Skip to main content

The Real Effect Of Seasonal Affective Disorder On Mental Health

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Drugs & Alcohol, Mental Health, Sober Living. No Comments on The Real Effect Of Seasonal Affective Disorder On Mental Health

Spring should be sprung all over the country, yet persistent climate changes have kept the weather glum. April showers bring May flowers, but May has been gray and June gloom awaits in many areas. Long lasting winter and dark weather can have an affect on mental health with the very real seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression.

The Reach Of SAD

According to The Independent which wrote extensively on the way sunlight deprivation is experienced around the world, “Seasonality is reported by approximately 10 to 20 per cent of people with depression and 15 to 22 percent of those with bipolar disorder.” Those with preexisting mental health disorders prone to periods of sadness and depression are not the only ones to experience SAD. “Even healthy people who have no seasonal problems seem to experience this low-amplitude change over the year, with worse mood and energy during autumn and winter and an improvement in spring and summer,” the article explains.

What Causes SAD

Winter time, or a prolonged season of winter-like days can be draining in physical and mental health. Most fingers point to the way a lack of sunlight messes with the body’s natural circadian clock. Our circadian rhythm is what helps us wake up in the morning and be tired by nightfall. In a normal 24 hour cycle, we have a natural programming for when to be asleep. Constant lack of sunlight mimics the nighttime and causes the circadian cycle to become confused. Should we be awake or asleep? During winter months specifically, daylight hours are shorter. Instead of being overcast and cloudy, the days are filled with dark. The effect can be the same for extended seasons full of gloom and rain covering the skies. The Independent explains that this theory is called the “phase-shift hypothesis” which points to melatonin. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone which helps the body feel that circadian-scheduled sleepiness. Too much darkness, or, too little sunshine, can produce too much melatonin, causing more drowsiness, and sleepiness, which can lead to feelings of depression and lethargy.

Remedies For SAD

  • Take a high dose of Vitamin D for sunshine nutrients
  • Go to a tanning salon to get doses of UVA and UVB rays
  • Get lots of exercise to keep the body’s energy running
  • Use the down time for reflection, reading, and growth

Coping with long periods of the blues often leads people to fill their time with drugs and alcohol. If you experience difficulty coping with the phases of life and turn to substances to cope, there is help available. Call Enlightened Recovery today for information on our partial care programs for dual diagnosis addiction and mental health disorders. 833-801-5483.

Treatment For Addiction And Mental Health Should Be A Blend Of Eastern And Western Medicine

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Alcoholism, Drugs & Alcohol, Healthy Living. No Comments on Treatment For Addiction And Mental Health Should Be A Blend Of Eastern And Western Medicine

People are turning toward naturopathic, alternative, homeopathic medicines and treatments for a reason: Western medicine isn’t working. Finding a balance between eastern practices and western practices is bringing people to a holistic state of healing in which they find they are healing mind, body, and spirit. Western medicine largely focuses on the symptoms, rather than the core of the problem. Eastern medicine is more preventative, focusing on the core of the issue. Much of eastern medicine is spiritually connected, working under the philosophy that emotions are energy and emotional energy has the capacity to make us sick. Living a healthy and balanced lifestyle has to include balance for emotions and the spirit. Medications, tests, and examinations in western medicine tend to lead to an answer of “stress” and needing to get rid of whatever is causing stress. Eastern practices have the ability to pinpoint the cause of stress.

Acupuncture, for example, can identify emotional energy blockages by working with the body’s acupressure points. Massage can find tension in the muscles and release them, often releasing emotional energy. Essential oils can be calming, invigorating, grounding, and releasing. Crystals tend to only have effect when their specific energy and attributes are necessary, highlighting what the problem might be. Not reacting to rose quartz? Your heart is probably doing fine. Feeling a tingle or some kind of draw to obsidian? You might have some issues from the past to work out.

