Skip to main content

5 Reasons To Stay Out Of A Relationship In Early Recovery

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Alcoholism, Drugs & Alcohol, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Relationships, Sober Living. No Comments on 5 Reasons To Stay Out Of A Relationship In Early Recovery

Emotions run high in early recovery and many people seek comfort through a relationship. Here are our top five reasons to stay out of a relationship in early recovery.

  1. No Harm Will Come To You If You Don’t Date: Loneliness is not an ideal prospect. Falling in love can feel good- really good, but it can also be a distraction. Though you might feel lonely, longing for attention, and cravings for physical intimacy, living without those things won’t cause you any damage. They are manageable triggers that don’t include the overwhelming stimulus of another person. You can live without it, the same way you’re learning to live without drugs and alcohol.
  2. Harm Might Come To You If You Do: Unfortunately, you’re at greater risk for desperation in a relationship than you are out of one. People are complicated and so is love. In early recovery, you’re sensitive and not completely in touch with your feelings yet. Dating another person in early recovery, or anyone, can bring up stuff you aren’t ready to work on, put you in tough situations, or, in the event of a break up, cause inconsolable heartbreak. Sadly, many people relapse and overdose because of their inability to cope with rejection, abandonment, and codependency which comes from a break up.
  3. You’re Just Getting To Know Yourself: Being in a relationship is about more than being in a relationship. Romantic partnerships are about meeting someone else’s needs and your needs in a healthy way. Most people in early recovery are only just beginning to discover what their needs are. You’ve just started the journey of getting to know yourself and how you work as a person. Trying to balance that with a whole other person and all of their ‘stuff’ can be really hard to do.
  4. You’ve Had Abusive Relationships In The Past: If you’ve had abusive relationships in the past and are in early recovery, you might miss the signs of an abuser. Repeating patterns is easy to do in early recovery. You’re Dedicated to healing and changing your life in a way you never have before. There’s no need to suffer more abuse or stay in a situation that might inspire you to relapse.
  5. It’s About You Right Now: Balancing your time and energy with another person is hard when you’re in such a selfish place. Right now, compared to the past, you’re in a  good selfish place. It’s all about you, your recovery, and your fight to save your life. When you are ready for a relationship, you will have new standards in who you want and how you want to be in a relationship with them.

Enlightened Recovery is a certified co-occurring treatment center, offering treatment and support for both substance use disorders and mental health disorders. If you are struggling to get sober and need help recovering, call us today for more information at 833-801-5483.

Why Talk Therapy?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on Why Talk Therapy?

Millions of reasons exist for why talk therapy works. If talk therapy wasn’t ass effective as it is, it wouldn’t be a major part of treatment plans for recovering people all over the world. Therapy works for people who are able to get honest, open up and receive the help they need from their therapists. Treatment programs for recovering addicts and alcoholics include a lot of therapy. Individual therapy sessions, group therapy sessions, therapy activities, groups dedicated to specific therapy types like cognitive behavioral therapy- there is a lot of therapeutic work that takes place.

Psychological Bulletin recently published a study of over 200 psychological studies on the changes people experience over time. Self-improvement is a popular subject these days as everyone is on a mission to be happier, healthier, and more productive. Overwhelmingly, the research found, the surest and most time efficient way to achieve personal change is through therapy. Reporting on the study, the lifestyle website Bustle explains that the change in therapy over the course of three months is significant. That same change can be achieved without therapy; however, it would take 30 to 40 years. Left to our own devices, change can help. Self-help books, podcasts, meditations, activities, and retreats, can all help create effective change. However, therapy proves to be the fastest and most profound method for growing.

Finding A Therapist

Treatment is not always an option for people in need of support for mental health. Due to financial strains or personal life responsibilities, any level of treatment might be hard to come by. Finding an hour to two hours a week to work with a therapist is manageable for most people. You can find a therapist by searching for someone local nearby with the specialties you need. If you have insurance, you can call your insurance provider to get information on what your behavioral health benefits are and what local therapists are covered in your area. Referrals from friends is always a great place to look for therapist recommendations as well.

Fighting The Stigma

Mental health and mental health care still face a lot of negative stigma in today’s society. Reaching out and taking time to help yourself grow in positive ways is nothing to be ashamed of. By the time everyone else has changed over a lifetime, you’ll have changed a hundred times more.

Enlightened Recovery offers a variety of partial care day programs with options for customization to meet the needs of each client. If you are ready to make a positive change in your life and are ready to ask for help, call us today at 833-801-5483.

