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Are You A Good Listener? Ways You Can Improve

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery. No Comments on Are You A Good Listener? Ways You Can Improve

Listening isn’t always as easy as it seems. We say we want to listen to our loved ones, that we are available to them whenever they need us. We want them to know that when they are struggling and need an ear to reach out to, ours are worthy to volunteer and listen. Are we truly prepared to hear what they have to say? Do we listen to them with an open heart and truly validate their experiences? Or might we still have residual pain due to the wreckage they caused in the past with their drinking and using? If we do, its likely we only listen to what we want to hear. We look for opportunities to prove ourselves right, to assert our authority, or to defend our positions. Perhaps we are filled with guilt and shame for not knowing when our loved one was asking for help- all those times when we should have been listening, but we weren’t.

Recovery and all of the work our loved ones are doing in treatment is teaching them many important lessons. One of them is to let go of the past and live as fully in the present moment as possible. Without holding onto anxiety about the future or worry about the past, our loved ones are finding themselves capable of being authentic and present in each moment of their lives. Listening is a practical way to apply present moment mindfulness to our new relationships building with loved ones in recovery.

Encourage Introspection Rather Than Investigate

We can be incredibly nosy and suspicious as the trusted family members of a loved one in treatment. Instead of truly searching for what is going on with our loved ones, we start to investigate them for what might be going on. For listening it is best to apply “innocent until proven guilty”. Ask them what is happening inside instead of accusatory statements like “what’s going on with you” or “what’s wrong”.

Remember That You’re Human, Too

Nobody is perfect. Consequently, we are all prone to being imperfect. If you find you want to fix, advise, control, or prevent something your loved one is talking about you are heading in the wrong direction. Now more than ever your loved one needs to know they are not deserving of the shame and guilt which comes with addiction and alcoholism or any co-occurring mental health disorders. Give subtle cues like head nods and non-verbal sounds which indicate you understand their struggle, even if you don’t get the details.

Enlightened Recovery believes it is possible for the family to heal. Our treatment programs include opportunities for family therapy and intensive family programming weekends in which loved ones come together in recovery. For more information on our partial care programs, call us today at 833-801-5483.

Sleep And Mental Health: There’s More To The Relationship

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on Sleep And Mental Health: There’s More To The Relationship

Sleep is a vital part of the recovery process. Rest is essential for the body, mind, and spirit to heal effectively. Without rest, clients run the risk of exhaustion and fatigue which can interfere with their ability to receive the information, participate ing groups, and make the most out of their treatment experience. Getting enough sleep is a practice which begins in early recovery and and must be carried out regularly throughout one’s lifetime for ongoing recovery.

Not getting enough sleep, struggling with restlessness, and even having to cope with night terrors or nightmares can be symptoms of poor mental health. Likewise, poor mental health can be caused by a lack of sleep. Anyone who has gone days on end with poor sleep feels the effect of mental and physical exhaustion symptomized by moodiness, irritability, and general discontent. For the addict or alcoholic in recovery this can have a devastating effect.

Huffington Post reports that sleep and mental health are intimately connected. “Nearly one in five Americans suffers from some kind of mental illness,” the website cites from the NIMH, National Institute of Mental Health. “Even more surprising, a whopping 50 to 80 percent of people living with typical psychiatric illnesses also report chronic sleep problems, compared to less than 20 percent of the general population.”

According to the article, post traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety can all interfere with sleep. In contrast, depression and anxiety can be triggered by a lack of sleep.

In early recovery treatment days, your loved one will likely be prescribed a sleep additive which is either pharmaceutical or natural. Non-narcotic sleep medications can be used to help reset the sleep cycle and make sure each client is getting enough rest. Natural remedies like melatonin, tryptophan, and/or valerian root could be used as well. Many other practices can contribute to better sleep, such as:

      • Limiting the use of social media before bed time
      • Limiting the use of technological devices before bed time
      • Not taking a nap after 4p.m.
      • Cutting off intake of caffeine or high amounts of sugar after 5p.m.
      • Practicing mindfulness meditation before bed

Balance, health, and wellness are invaluable components of recovery. At Enlightened solutions, we provide integrative partial care programs for addiction and dual diagnosis mental health issues. Bringing together twelve step philosophy, clinically proven care, and spiritual holistic healing, we strive to help clients start their recovery the right way. For more information, call 833-801-5483.