A blend of both kinds of medicine is necessary because Eastern medicine can sometimes fall short in the western body. Treatment for addiction and alcoholism as well as other mental health issues has to be taken seriously in its holistic approach. How many oils would it take to balance depression and anxiety which are becoming a clinical issue? Should cravings be considered an emotional issue or warrant a prescription for drugs like Naltrexone? The goal in treatment is to make clients comfortable, help them relax, heal them, and show them how to live a fully sober life in recovery. Balancing east and west is a primary example of doing so.

At Enlightened Recovery Solutions, we’re bringing together the best of clinical therapy, holistic healing, and 12 step philosophy. Recovery starts with you. Start your recovery with us. For information on our integrative programs for partial care, contact us today.

What Are Some Ways Alcoholics Hide Their Alcoholism?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Alcoholism, Drugs & Alcohol. No Comments on What Are Some Ways Alcoholics Hide Their Alcoholism?

Alcoholics have to hide two things: their drinking and their alcoholism. Inherently, one protects the other.

They Refuse To Admit They Have A Problem

While they may not be doing the best job at hiding their drinking problem anymore, they are giving their denial every effort that they have. By refusing to acknowledge the truth, they can evade criticisms and accusations. Locking themselves further away from their loved ones and friends, they can continue to drink in spite of themselves. For those who have never experienced what is often called the “insanity” of alcoholism, it is difficult to understand this process. Chemical dependency upon alcohol changes the brain’s ability to make good judgments and choices based on consequences. Alcoholism is essentially a non-consequential mental health disorder for those who have it- meaning that they have a constitutional inability to see the consequences of their actions- or at least to feel that any negative consequences outweighs the benefit of consuming more alcohol. Alcoholism in the brain causes a restructuring which results in alcohol being prioritized over everything else.

Friends & Family Are Often Enablers

Codependency is a term which was born out of alcoholism treatment. Therapists were confounded by the way that so many family members and spouses of alcoholics enabled their loved one’s drinking and using. Alcoholism is commonly referred to as a family disease, meaning that the entire family is effected with a “sickness” when their loved one falls “ill” to alcoholism. Out of concern for their loved one’s health, they continue to allow them to drink and even buy them alcohol. Enabling is just one characteristic of codependency. It can include harmful behaviors like covering for the alcoholic, paying for legal matters, buying alcohol, or even getting drunk with the alcoholic.

Environment Can Play A Part

Some environments are riddled with unspoken alcohol abuse. College campuses, for example, are infamous as being the headquarters for binge drinking and the early development of alcoholism. High stress work places can include a lot of alcohol, as can work places which encourage the sale and distribution of alcohol. Alcohol based industries, for example, thrive on consuming alcohol and convincing others it’s enjoyable. Often times there are many alcoholics fledgling in these environments who can cover it up by simply saying that everyone is doing it. While may people, even a majority of people, may be abusing alcohol, not everyone will become chemically dependent upon it.

Alcoholism can be healed. If you or a loved one are struggling to manage drinking, there is a solution. Our programs provide integrative care, bringing together holistic and clinically proven treatment methods with a twelve step foundation to provide total healing of mind, body, and spirit. Call us today for more information, at 833-801-5483.

Breakfast Is Essential For Daily Recovery

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on Breakfast Is Essential For Daily Recovery

You might have heard a saying in the rooms of twelve step recovery support groups or treatment center walls about how every day in recovery is  chance to earn the “daily reprieve”. Each day, you have the opportunity to put into practice the various tools you have been learning. Together, all those tools add up to important decisions which keep you sober throughout the day. The most important decision being not to pick up a drink or a drug, no matter what happens during the day. Four famous “horsemen” can contribute to a day gone wrong which can ultimately lead to relapse. Especially in the early months to first few years of recovery, maintaining these four warning signs is critical. They’re called HALT: hungry, angry, lonely, and tired.

