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Owning Your Choices In Recovery

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In his book The Light in the Heart, author Roy T. Bennett talks a lot about choices. The human mind makes about 35,000 conscious choices and decisions each day. How many of them do we actually take time to consider? Despite our immense power as decision makers, we often give our power away when it comes to our choices. It might seem strange to ponder. Don’t we make our choices for ourselves? If we were to take the time to analyze each of our choices we would probably find a lot more inauthenticity than we were expecting. So often do we make a choice because of someone else, for someone else, or in spite of someone else. Each time we make a decision that goes against the authentic will of who we are we leave a little scar in our minds. Like giving ourselves a burn, we are left in pain. Though it feels easier to make choices that keep us safe as we assume other would want us to act this way, it actually harms us. We’re left with shame, guilt, and a damaged sense of self-esteem.

“Every choice comes with a consequence,” Bennett writes, “Once you make a choice you must accept responsibility. You cannot escape the consequences of your choices, whether you like them or not.” Problematically, when we make choices and decisions based on a source other than ourselves or the higher power of our understanding, we cease to take responsibility for them. If, or when, we must face the consequences of those choices, we hide behind the fact that they were for somebody else. Such behaviors continue to take away our personal empowerment and sense of agency.

Even if we make choices for reasons other than ourselves, we must learn to own them. Every choice we’ve made in our entire lives demands ownership. Taking ownership for choices is a critical part of the therapeutic process for recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. According to the biopsychosocial model, there are a variety of reasons as to why we started drinking and using. Our brains, bodies, and social environments in some ways conditioned us to choose to use substances to alter the way we felt. However, that choice was still entirely ours as well were the many choices that followed.

In recovery we continue making choices each day, choices we are unfamiliar with. We learn that we have the power to choose how we feel, how we react and respond, how we cope with life on life’s terms. Each day we are given an opportunity to own those choices and be fully empowered in who we are. That is a gift of recovery. “Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice,” Bennett asserts, “Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.”

 

Choose treatment. Choose recovery. Choose life. When it comes to making that choice for one more hit or one more drink, the choice is yours. We hope you choose Enlightened Recovery to help you recover. Our goal is to provide a compassionate environment of holistic healing to help you end your destructive relationship with drugs and alcohol. Are you ready to make the choice? Call us today 833-801-5483.

Are You Having Nightmares? ​These Could Be The Reasons Why

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Dreams are the brain’s way of making sense of the day. Our brains are like supercomputers, computing, analyzing, and storing thousands of pieces of information each day. Sometimes, there are bits that fall under the radar. Dreams help the brain process what is left over. Interpreting dreams is an ancient practice. Some people read very heavily into their dreams as if each night’s internal cinema were a prophecy coming from the subconscious. Others can hardly connect to their dreams and give them little attention when they occur. Everybody dreams, whether they can remember them, or care about them, or not.

 

Nightmares are the horrific kinds of dreams. Violent dreams can wake us up in the middle of the night, hearts pounding, minds full of anxiety. In early recovery, during treatment, withdrawing from drugs and alcohol can cause nightmares. We might experience episodes of PTSD in our sleep as our brain tries to process events from the past. Almost everyone in recovery experiences “using dreams” throughout their sobriety, especially in the first year. A using dream is when one knowingly, or unknowingly, uses a substance, comprising their sobriety. Being in treatment especially triggers these dreams as the mind has an ongoing subconscious narrative focusing on staying sober. 

Sometimes these dreams can be violent. If you’re using used to take place in violent environments or were associated with violent environments, dreams about using can turn violent. However, our past is not the only thing which dictates violence in nightmares. New research revealed that what you think about and what kind of media you consume within 90 minutes of bedtime has a great effect on what kind of dreams you have.

Media consumption can affect how often you dream as well as what you are dreaming about. If you are laying in bed scrolling through old pictures of partying, drinking, and using, it wouldn’t be unlikely for you to have a using dream. According to Bustle, people who consume media of the violent kind within 90 minutes of going to bed were 13 times more likely to have violent dreams.

Cut off your media consumption at least one hour before bedtime. Making a gratitude list, praying, and meditating before bed can help set your mind in a positive place. Drinking a calming tea and journaling will help your mind be at ease as well.

Enlightened Recovery has the answer to the question of how to treat drug and alcohol addiction. By using tested 12 step philosophy with modern holistic treatments, we provide an integrative approach to healing. We want you to start your new life with us. Call us today at 833-801-5483.

The Three Aromatherapy Oils Everyone Should Use In Recovery

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Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils, flowers, herbs, plants, and scents, to treat holistic health issues. Oils are a wonderful and natural way to support the experience of early recovery from aches and pains to headache and stress.

