. Fitness is one of the holistic treatment modalities that Enlightened Solutions offers to clients. If you or someone close to you is struggling with depression or an addiction, call (833) 801-5483.

6 Added Benefits of Giving up Alcohol

Written by enlightened solutions on August 19, 2020. Posted in Addiction, Alcoholism. Leave a Comment

When you decide to quit drinking, there might be one big reason: something important that made you decide something has to change. Maybe you lost your job because of drinking, maybe your spouse threatened to leave, or maybe you got arrested for drunk driving. It often takes a major shock to see how much of a problem alcohol has become.

On the other hand, you may fall into the category of just drinking a bit too much. It’s not a problem yet but it may become a problem. Whatever your situation, quitting drinking can significantly improve the quality of your life. The following are some of the bonuses you get when you quit drinking.

Weight Loss

People often don’t realize how much alcohol makes you gain weight. First, alcohol is loaded with calories. On average, one serving of vodka has about 65 calories, a glass of red wine has about 125 calories, and a can of beer has about 150 calories. That might not seem like much, but how often do you only have one serving? Even just two beers a day can add up to about 2,000 extra calories every week.

And it’s not just the calories. Alcohol impairs sleep, which has been linked to weight gain and it changes your hormonal balance, making it harder to lose fat. Obesity isn’t only about vanity either. Obesity increases your risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, and other health problems.

People are often surprised by how easily they lose weight once they stop drinking. Often, people don’t even have to try. They just naturally consume fewer calories, they sleep better, they’re more active, and they have a healthier hormone balance. The only caveat is that some people replace alcohol with sweets, so you have to be careful about that.

Better Sleep

Although alcohol helps you fall asleep more quickly, it makes your sleep worse overall. You experience less restorative deep sleep—which, as noted above, can contribute to weight gain—and you spend more time in shallow REM sleep. Your sleep is also more often interrupted after the first few hours. As the alcohol is metabolized and leaves your system, your anxiety shoots up and you sleep fitfully for the rest of the night. This has many negative consequences, including increased alcohol use, next day tiredness, more frequent illnesses, poor concentration, and increased anxiety.

Clearer Thinking

One of the most noticeable effects of a chronic sleep deficit from drinking is muddled thinking. Studies show that sleep deprivation and sleep deficit have a number of cognitive effects, including poor concentration, poor working memory and long-term memory, diminished self-control and emotional regulation, and poor decision making. As a depressant, alcohol can worsen the symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders, which can impair concentration, diminish motivation, and increase worry and rumination.

None of these things are compatible with clear thinking or good decisions. Depending on how heavily you drink, you should find your head clearing up pretty quickly after you quit. If you’re a heavy drinker, you might go through a rough patch of anxiety, insomnia, and irritability as you detox. Detoxing in a facility can help minimize these symptoms.

No Hangovers

People who have been drinking a lot for a long time often forget what it’s like to wake up without a hangover. For these people, the first time they wake up after a solid night’s sleep with no hangover feels like a revelation. Ethanol and dehydration are two major factors that contribute to hangover symptoms. Tannins also appear to play a role in hangovers as well as alcohol metabolism, which varies significantly among people.

Poor sleep and crashing blood sugar probably enter into it as well. Whatever the underlying causes and the specific misery of your own hangovers, it’s not something anyone misses. Waking up feeling refreshed changes your whole orientation to the day.

Looking Younger

Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it causes you to dry out. This reduces the elasticity of your skin, making it look more wrinkled. However, at a certain point, after losing water, your body starts retaining water, so you become bloated. That means, after a night of heavy drinking, you can wake up looking both wrinkled and puffy. Poor sleep also contributes to your appearance. No one looks too good after a night of little sleep and that takes place every night that you drink.

In the long term, the effects are even worse. Lack of sleep impairs your ability to recover from injuries and leads to more frequent illnesses. Alcohol also impairs the absorption of nutrients in your digestive tract, meaning heavy drinkers are often malnourished, which also affects your appearance. When you quit drinking, you start looking better pretty quickly. You’re not sleep deprived or dehydrated. Your liver is able to function more effectively. As time goes on, you get healthier and look better.