Hunger comes first in this list for an important reason. When the body is malnourished, the brain cannot function properly. Anger, loneliness, and exhaustion can all result from a serious case of hunger. Crafting a well balanced and nutritious breakfast is an excellent and effective way to kickstart your metabolism and fuel your day from the get go. By starting off your day with a full breakfast, you won’t catch those hungry monster cravings in the afternoon. Hunger can cause moodiness and moodiness can be difficult to manage in early recovery. An addict’s impulses are to turn to drugs and alcohol when emotions become overwhelming or uncomfortable. Addiction takes over the brain in such a way that it takes true work and practice to recognize cravings for food- i.e. hunger- over cravings for drugs and alcohol- i.e. a programmed response to triggers.

Conquer breakfast and the rest of your day like a champion with a breakfast fit for one with these suggestions:

Utilize Your Cupcake Pans

Among many others, one of the gifts of recovery is a busy and full life. If your day starts from the get go because you’re a go-getter you need a grab-and-go breakfast. Try making mini baked egg dishes. Using eggs or egg whites you can include your favorite breakfast pieces like bacon, tomato, spinach, and onion. You’ll get a good boost of protein and some vegetables while you’re on the run.

Put Your “About Last Night” Stories Into An Omelette

Another great gift of recovery is never having to wake up with a hangover due to drugs and alcohol again. Instead of having to deal with leftover symptoms, turn your breakfast into a leftover specialty. If you’ve never scrambled your leftover pasta into an omelet, you’re missing out.

Pre-Package Awesome Smoothies

Put your favorite fruits and veggies into portion ready baggies and stick them in the freezer. Each morning you just have to empty the contents into the blender and add your favorite liquid and supplements. Coconut milk or coconut oil is a great way to start your day giving the brain all the essential omega acids it needs to function.

The Breakfast Sandwich Of Recovery Champions

Eggs, avocado, and whole grains is about as good as it can get. Research has proven that this is quite possibly the best breakfast for living in recovery from a mental health issue like depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Full of proteins, healthy oils, healthy fats, and essential acids, vitamins, and nutrients, there is no way to go wrong with this simple breakfast.

Learning how to live a balanced lifestyle is part of recovery. The programs at Enlightened Recovery include organic meal preparation and practical cooking classes including life skills for budgeting and grocery shopping. Our integrative programs bring enlightenment to the treatment process. For more information, call 833-801-5483.

What Is The Success Rate Of Going To Treatment?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Recovery. No Comments on What Is The Success Rate Of Going To Treatment?

There’s no big data for addiction treatment. Currently, multiple companies are working relentlessly to create a system of accountability to find a way to track patients and analyze data. Many treatment centers today include alumni programs as part of their total packages. Alumni, sometimes called after care, can include phone calls and tracking for up to a year. Of course, there is little way to gauge whether someone in recovery is telling the truth when they say “Yes, I’m still sober and doing great.”

Addiction and alcoholism are hard to gauge in terms of success. The addiction treatment and recovery industry as a whole is uniting in its strive to define just that. Is it the amount of time spent clean and sober? Is success only defined by lifelong abstinence? Should abstinence be the hallmark of success? If a client is prone to chronic relapse, should success be determined by at least a reduction in how often they relapse? These are just some of the dozens of questions to ask. Additionally, there are questions regarding treatment methods and their success. What defines the success of detox and symptoms reduction? Is a treatment inefficient if it doesn’t completely eliminate symptoms of craving or obsessive thinking?

Trying to define success can be confusing. Numerous statistics float around the internet which indicate the “dropout rate” or “success rate” of treatment. However, making such conclusions is generally problematic because they cannot be generalized. Addiction treatment and recovery is highly individualized. One treatment center does not offer the same exact program as another. While in medicine there are the same medications prescribed, the same treatments, and the same surgical procedures, with mental health there is no one course of treatment. Treatment plans are designed around the specific nuances of an individual client, based on the treatment methods available. Treatment methods are chosen because of their proven efficacy in reducing symptoms and contributing to long term recovery. Called “evidence based treatments, they are so far the most ‘successful’ forms of treating addiction.