4 Ways To Spark Growth And Development Without Spirituality

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery. No Comments on 4 Ways To Spark Growth And Development Without Spirituality

Whether in a faith based program or a program that utilizes numerous holistic health and spiritually based practices, recovery goes hand in hand with spirituality. Proven treatment methods are called evidence based because they are demonstrated to reduce the severity of harmful symptoms which can cause stress, emotional distress, and eventually lead to relapse. Mindfulness based practices are proven to help recovering addicts and alcoholics find a center in their lives from which they can operate successfully without abusing drugs or alcohol. Mindfulness based stress reduction and mindfulness based cognitive behavioral therapy are both proven methods in addition to meditation practices.

Spirituality isn’t for everyone. Today, it is an integral part of most treatment programs for addiction recovery treatment. Unfortunately, despite high levels of customization and creating individualized programs for each person who enters a treatment facility, there is still a likelihood that someone who doesn’t like spiritual ‘stuff’ will still have to endure multiple hours a week of just that. One of the most important things to learn in recovery is a simple lesson which is often regarded in this way: take what you want and leave the rest. To their own disadvantage, many who are in recovery become quickly discouraged by spirituality and forget to look for the many other ways they can relate to recovery and engage in their personal growth. Another recovery saying, look for the similarities, not the differences also applies. In need of a few non-spiritual ways to have one of those break through transformations everyone seems to have? Here are a few suggestions:

  • Learn The Languages Of Emotions: There is nothing spiritual about emotional articulation. Emotions are immensely scientific in addition to being somewhat spiritual. Learning how to identify your emotions, regulate them, articulate them, and express them in a healthy way is a science and an art.
  • Read Books Which Are Inspiring To You: You don’t have to read the same books as everyone else with spiritual subjects you don’t relate to. Thankfully, plenty of people in recovery have taken to scientific research in addition to their own personal journeys of sobriety to create compelling and informative stories.
  • Utilize The Practical Stuff: Diet and nutrition, health and wellness, exercise and regular sleep- these are all tools for recovery and for life. Put focus into practicing these guides to transformative change. A good night’s sleep every night for a week might just change your life.
  • Challenge Yourself To Get Uncomfortable: An ultimate demise of each recovering addict and alcoholic is being uncomfortable. Spirituality and spiritual talk can be uncomfortable. Averting it entirely will make your recovery remarkably isolated. Open-mindedness is often regarded as a spiritual tenet but can be a truly life-changing practical application. Take into consideration what works for others by maintaining an element of curiosity rather than indignation.

Enlightened Recovery offers a practical approach to integrating holistic and clinical elements into a life changing program. For information on our partial care programs for addiction and dual diagnosis issues, call 833-801-5483 today.

Could Mindfulness Help With Cravings?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery. No Comments on Could Mindfulness Help With Cravings?

We often talk about cravings in recovery like a monster under the bed- if you let them grab a hold of you, you’re a goner. Cravings are, but also are not, that serious. Cravings are a reaction of the brain. Chemical reactions, cravings occur for different reasons. For example, the brain might be processing some residual toxins, memories, and associations which lead to cravings. On the other hand, there might be a circumstantial event which triggers some kind of pain or discomfort in the brain, causing it to want to produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter for pleasure. Long Term substance abuse damages the brain’s ability to produce enough of its own dopamine, at least not to a level that creates the same effect as drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, the brain becomes accustomed to such levels and when it cannot achieve them, especially in response to pain or a perceived threat, it produces cravings. Cravings happen because during addiction drugs and alcohol are the answer to everything. Thus, in order to cope with everything, the brain learns to rely on drugs and alcohol. Without mind altering substances, the brain experiences cravings.

Sometimes cravings are a passing experience. Other times, they are an indicator of spending too much thinking time in euphoric recall. Being mindful of your cravings can help you notice what is going on with them: where they are coming from, what triggered them, and what you need to do to calm them down.

According to Mindful, “Mindfulness could be the key to cutting the link between conditioned cues of desired objects and the craving that leads to addictive behavior.” The article emphasizes that just trying to cut off the thoughts where they are is a futile attempt. Instead, mindfulness helps you “build flexibility into how you relate to your own desirous thoughts…what you need is a heaping helping of mindful awareness of thinking– of observing your own thoughts without buying into them as absolute truth or trying to force them away.”

Running away from your thoughts and creating a negative association only perpetuates the problem. You conditioned your brain to reward satisfying cravings to cope with negativity of any kind. Giving into cravings for drugs and alcohol doesn’t work either. “What’s more helpful,” the article emphasizes, “is to build your capacity to serve as a witness to your own thoughts.” “Typically, when we think about something we crave, that thought feels very close, as if it’s inside us, part of who we are.” People often take their cravings as serious signs that they are

going to relapse. Mindfulness helps create distance between the mechanics of cravings and reality. As the article explains, “Mindfulness helps us see the thought as merely a moment of information.” Practicing mindfulness with your moments of cravings helps you gain the information you need to make an adjustment to your recovery program and move through the moment.