Coping With The Idea Of Death In Recovery

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Family Recovery, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on Coping With The Idea Of Death In Recovery

Death is a human experience. The unfortunate condition of our life on earth is that eventually we will die. Until science confirms a way to sustainably live for longer amounts of years, if not eternally, this is the end that every human will come to. Drug addiction and alcoholism can make this end arrive sooner than necessary, or drag it out for a very long time. Intravenous drug use with heroin or cocaine can take a  life with one shot. Alcoholism can damage critical organs so severely it causes cancer illness, and death. For years, an addict or an alcoholic might feel as though they are dying. Many people describe recovery as a rebirthing process. People feel as though they are given a second chance to live, are born again, and experience life truly for the first time.

Cunning, Baffling, Powerful

However, drugs and alcohol are insidious substances. “Cunning, baffling, powerful!” is howThe Big Book Of Alcoholics Anonymous describes the insanity of alcohol. The various “bottom” to which most alcoholics and addicts fall is enough for them to be convinced that lifelong sobriety is worth the struggle so that they never have to feel so sick and miserable again. Unfortunately, alcoholism and addiction are cunning, baffling, and powerful. For so many, death becomes the only bottom. Addiction and alcoholism have a way of convincing people that another drink or drug won’t hurt. In the end, many people are convinced that death is the only option and dying would be easier than living.

Each day, addiction and alcoholism claim dozens of lives. Accidental overdose or intentional overdose, liver diseases, cancers, heart failure, stroke, and more, are the results of drinking and drug use. Being in recovery among other recovering addicts and alcoholics will sadly mean having to witness death. With each passing friend is a sore reminder of the reality of the disease. Though dying might sound like a better alternative, though relapsing might sound like relief even though death could be a guarantee- there is no coming back for a second chance.

Sometimes, the loss of a fellow recovered can be triggering and cause others to relapse out of fear. The logic is nonsensical, but so is addiction. Staying sober isn’t always easy, but it is one hundred percent possible with treatment, support, and healing.

If you are ready to change your life and live the life of recovery, call Enlightened Recovery today. We are here to help you heal. For more information, call 833-801-5483.

The Power Of Music Therapy

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Drugs & Alcohol, Family Recovery, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on The Power Of Music Therapy

Music is a series of sounds put together in a composed way. Sound is energy and vibration. We hear sound and we emit sound. We can feel sound. Certain sounds can make us feel a certain way. Opera can bring a tear to the eye. Heavy metal can raise the heart rate and help express anger, frustration, and energy. For thousands of years, music has defined cultures, societies, and civilizations. Today, music is an integral part of life. What once had to be an attended concert or performance is now accessible with the touch of a finger. Music is literally at your fingertips all the time. We can hear it through the radio, through our digital devices, and our cars. When we need to hear that one song, get lost in the sound of an instrument, or listen to the words of powerful lyrics, music is there. We receive healing from music not just by listening to it but by making it as well.

Music therapy can include listening to music, singing, writing lyrics, playing instruments, attending shows, and dancing- anything having to do with interacting with music. During a music therapy session any kind of activity with music might be present, or many at once. However someone needs to find their expression through music is made possible in a music therapy session. Unlike art therapy which is primarily psychological, music therapy has an intensely physiological effect. Music gets the body moving, the blood moving, and the heart moving. How the heart beats in terms of heart rate has a working relationship with emotions. Music can simulate stress or relieve stress.

Making Music New

During treatment, there is an opportunity to redefine yourself musically. You can learn new kinds of music and dive into new worlds of genres, redefining what you thought you liked. You can also redefine music that once meant something to you but is dangerous today. Sometimes, old music which talks about drinking and using drugs, or the kind of music someone listened to while they were drinking and using drugs, can be triggering. Even in highly triggered states, music can help someone work through the challenge of cravings by using sound and lyrics to inspire strength, cope with difficult emotions, and release suppressed feelings.

Enlightened Recovery believes that there is healing power in the arts. Our unique program fuses together creative arts with holistic healing modalities in addition to traditional clinical treatment methods and therapies. For information on our programs, call us today at 833-801-5483.

Benefits Of Art Therapy In Addiction Treatment

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on Benefits Of Art Therapy In Addiction Treatment

W. Somerset Maugham once said that, “Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul”. Recovery is, if nothing more, an adventure of the soul. Taking off on the exploration of a lifetime is what treatment is like- discovering hidden depths and wonders along the way. Art therapy is a healing modality which helps express that adventure in a creative way.

Relieves Pain

Art therapy can be very pleasing as well as very soothing. During an art therapy session, patients can experience feelings of joy as well as feelings of relaxation. Being able to play and create stimulates the dopamine production in the brain, sending healthy signals of pleasure throughout. In addition, the repetitious behavior of brush strokes, movements, working with clay, or other mediums can be very relaxing. Relaxation can stimulate the opioid receptors in the brain, helping the body to relax and reduce pain.