Success Is What You Make It

Recovery is largely defined by personal goals. With a treatment center staff, you or your loved one will define those goals and create a cohesive plan to reach them. One day at a time, you will participate together in the beginning of a lifelong journey toward recovery. It starts with you.

Start your recovery with Enlightened Recovery, offering partial care programs for co-occurring addiction, alcoholism, and mental health disorders. Integrating 12 step philosophy with spiritual holistic care and proven clinical methods, our clients leave enlightened on their journey to wellbeing. For more information, call 833-801-5483.

Hidden Signs Of Opioid And Heroin Addiction

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol. No Comments on Hidden Signs Of Opioid And Heroin Addiction

You might think that heroin addiction would be obvious. Part of the disease is protecting the addiction as long as possible, by making it as least obvious as possible

Missing Houseware

Where did all the spoons go? How are we using this much tinfoil? When you are unaware of the signs of opioid addiction, you might not put your loved one’s odd behavior and missing housewares together as two pieces of the same puzzle. Intravenous drug users “cook” their drugs in spoons and use the pool of the spoon to draw their drugs into a needle. For those who smoke painkillers or heroin, they use tinfoil. Bottle caps can go missing, rubber bands, or belts.

Unseasonal Clothing

Opioid addiction causes a number of physical effects. First, it can cause tremendous weight loss. Wearing bulky, oversized clothing is often an effort of hiding an increasingly emaciated body. Second, opioid addiction through intravenous drug use can leave “track marks” or bruises from needles. Additionally, needles can cause abscesses or infection points. Long sleeve shirts and long pants hide the track marks and hide addiction.

Screws Unloose

Closets, drawers, air conditioning vents, shelves, cabinets, could all have a screw missing. Leaving out one screw is a way to remind someone where they have hidden their drugs. Finding a secret hole or place to stash drugs in case of emergency is a common practice.

A Busy Schedule

Considering how terrible your loved one looks- withdrawn face, sunken eyes, pasty skin- you’re wondering how they are keeping up with their busy schedule. They always have somewhere to be, something to do, someone to see. Lately, they’re out of the house for more hours of the day than you can count. Opioid addiction quickly takes a physical toll and leads to evading the truth. Your loved one is likely avoiding being home to avoid getting caught getting high. They’re schedule is full of finding, obtaining, and using drugs.

Physical Symptoms Of Withdrawal

When an addiction can no longer be hidden, it is made obvious through withdrawal symptoms. Coughing, sneezing, sniffling, and itching are common symptoms of withdrawal from opioids and heroin. Detoxing from heroin and opioids after it has been out of the system for too long results in a flu-like experience where someone gets sick.

Opioid and heroin addiction can be fatal. If you are concerned your loved one might be struggling with an opioid addiction, call Enlightened Recovery in New Jersey today. We offer integrative programs for compassionate healing of mind, body, and spirit, to ensure long term recovery. For more information, call 833-801-5483.

Working Through Grief When Losing Someone To Addiction

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Mental Health, Recovery. No Comments on Working Through Grief When Losing Someone To Addiction

Addiction is a deadly disease. Without help or treatment, it can claim a life in a flash. Overdose is now a more common cause of death in America than car crashes and gun violence. Accidental deaths due to alcohol abuse is common. Drugs and alcohol kill people every single day.

Recovery can be a lifelong trend. Relapse does not have to be part of your story once you decide to get sober. Unfortunately, for many people, it is. Relapse is dangerous not just because you go back out to drugs and alcohol, but because there is no guarantee you will come back. When you have been in treatment and recovery for even a few weeks, you start to understand the magnitude of staying sober. One by one, you will witness people decide that sobriety is too much for them and that they would rather go back out and use their substances of choice. Some of them will come back eventually. Many of them will die. Problematically, most people think that after detoxing their body and spending weeks sober, they can return to drinking and using the way they did before getting sober. Their bodies are not equipped to handle the toxicity of the drugs and alcohol. Overdose happens more quickly than it would have before. Coping with grief and loss is a sad part of being in recovery. Tragically, learning to cope with the grief of losing a friend in recovery is a necessary skill.