Extra Money

As addictions go, alcohol is relatively cheap but an alcohol use disorder can be very expensive. If you drink a lot, the price of alcohol itself can add up, especially if you often drink at bars and clubs. However, the real costs come from the secondary effects: needing to catch a cab or Uber when you’re too drunk to drive home, losing your job, or failing to advance in your career because of your drinking. Other expenses such as legal fees for alcohol-related incidents can really drain your bank account.

Just as with weight loss, people are often surprised by how much extra money they seem to have once they quit drinking. That 20 dollar bill stays in their pocket a lot longer and they have the opportunity to make more money at work.

Nothing on the above list is likely to be your main reason for giving up alcohol. Addiction has deep and complex roots and the desire to lose a few pounds will never compete with the desire to feel loved or the desire to stop feeling tormented by traumatic memories. However, losing weight, sleeping better, thinking more clearly, not having hangovers, looking younger, and having extra money are nice bonuses that assure you that you made a good decision.

At Enlightened Solutions, we know that addiction is complex and we treat the whole person: mental, physical, and spiritual. We know that to overcome addiction, you have to treat the underlying causes and we also believe that treatment should be an experience that improves your quality of life overall. To learn more, call us today at (833) 801-5483.

Why Cooking Is a Great Recovery Skill

Written by enlightened solutions on June 5, 2020. Posted in Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery. Leave a Comment

There are many important skills to learn when recovering from a substance use disorder. Many of these are directly related to getting sober and staying sober. These include skills like distress tolerance, emotional regulation, setting boundaries, clear communication, and behavioral strategies. There are also life skills that are more peripheral to recovery but equally important for staying sober long-term. These include skills like finding a safe place to live, finding a job, managing your finances, managing stress, and so on. Cooking is a life skill and a recovery skill that gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Here’s why.

Cooking your own meals is healthier.

Addiction can take a serious toll on your health. For example, excessive drinking can damage your gastrointestinal tract, making it hard for your body to absorb nutrients, which can lead to malnutrition. It also damages your cardiovascular system, leading to a greater risk of heart disease and stroke. Drinking also increases your risk of liver disease and several kinds of cancer including mouth, esophageal, stomach, liver, breast, and colon cancers. Many substances, including alcohol, can weaken your immune system, increase your risk of other unhealthy habits, and damage your overall health. In short, if you’re just starting to recover from addiction, your health may be precarious.

One of the best things you can do for your health—after you stop using drugs and alcohol—is to start eating healthier. That means eating more nutritious whole foods and less processed junk. A number of studies have found that people tend to eat healthier when they cook more of their own meals at home. For example, one study of more than 11,000 people found that people who ate more home-cooked meals ate significantly more fruits and vegetables and had healthier body-mass indexes and lower body fat percentages. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561571/] This improves your cardiovascular health, and reduces your risk of other problems like diabetes and cancer. When you cook your own meals, you are more likely to eat whole foods. Additionally, you are more aware of how much sugar, salt, and fat go into each meal.

Healthier eating is good for your mental health.

While the physical health benefits of cooking for yourself are considerable, the mental health benefits will be even more important for some people. Depression is a significant risk factor for addiction and relapse, and a number of studies have now linked diet and depression, as well. One meta-analysis examined data from more than 45,000 participants and found that “dietary interventions significantly reduced depressive symptoms.” [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6455094/] The diets with the best effects are similar to the “Mediterranean diet,” which is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans, legumes, and fish, while being very low in sugar, refined flour, processed meats, and fried foods. It is thought that this kind of eating helps reduce inflammation in the body and brain. Recent research suggests that inflammation may play a major role in some forms of depression, so keeping inflammation under control with a healthy diet may reduce your risk of depressive episodes.

Cooking is cognitively demanding.

People recovering from substance use issues often complain of cognitive impairment during the first few months and even up to a year. There are a number of reasons for this. Part of it is just your brain readjusting to the absence of drugs and alcohol, which sometimes results in emotional numbness, poor concentration, lack of motivation, irritability, and depression. Part of this may also be caused by structural changes in your brain, which weaken parts of your prefrontal cortex responsible for attention and self-control. Basically, your brain has trouble remaining interested in anything besides drugs and alcohol, so you have trouble focusing on—or enjoying—other things.

Like your muscles, your brain gets stronger the more you use it, and cooking can be a great way to start getting your brain back in shape. It combines a number of high-level cognitive skills, like planning, timing, and attention with low-level cognitive skills, such as taste, smell, and touch. Cooking can be either very simple, like cooking a pot of rice or frying some eggs, or it can be complex, like cooking an elaborate meal for friends.