Cravings are a natural part of recovery. Learning how to live and cope with cravings is an essential part of treatment. Lifelong recovery is possible. Let the compassionate care at Enlightened Recovery show you the way. For 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.

Do Natural Remedies For ADHD Work?

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is common in young people and adults. ADHD which goes untreated throughout adolescence can become problematic in adulthood leading to difficulties in school, work performance, and handling life’s responsibility. Impulsivity, lack of control, and acting without consequence are character traits shared by both addiction and ADHD. Addiction is frequently co-occurring with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Often, people find it necessary to cope with their fast-moving thoughts due to ADHD with external substances. They find relief in getting, high or getting drunk because it helps disconnect them from their own minds.

Treating ADHD has been a source of controversy for some time. Studies have shown that children who are prescribed ADHD stimulant medications like Ritalin and Adderall have a higher risk of addiction later in life. However, early treatment of ADHD is supposed to limit the liability of addiction. Stimulant medications are powerful and often become addictions of their own. For example, college students are known to abuse drugs like Adderall and become addicted. Some studies have suggested that taking stimulant amphetamine drugs like Adderall is no different from taking cocaine or methamphetamine.

Outside of medication, there are plenty of other ways to manage ADHD. Holistic health supporters believe that a variety of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients can give the brain the power it needs to find a sense of calm and focus. Yoga and meditation can increase focus and concentration. Many behavioral and organizational tools can help keep someone’s life with ADHD in better order.

Though there isn’t a magical “cure” for ADHD, creating a comprehensive routine including a balanced diet, exercise, vitamins, meditation, and medication can be helpful. For those who have addiction and co-occurring ADHD, stimulant medication usually isn’t prescribed any longer during and after treatment. Non-stimulant medications exist which still help with ADHD symptoms, especially in combination with other methods.

Managing recovery with ADHD requires a holistic approach of mind, body, and spirit. The integrative programs at Enlightened Recovery can help you find balance and healing in your life. For more information, call 833-801-5483.

Nama’stick To Yoga Because It Helps With Depression

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According to Bustle, Boston University recently released information from their study on the efficacy of yoga in treating depression. Published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, the study followed thirty people of varying ages who were clinically depressed. Within the group, the participants were either medication-free or had been consistently taking medication for three full months or more.

One half of the participants were instructed to take a ninety minute yoga class in addition to four yoga sessions of thirty minutes on their own at home. In the other half of the group, participants took two yoga classes and three sessions at home each week.

The study lasted for three months. At the end of the three months, researchers evaluated the participants’ depression with the use of clinical depression questionnaires. For the half of the participants who had more yoga in their schedule- two group classes a week and three at home yoga sessions a week- there was a better improvement in score. Overall, the majority of participants in either grow saw a 50% more positive increase on their scores regarding their depression.

Yoga has been found to be helpful in alleviating the symptoms of many mental health conditions including anxiety, addiction, alcoholism, and post traumatic stress disorder. Skeptics of holistic healing arts and their effectiveness in treating mental health disorders have combatted years of research proving that yoga is helpful. This new study from Boston University shows that yoga is undeniably effective in alleviating symptoms of depression. A fifty percent increase is an astonishing and impressive advancement for those struggling with clinical depression.

Practicing yoga today is easier than ever. Many apps exist which can be downloaded to smart technological devices, full of yoga sequences and classes. Yoga instructions can be found online through streaming video services like YouTube. Yoga studios are plentiful and most major commercial gyms offer numerous yoga classes throughout the day.

For treatment of addiction, alcoholism, and co-occurring mental health conditions, yoga is becoming a primary practice. Regular practice of yoga helps increase blood circulation, improves heart health, reduces inflammation, and improves mood. Those who practice yoga find that they feel a greater sense of wellbeing, universality, and connectivity to the world around them.

Yoga is often a life-transforming practice. Recovery is about healing and transformation. Are you ready to make a change in your life? Enlightened Recovery is an integrative and holistic treatment program which draws on clinical and evidence based practices. For information on our treatment programs for men and women, call us today at 833-801-5483.