Reflect On Your Relationship

Friendships have varying degrees in recovery, but that never makes the reality of the loss any less devastating. Each day sober is a gift which should be cherished. Watching a friend die to relapse is a reminder of the seriousness of the disease. Some friends are acquaintances you knew by name from meetings. Others are people you hang out with on a regular basis. Even more can be close friends and confidants. Reflect on your relationship with them and what they meant to you, your recovery, and your experience in sobriety.

Find Gratitude For Your Recovery

Your relationship to your recovery is one of the most important things to focus on when grieving a friend who has passed away due to addiction and alcoholism. Though your life might not look the way you want it to and things are difficult, you are sober today and that is crucial to your survival.

Take Time To Grieve

Grieving is a process. After learning the news of a friend’s passing, there is no need to hide the wealth of emotions you will be experiencing. Take the time you need to cry, feel afraid, feel sorrow, and call a friend. These are healthy emotions you need to let out in a safe and structured way.

You don’t have to lose your life to addiction. You can gain your life through recovery. Enlightened Recovery is here to bring compassion back into your life through integrative treatment and healing. For more information on our programs, call 833-801-5483.

Do You Know The Truth About Codependency?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on Do You Know The Truth About Codependency?

Codependency is defined in many different ways. One of the leading definitions was coined by Melody Beattie who is a leader in codependency work. She defines codependency as letting someone else’s behavior impact you in an extreme way. Codependency takes on many different forms from care taking to manipulating to neediness to destructive behaviors. People criticize and characterize codependency in negative ways to try to make sense out of it. When codependency arises in someone, it is hard to understand. For example, when an alcoholic husband finally goes to treatment and gets sober, his angry wife seems to worsen in her moods, attitudes, and behaviors. The husband heals yet the wife remains something resembling mental illness. Doctors tried to understand the phenomena of codependency for years until they figured out something basic. A person who becomes codependent essentially loses themselves and their life to someone with a problem.

Codependency Takes People-Pleasing To The Extreme

Caretaking, people-pleasing, and serving others isn’t just a behavior of codependents but a compulsive behavior. Similar to the way an alcoholic reaches for a drink or a drug addict reaches for a drug, codependents reach for other people- to take care of them, control them, please them, and serve them, to the point of losing themselves. It isn’t about being overly nice and extra helpful, but feeling a deep and insatiable need to give to other people in order to feel wanted, appreciated, and not abandoned.

Codependency Has Many Gray Areas

Being codependent is not a matter of being codependent. The behaviors which accompany codependency can range from clinginess to avoidance. Everyone has some kind of boundary lacking which causes them to act codependent in some kind of way. The length to which someone get lost in their codependent behavior is what differs.

Codependency Is A Sign Of Weakness

Low self-esteem? Yes. Low self-worth? Yes. Needing to feel wanted, needed, useful, in order to feel validated? Yes. All of these things are part of codependency. However, they are not a sign of weakness. Instead, they are sign that someone has had to work extra hard in their lives to feel wanted. Often, people who develop codependency have carried a tremendous emotional burden on their backs for many years.

Codependency is not a shortcoming, a character defect, or a weakness. It is a coping mechanism and a means for survival. Many addicts and alcoholics develop codependency as the result of growing up in a dysfunctional home. We know the pain of codependency and addiction is real. If you are ready to heal and transform your life, call Enlightened Recovery today for information on our treatment programs. 833-801-5483.

The Benefits Of Boundaries

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Healthy Living, Recovery, Relationships, Sober Living. No Comments on The Benefits Of Boundaries

Boundaries are lines which mark the limit of an area. In relationships with other people, we don’t exactly go around drawing imaginary lines and struggling to make sure nobody crosses them. If everyone displayed their boundaries with each person they interact with on a visual plane, we would live in a criss crossed tangled world of millions upon millions of lines. One’s person’s boundaries will differ from another’s. Everyone has to spend time learning what their boundaries are, how to make their boundaries work for them, and how to ask others to respect them. Similarly, we have to learn how to respect other people’s boundaries when they set them with us.