The more complex it gets, the more it challenges your ability to multitask and think on your feet. You have to think about the best way to use your time and estimate how long various tasks will take to ensure all the food is ready at about the same time. While all of this can be demanding, it is also typically more fun and engaging than other ways you might challenge your brain. What’s more, since you’ll be eating the end result, you have a built-in incentive to focus and try to do a good job.

Cooking is socially engaging.

Finally, cooking is a great way to get people together. Social connection is one of the most important parts of a strong recovery, whether it’s connection to a sober network or to supportive family and friends. Cooking is a great way to strengthen that connection. Even just being a competent cook will make you more popular and give you an excuse to invite people over. Home-cooked meals are often more intimate and enjoyable and you have complete control over what goes into them, and you can avoid certain obstacles you may encounter while eating out: no party at the next table sharing several bottles of wine, no dishes with surprise alcohol in the sauce, and so on.

Recovering from addiction isn’t just about abstaining from drugs and alcohol, but rather about finding a better way to live. Learning to cook helps you stay healthier mentally and physically and can be part of a larger move toward a healthier lifestyle. It’s also just a useful skill to have, since it can benefit you for the rest of your life. At Enlightened Solutions, our approach to addiction recovery is both individualized and holistic. To learn more about our treatment options, contact us today or explore our website.

How to Keep a Positive Outlook When Recovering from Addiction

Written by enlightened solutions on April 14, 2020. Posted in Addiction Recovery, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

When recovering from addiction or even when considering getting sober, a positive attitude is a huge asset. For one thing, it’s hard to put much effort into recovery if you don’t think it’s possible. Optimism also enhances the quality of your recovery. Studies have shown that optimism has many benefits, including a more engaged style of coping and less avoidance, more goal-oriented behavior, more resilience, and even better health.

Unfortunately, most people considering entering addiction treatment or just beginning recovery aren’t burdened with an excess of optimism. The decision to seek help typically comes at a personal low point, when they can no longer ignore the seriousness of their substance use issues. What’s more, many people with substance use issues also struggle with co-occurring depression and anxiety disorders, neither of which are conducive to positive thinking.

If that describes you, there is still hope. While some of our optimism is determined by genes and childhood experiences, a lot of it comes down to our thinking and behavior and we can learn to be more optimistic with persistent practice. Here are some tips for seeing the glass as half full.

Change Your View of Optimism

If you’re currently a pessimist, one of the biggest challenges to being more optimistic is that you probably have a mental image of optimists as naive and perhaps slightly irritating people – Pollyannas who are just one good deed away from getting taken for all they have. The reality is a bit more complicated. First, it’s important to realize that we are all, to varying degrees, risk averse because erring on the side of caution helps us survive. However, the reason optimists exist and often thrive is that we need to accept some level of risk to survive and grow. If you are too pessimistic, not only are you exaggerating threats more than average, you’re limiting your opportunities. A more clear-eyed view of optimism is to think of it as seeing the possibilities and the threats and not just the threats.

Accept Challenging Emotions

Another common misconception about optimism or positivity is that it means rarely or never experiencing negative emotions. In reality, that’s impractical. We all feel sad, angry, frustrated, depressed, bored, anxious, afraid, and jealous sometimes. Often these are normal and healthy reactions to common life events. What’s not helpful is to believe these emotions are inherently wrong or bad. When you try to suppress these emotions or criticize yourself for feeling them, you only end up feeling worse. In fact, studies show that people who are most accepting of their emotions tend to have fewer depressive symptoms and less negative affect when under stress. Positivity is not about feeling good all the time but rather about knowing things can get better.

Three Good Things

This is an exercise recommended by positive psychology pioneer Martin Seligman. The idea is simple: each night before you go to bed, write down three things that went well that day and why they went well. This helps shift your attention from the bad things, which we naturally pay more attention to, to things that are going well or that we did well.

Practice Gratitude

Gratitude, like optimism, has been shown to have many benefits, including better health, better sleep, better relationships, greater well-being, and more optimism. There are primarily two ways to cultivate gratitude. The first is similar to the “three good things” exercise above, except that you write down three things you’re grateful for. They can be big things or small things.