10 Tips For Moving Into Sober Living After Treatment

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  1. Create a routine of meetings:

    Treatment has a daily schedule to keep you occupied and moving through the day. Sober living can present a suddenly open schedule. Sitting around bored is usually a recipe for disaster in early recovery. Learning how to structure your day and create a healthy schedule can be a challenge after spending so much time in a place where that was being done for you. An easy way to create a backbone for your schedule is with recovery meetings. Until you have a job, go back to school, you have a lot of time. Spending that time in meetings will help you stay busy and help your recovery.

  2. Fill your schedule with friends and fellowship:

    Many people continue to take time off of work and school after moving into sober living. Some might get a part time job as a way to fill their time and create a bit of income. In between, fill your schedule with friends and fellowshipping. The first year of recovery is doing everything “sober”. Going to the movies, going shopping, taking road trips, having an adventure- they’re all things people do all the time. For you and your friends in recovery they are brand new experiences. Find out what living sober in recovery is all about together.

  3. Maintain healthy boundaries:

    The growing doesn’t stop with treatment. You’ll meet many more new people, start dating, and forming new relationships. As you make amends and reconnect with people from your past you rebirth old relationships. Relationships require healthy boundaries. Remember to make time to take care of you and clearly define when that time is.

  4. Stay honest with your house manager:

    Outpatient, intensive outpatient, or aftercare are all partial care programs you might continue to do when you’re in sober living. Sober living is also where people choose to live once they’ve completed all levels of treatment they need and start to live life again. Staying honest with your treatment team and your house manager is important. Throughout the first year to first eighteen months you will continue to experience cravings, obsessive thinking, and struggles. Just because you’re in sober living doesn’t mean you’re expected to do recovery perfectly.

  5. Continue seeing your therapist:

    If you aren’t in continuing levels of care, it is important to continue seeing your therapist or find a new therapist to see if you can’t see your treatment therapist. Ongoing therapy will help you stay connected to your recovery and work on underlying issues.

  6. Practice Self-Care:

    Your life is going to become full more quickly than you realize once you’re in sober living. Between the meetings, work, after care, therapy, and adventure, it’s important to slow down and take time for yourself. Create your routine of self-care and take time to nourish your soul in the way i needs to be nourished.

Enlightened Recovery provides partial care programs for those who have completed residential inpatient and are looking to continue their treatment. Our integrative and holistic programs are designed to create transformative healing in mind, body, and spirit. For more information on sober living, treatment, and how you can recover from addiction, call 833-801-5483.

Can Eating Disorders Be Predicted?

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A recent study found that there are three primary categories that disordered eating behaviors can either develop from or not develop from, starting in adolescence:

  • Asymptomatic: those who have no symptoms of disordered eating behaviors
  • Dieting Group: those who were actively pursuing weight loss
  • Disordered eating group: those who engaged in disordered eating behaviors symptomatic of diagnosable eating disorders such as binging and purging

Most eating disorders begin to develop at the young, pre-pubescent age and develop into adulthood. The study sought to investigate the patterns of adolescent behaviors and how they transitioned into adulthood. What the researchers found is revealing to the evolution of eating disorders and how early intervention could be essential for long term recovery.

For the asymptomatic group, those who had no symptoms at all, the researchers found that only a little over half (about 60%) stayed asymptomatic and did not develop an eating disorder later on in life. Adolescents who are not preoccupied with dieting or begin to participate in disordered eating behaviors in their critical developmental years are less likely to develop an eating disorder later in life. The remaining 40% might experience trauma, another mental health condition, or other extreme circumstances in life which lead to developing an eating disorder.

75% of those who belonged to one of the disordered eating behaviors groups, either dieting or disordered eating, continued to be in one of those two categories later on in life. Eating disorders have been discovered to thrive in the habit-forming part of the brain. Deeply rooted in in the brain, changing disordered thinking about eating habits, and disordered behaviors for eating habits, is hard to do. When eating disorder habits and thinking develops at an adolescent age, it can be difficult to stop later on in life.

Interestingly, the study found that a critical component in the development of an eating disorder was self-esteem. “Those with higher self-esteem in adolescence tended to have a decreased chance of transitioning from the asymptomatic group to the disordered eating group in adulthood.” In contrast, those who struggled with depression, dysfunctional family systems, family weight issues, or other circumstances, had lower self-esteem in adolescence and were more likely to develop an eating disorder through to adulthood.

Eating disorders are challenging to overcome but it is not possible. Addiction and alcoholism are commonly co-occurring with eating disorders. If you are struggling with both, recovery is possible and help is available. Call Enlightened Recovery today for information on our integrative treatment programs for healing mind, body, and spirit, as you make your journey to recovery. Healing is waiting. 833-801-5483.