What Is The Purpose Of A Boundary?

The purpose of a boundary is to create a definitive place where you end and someone else begins. Boundaries are what help us keep our personal space mentally, emotionally, and physically. It’s the place where we feel safe and comfortable. Boundaries can be rigid, which might be problematic, and they can be loose, which can also be problematic. Working to create balanced boundaries is a way to make sure you have balanced, happy relationships in every area of your life.

Why Are Boundaries Important?

Simply stated, you can’t let someone walk all over you for the rest of your life. Likewise, you can’t walk all over other people in any way either. Boundaries are the way to make sure everyone is treated fairly, with respect.

According to one Huffington Post article, boundaries can help:

  • Make you more self-aware
  • Be a better friend
  • Be a better partner
  • Take better care of yourself
  • Reduce stress
  • Improve communication
  • Help you trust people
  • Limit your anger
  • Say “no”
  • Be more understanding

Recovery from drug addiction, alcoholism, and co-occurring mental health conditions is about learning to “live life on life’s terms”. Boundaries are a way you can make the way you live life on life’s terms a little more flexibly. You get to live in relationships on your terms as you learn to be flexible and make room for compromise.

Promises of better relationships and better tomorrows are just the beginning of recovery. If you are ready to recover and enter treatment, call Enlightened Recovery today. Our integrative and holistic programs are designed to heal mind, body, and spirit, for lifelong recovery. For more information call 833-801-5483.

Recognizing And Treating Trauma In Addiction Recovery Is Essential For Long Term Sobriety

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Mental Health, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on Recognizing And Treating Trauma In Addiction Recovery Is Essential For Long Term Sobriety

Almost every human on the planet will experience trauma in their lifetimes. This is a fact. Trauma is no longer defined as being a soldier experiencing the active battlefields of war. Life is an active battlefield. When circumstances are taken out of our control, it can feel like war. Trauma cannot be defined by someone outside of a situation looking when. If a traumatic episode causes stress, distress, and ongoing mental health issues, the situation was traumatic.

Though most people will experience trauma in their lifetimes, they will not likely experience post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a specific clinical diagnosis given to those who have extreme reactions to trauma for an enduring amount of time. To be fully diagnosed with PTSD one has to meet specific clinical requirements. However, many people have symptoms similar to PTSD which negatively influence their ability to have relationships, perform at work, develop emotionally, and manage stress. Trauma, even though it might not be displayed through obvious symptoms like hyperarousal and hallucinatory flashbacks, can be debilitating and often lead to substance abuse.

Drug and alcohol abuse is an obvious answer to trauma. Euphoria, analgesia, hallucination- many of the physical and psychological effects of drugs and alcohol provide escape from trauma. Until trauma is worked through with a professional psychologist, one who has experienced trauma continues to live with it. Overlooking the presence of any kind of trauma in one’s life when attempting to treat their substance abuse problems is ineffective.

Treating addiction without treating trauma is like putting Neosporin on a severed limb. Regarding trauma with care and delicacy is essential for healing during the treatment process. How someone relates to their world is defined by mental illness. That mental illness can be enhanced or worsened by the experience of living with untreated trauma.

Defining Trauma

Bullying is trauma. Verbal abuse is trauma. Watching a sibling be taken away is trauma. Living in a non-emotional household is trauma. Rape is trauma. Divorce is trauma. Anything which creates a significant and life-altering impact is trauma. Your trauma does not have to meet any specifications. If it is affecting you, it is traumatic.

You do not have to live with the pain of trauma forever. Healing is possible for both trauma and addiction. The integrative and healing programs at Enlightened Recovery are designed to help you find peace in your life through recovery. For more information, call 833-801-5483.