The other big gratitude practice is to write a gratitude letter. Think of something someone has done for you that you haven’t adequately thanked them for. Write a letter describing what it was and what it meant to you. Then, you can either deliver the letter in person or not. Researchers at Stanford found that writing gratitude letters helped reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in participants, even if they didn’t deliver the letter. However, if you do decide to deliver it, it can be a nice little boost for your relationship.

Examine Your Thinking

As noted above, being more optimistic isn’t necessarily a matter of exclusively seeing the positive, but rather enlarging your view to include the positive as well as the negative. Many of our cognitive biases cause us to take an excessively negative view of the world and ourselves. For example, many people are afflicted by the cognitive distortion of catastrophizing, the belief that some outcome will be indescribably awful. For example, your boss criticizes something you did at work, so you instantly assume you’ll get fired and end up homeless. In reality, we don’t really know what will happen, but most of the time, it’s not that bad.

Positivity researchers have identified two particular traits of optimists: when good things happen, they assume they are responsible for them and that good things will continue to happen in the future. When bad things happen, they assume circumstances are to blame and they will fare better under different circumstances. Pessimists are the exact opposite. They see good things as accidents and bad things as the normal state. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle, but it’s certainly to your advantage to think of failures as the result of temporary circumstances.

Keep Positive Company

Finally, a lot of your attitude depends on who you spend time with. If you spend time with positive people, you are more likely to be positive and if you spend time with negative people, you are more likely to be negative. This is one reason a sober network is such a huge asset. A 12-Step meeting is a place you can go regularly and be assured that you will be surrounded by people focused on sobriety.

No one can be positive all the time. Even the most optimistic people who have ever lived have faced setbacks they didn’t know if they could ever overcome. Often, it comes down to a willingness to keep trying. At Enlightened Solutions, we know that recovery is a journey and how it goes depends a lot on your outlook. That’s why we emphasize a holistic approach and a positive environment. To learn more about our programs, explore our website or call us today at 833-801-LIVE.

The Danger of Judging Ourselves

Written by enlightened solutions on December 7, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Healthy Living. Leave a Comment

When struggling with addiction, one of the most common emotional pitfalls we can find ourselves falling into is internalizing and absorbing society’s judgment of addiction and addicts and turning that judgment onto ourselves. We start to believe the things we hear – that addiction is not a real thing, that addicts are bad people and criminals, that we use our addiction as an excuse for bad behavior. We start to judge ourselves and think about ourselves disparagingly. Why is this self-judgment so dangerous?

When we are working towards recovery, we need all the support we can get. We need all the inner resources and strength we can muster. Self-judgment depletes our inner strength, our confidence and our sense of self. We start to believe that we can’t recover and that we’re doomed to a life of active addiction. We knock ourselves down rather than building ourselves up. Our self-talk becomes cruel. The voice we’re listening to all day every day is full of self-hatred. We’re up against not only the force of our addiction but our own self-disparagement as well. We deny ourselves of hope, optimism and positivity. Our energy becomes full of negativity and cynicism.

When we judge ourselves harshly, we’re more likely to relapse because we’re not giving ourselves our own support and encouragement. We’re putting ourselves down. Our negative energy taints everything we do, from the habits we perpetuate to the relationships we choose. We’re manifesting with an energy of pessimism which brings about the circumstances we don’t want rather than the ones we do. We give up on ourselves. We lose faith in ourselves. We stop believing in our ability to heal ourselves. Self-judgement can be the catalyst for our self-destructiveness. Feeling bad about ourselves can be the reason we self-harm.

When we find ourselves judging ourselves, we can make the conscious choice to turn that judgment around and choose compassion instead. Ask yourself, would you be so judgmental of someone else, someone who was struggling with depression and emotional pain, or a physical illness? Addiction is just as debilitating and destructive, and those struggling with it deserve to be understood and embraced rather than judged and rejected. You are no different. You are battling a tremendously painful illness, and just because it can operate invisibly and be less easily recognizable than other illnesses, doesn’t mean it is any less difficult. Choose to be kind to yourself. Surround yourself with people who understand addiction. Be in community with other people in recovery. Self-judgment is dangerous. Let’s work to eradicate this judgment in ourselves so that we can empower ourselves to heal.

The staff at Enlightened Solutions has a combined 45+ years invested in our personal recoveries, and we have assisted in the restoration of countless lives. We can help you too. Call us at (833) 801-LIVE today.

Tag: Recovery