Reduces Anxiety

Art is a concentration and a focus. When people are given space to create and express themselves authentically, they fall into a state of meditation. Art can be performance, but most often art therapy is not drama therapy or performance therapy. Instead, it is a quiet time to focus on the activity at hand. Anxiety includes a lot of scattered and rapid thinking that is difficult to focus. Art makes time for that, allowing someone with anxiety to experience what it feels like to be focused on one activity which brings them joy.

Regulates Emotions

Using art as a form of expression can be helpful during what is otherwise very clinical treatment. Instead of having to talk, analyze, and process, art therapy gives people the chance to just express and create. Having a few moments of normalcy and privacy helps people to feel more human and like themselves. With art, there is no need to impress or please anyone. People are free to make whatever they want and proclaim it as art. Often this takes a lot of emotional pressure off, allowing people to feel as though they can express whatever they want. Usually this translates back into clinical treatment by helping with emotional regulation and more.

Enlightened Recovery creates a treatment program that helps heal the mind, heart, body, and spirit with traditional treatment methods, 12 step inspiration, creative modalities, and holistic methods. For information on our partial care programs, call us today at 833-801-5483.

10 Way To Make The Most Out Of Sober Living

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Alcoholism, Healthy Living, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on 10 Way To Make The Most Out Of Sober Living

Sober living is a home where residents have to meet certain requirements in order to stay the most important of which is staying sober. During treatment at one of Enlightened Recovery partial care programs, you’ll be living in a local sober living home. Here are our top 10 ways for making the most out of your sober living experience.

  1. Choose The Right Home:Choosing the right sober living home is essential to making sure you feel comfortable, safe, supported, and protected. Look for homes which encourage regular meeting attendance, do screen testing once or twice a week, and have group activities. Go with your instinct and choose what feels right for you.
  2. Follow The Rules:Sober living is usually the place of residence during partial care treatment, such as intensive outpatient, or after residential treatment. After long hours of treatment programming it can be easy to go home to sober living and not want to do anything. It can feel like a safe space to break the rules, act out, and rebel- what you might call relaxing for someone in early recovery. Support the change in your habits by abiding by the rules.
  3. Do Your Chores:Most sober livings assign a weekly chore to each member of the house. You are part of a team working together to stay sober and keep a comfortable home. Not doing your chores will cause you to feel guilt and shame, even if you don’t want to admit it. Your lack of participation won’t be fair to you or your housemates. Do your part and keep your space clean out of respect to yourself and to others.
  4. Be Nice To Others:Your sober living housemates don’t have to become your new best friends, but they are likely to become friends you keep for a lifetime. Early recovery can be difficult and emotions often run high. Your learning how to have relationships and friendships again without the presence of drugs and alcohol. You’ll have more fun by learning how to be vulnerable and close to the people you live with.
  5. Encourage Group Activities:There’s a lot of sleeping that goes on in sober living. Recovering bodies need sleep to heal. Ongoing symptoms of withdrawal can be exhausting. In between naps and long night’s sleep, encourage your group to come together and participate in an activity. You’ll have fun, make memories, and remember why you got sober: to live again.
  6. Make Outside Friends:Going to meetings gives you an opportunity to meet people from other sober living homes or who are new to the recovery community like you. Ask people for their phone numbers and invite them over to hang out. You’ll diversify your group of friends and never be short of someone to call and talk to.
  7. Go To Meetings:The only way to meet people at meetings is to go to them. Your sober living will probably have one or two meetings that everyone goes to together. Lookup new meetings in different towns and venture out to find recovery. It is always inspiring to discover that recovery is everywhere and you are never alone.
  8. Have Adventures:Another way to combat sober living laziness is to get out and explore. If you don’t have a car, take walks around your neighborhood. If someone has a car, choose a new spot nearby to go and explore.
  9. Support One Another:Early recovery is hard. Making it through requires the love and support of peers. Always lend a listening ear, a prayer, or going with someone to a meeting. You’re all there to help each other.
  10. Report Relapse:There’s no need to be a tattle-tale, but you are learning to take steps to secure your sobriety. If someone has brought drugs and alcohol into the house, it is your right to report it. If you fear you or your housemates might be at risk for relapse because of someone else’s actions, talk to your house manager immediately.

Enlightened Recovery works with trusted sober living homes and residences to support our clients during their treatment programs. We provide references and can happily connect you with our community. For information on our treatment programs for men and women seeking recovery, call 833-801-5483.

The Challenge Of Relapse Prevention In Eating Disorders

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery. No Comments on The Challenge Of Relapse Prevention In Eating Disorders

How do you prevent a relapse for an eating disorder?

Food is a choice everyone has to make throughout the day every day. Unlike drugs and alcohol, there is no option to “not pick up no matter what”. Recovering from an eating disorder requires eating differently, thinking differently, and living life in a different way. Through treatment for eating disorders, we learn how to regard our bodies and minds with compassion. Therapy, physical activity, meetings, and meditation are all tools we pick up in order to live a healthy lifestyle without abusing ourselves through harmful behaviors. Like any recovery program, we are prone to slip up on our practice. Cutting a few extra calories from our meal plan might seem innocent when we are struggling with uncomfortable feelings of poor self-esteem. Taking therapy time as “self-care” time and missing an appointment can become an easily repeated pattern. These small changes can seem harmless. Recovery is not meant to be rigid without a margin for error. However, the flexibility can only go so far until it has a negative effect. Eating disorders live in the part of the brain which create habits. Habits are one of the most difficult psychological processes to change. Once a new habit starts leaning toward an old habit, it can quickly change. Old thoughts and voices can come creeping in, encouraging dangerous behaviors, critical observations, and more. Though we live in a world that obsesses about diet, exercise, food and body regularly, it can be life threatening for someone recovering from an eating disorder to go there.

During the early recovery months, it is important to stick to routine, including diet and exercise plans, as well as treatment plans. Stay honest about your experiences with challenging thoughts and moments. We are likely never the only one who is struggling with recovery. If the pressure of an eating disorder comes on too strong, make sure to reach out to someone immediately. We are equipped with a lot of tools to help ourselves, but sometimes the most powerful tool is asking for someone else’s help.

Recovering from eating disorders is absolutely achievable. One day, the voices will get quiet and the choices will become easy. Time, work, and dedication are required. You can find the support and encouragement you need with Enlightened Recovery. Our day treatment programs provide care for eating disorders and co-occurring mental health or substance use disorders. For information on our holistic method of healing, contact us.

8 Tips For Making The Most Of Free Time

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Healthy Living, Recovery, Sober Living. No Comments on 8 Tips For Making The Most Of Free Time

Early recovery can include a lot of down time in between treatment programming and activities. Sometimes downtime can be triggering because the impulse to use or drink still remains. One day you’ll learn to be comfortable with nothing to do, but you don’t have to be! Here are 8 ways to make the most of free time and live a full life.

Get Physically Active

Exercise is often a normal part of someone’s routine so it never really feels like an option for down time. Getting physically active doesn’t have to mean going to the gym.Taking a walk through the neighborhood, cleaning the house, reorganizing your room, or having a dance party can help you pass the time and get your body moving.

Learn Something New

Always wanted to learn a language? Interested in learning how to change the oil in your car yourself? Thanks to the internet, you can teach yourself how to do just about anything. Set yourself to a task and work on it a little bit each day. You’ll be amazed what you can accomplish!

Take Time For Reflection

With daily therapy and treatment programming you’ve probably had your share of sharing. Personal reflection time is helpful for taking quiet time to yourself and looking honestly at what you are accomplishing.

Choose A Hobby

Doing the same old same old can get boring. Boredom is a trigger for most people who are in recovery for an addiction. Instead of doing the same things, try something completely new. Choose a new hobby that is totally out of your comfort zone.

Go On Adventures

Everything can be an adventure if you want it to be! Adventuring in nature is proven to be good for mental health. Get some friends together and head to some local hiking trails, beaches, or whatever nature is nearby.

Travel

Traveling in early recovery can be difficult when there is a financial challenge. Travel doesn’t always have to be exotic to a far away place. Take a short drive to visit a friend or family member, explore a new area, or visit a new town. Getting out of your element broadens your horizons and helps you grow.

Practice Self-Care

Self-care is a special time for helping nurture and care for yourself in a healthy and positive way. Whatever it is that helps you relax, take time for yourself, and feel good is what you need to do for self-care.

Tend To Your Needs

Usually when we talk about tending to our needs in recovery, it is followed by discussion of self-care. Life has a lot of demands which become personal needs. However, we don’t often label them as personal needs. For example, you need to pay rent, pay your phone bill, and take care of what needs to be taken care of. When you neglect these things you put yourself at risk for creating stress, guilt, depression, and anxiety.

Enlightened Recovery is a partial care program, offering day treatment services at partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient services. If you or a loved one are looking for a certified treatment center for healing co-occurring disorders of addiction and secondary mental health disorders, call us today at 833-801-5483.

Essential Life Skills For Lifelong Recovery

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Family Recovery, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Recovery, Relationships, Sober Living. No Comments on Essential Life Skills For Lifelong Recovery

Empathy and Compassion: Living with compassion and empathy is not something many would call an essential life skill. However, in order to be a good human who does good things on earth, empathy and compassion is a must. We are tasked in recovery to always reach out our hands. As the saying in Alcoholics Anonymous goes, “love and tolerance is our code”. We are inherently self centered human beings. After developing an addiction, we tend to be even more selfish. Empathy and compassion are the ways in which we connect with others and step outside of ourselves in order to connect with someone else. Our relationships and connections with people are made deeper by practicing empathy and compassion.

  • Time management: Change is the only constant, it is said, and time is constantly changing. We only have so many waking hours in a day, days in a week, and so on. How we use our time is incredibly important because we’re either wasting it or making the most of it. Learning how to use a calendar, schedule appointments, prioritize activities, and make enough time for self-care in a day are essential life skills.
  • Asking for help: People who have had to make the decision to ask for help in finding treatment understand how life saving this life skill can be. We can’t possible know it all. In order to get things done, we often have to ask for help. Help you help yourself by feeling no shame when it comes to asking for assistance with something.
  • Active listening: We can go our entire lives without really listening to what someone has to say. From instructions to suggestions to someone’s expression of their needs, if we don’t actively and reflectively listen we miss out on what is being said.
  • Meditation: Taking time to quiet the mind is more than calming- it helps grow new brain muscle memory, reduces symptoms of stress, reduces intensity of mental health disorders, and radically improves health.
  • Financial Management: Some people never learn how to manage their money. Living in chronic debt or without any money can lead to stress and hardship which could eventually cause someone to relapse. Money comes and goes. Learning how to manage finances for the long term and the short term are essential for reducing stress and creating a sense of security.
  • Healthy Living: Eating organic, having a balanced diet, staying nutritionally well, and having basic cooking skills are all a part of healthy living. Your long term future depends on your physical health as much as it does your mental wellbeing.
  • Communication: communication is a part of everyday life >learning how to communicate honestly, tactfully, and articulately is helpful in every single area of life.

Enlightened Recovery believes that people entering recovery for an addiction are in need of developing or redeveloping essential life skills for life after treatment. If you or a loved one are ready to learn a new way of being, call us today for more information, 833-801-5483.

What Does Organic Really Mean?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Healthy Living. No Comments on What Does Organic Really Mean?

Think about the word “organic” and understand a few vague pieces of information. Generally, most people understand organic to mean two things: better for you, and more expensive. Since the release of controversial and eye-opening documentaries likeFood, Inc. the world has been made aware of the importance of eating a mostly organic diet. Genetically modified foods and processed foods are not as healthy as they claim to be. However, due to the intricate relationships between government boards like the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture with multi billion dollar food corporations, the definition of organic has been blurred.

USDA Definition

Recently, the USDA updated its definition of what organic is supposed to mean when it comes to the food you buy. According toLifehacker, “Under current standards, the label ‘organic’ doesn’t have much to do with animal welfare. It basically just refers to restrictions on what the animals are fed and when they’re given antibiotics.” Until recently, consumers have been mostly concerned with what kinds of hormones and chemicals are given to the animals and plants they buy to eat. Since organic is supposed to mean healthier food, most assume that the food is treated with a higher quality of care. Today, animal cruelty is a major consideration for purchasing animal products, specifically. “Free range” for example is an important label, for purchasing chicken and beef. Unfortunately, not all organic animal products come from humane farms or factories.

“With the new rule,”Lifehacker explains, “farmers have to give animals access to the outdoors at least once a day on vegetation or soil—enclosed porches don’t count. It also sets guidelines for minimum space requirements and prevents certain physical alterations to the animal (like de-beaking).” These are huge strides in the organic food industry, which is estimated to be a $40 billion industry.

Government agencies have come under fire for their loose treatment of the word organic and the regulations with which they use to determine what is healthy for consumers. These new restrictions ensure another level of consideration which food producers and manufacturers must abide by in order to create a quality product.

Increasingly, people are turning to a mostly organic lifestyle. Supporting a healthy lifestyle of proper nutrition and food choices is essential for persons recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, in addition to co-occurring mental health disorders.

Recovery is a healing process of mind, body, and spirit. Enlightened Recovery is committed to providing clients with a one hundred percent organic diet as well as nutritional support and counseling on keeping a healthy lifestyle long term. If you are interested in our programs of healing, call us today at 833-801-5483.