 

Lavender

Lavender is basically nature’s wonder drug. Primarily used for relaxation, lavender can also be used for a number of medicinal purposes. Lavender is a flower which is purple in color. Use lavender in an aromatherapy diffuser to create an atmosphere of relaxation. For coping with feelings of anxiety due to an anxiety disorder or some of the symptoms of withdrawal from drugs and alcohol, lavender can be a calming agent. Lavender oil can be applied topically. For best results, apply lavender oil to the temples, the underside of the wrist, the top of the head, and bottom of the feet. These are areas of pressure points and some of the body’s most adaptive places. Having the scent of lavender on your body will help you to breathe it in more, focusing on it’s relaxing purpose.

Medicinally, lavender can be used to treat bites, burns, stings, and pain. Lavender’s soothing properties will reduce the urgent physical sensations and help the body concentrate on healing.

 

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus oil comes from the fragrant leaves of the eucalyptus trees. The scent of eucalyptus is refreshing and invigorating. It is no wonder that Koalas love to eat them. As a tool for aromatherapy, eucalyptus is used for opening up. When congested with allergies or a cold, rubbing eucalyptus oil on the nose, throat, and chest, acts as a natural decongestant. Eucalyptus can be used in the shower to create an awakening experience.

Respiratory issues is where eucalyptus oil is the most efficient, but can be used in other ways. Eucalyptus oil naturally acts as an anti-everything harmful: bacterial, fungal, microbial, and viral. If you are willing to withstand the sting, putting Eucalyptus oil on a wound can help.

 

Peppermint

Peppermint is made for more than lattes, seasonal chocolates, and chewing gum. Peppermint oil can be added to food to achieve that minty taste. However, applying peppermint to the body is like using a cooling and heating sensation style product. Peppermint is a natural menthol, helping to ease muscle tension as well as tension caused by headaches. Drinking peppermint tea eases tension in the digestive system, helping with bloating and constipation.

 

Enlightened Recovery utilizes holistic healing modalities such as aromatherapy to support a clinically based program designed for healing. Your body, mind, and spirit, deserve to heal after being abused by drugs and alcohol. For more information on our programs of treatment, call 833-801-5483.

7 Art Therapy Ideas For The Winter Holidays

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Holidays are known for beautiful decorations, fun crafts, and delicious meals. Incorporate your recovery into holiday cheer with some of these therapeutic activities.

Art Therapy Ideas For The Winter Holidays

  1. Ornaments.
    Decorating ornaments is a great way to express creativity and add to the holiday tradition. You can buy pre-colored ornaments and use adhesive methods like hot glue gun or modge podge to cover the ornament in decoration or collage. Buy clear, glass ornaments and different color paints. For a therapeutic twist, use the clear ornament as a metaphor and notice how each paint leaves a unique color streak when you pour it on the inside. Some colors mix better than others. As you twist the ornament in different ways you can change the way the paint colors the inside of the glass. Like in life, we are affected in different ways by the things which come into our existence. Not everything mixes beautifully, but by learning to navigate life and accept what comes, we can still create something to cherish.
  2. Wreaths.
    A wreath is a beautiful holiday welcoming symbol that can be incredibly creative. How do you want your door or home to be noticed? Start with a styrofoam ring and start to decorate. You can choose whatever theme you want and hang the wreath proudly for everyone to see. For a therapeutic activity, consider the wreath to represent the circle of your life. Choose decorations to show how far you’ve come and where you want to go.
  3. Custom Wrapping Paper.
    Buy sheets of blank colored wrapping paper and sets of sharpies or paints. Rolling the paper out across the floor, use rocks or something heavy to hold down the corners. Draw, splatter, paint, and doodle all over the paper for a pattern that is completely original and unique to you.
  4. Holiday Themed Coloring Books.
    Coloring is a great art therapy tool. Find holiday themed coloring books and spend time coloring in the scenes which speak most to you about the holidays.
  5. Snow Globes.
    Imagine what your perfect winter wonderland would look like. Using any kind of jar, fill the body with water and white glitter. On the inside of the lid, glue decorations to depict your ideal scene. Is it trees? A log cabin? Walking a dog? Find a small toy or decoration. Once it is dry, screw the lid back on and flip it over.
  6. Holiday Music Meditation Activity.
    Holiday music can bring back a lot of happy memories and a lot of difficult memories. Pick a favorite album or song to do a mindful meditation to. Notice what emotions come up as you listen to the song. Which parts are your favorites? What smells does it remind you of or feelings? After the song, journal your reflections.
  7. Ugly Holiday Sweaters.
    The ugly holiday sweater has become a major trend for parties and celebrations. Finding the right ugly sweater can take tons of shopping in thrift stores and shops. Create your own using fabric paints, decorations, patches, and more. From any store, purchase a plain colored crewneck sweatshirt. Using the colors and decorations you’ve chosen, decorate the front of the sweater. At your first sober holiday party, you’ll blow everyone out of the way with your very own ugly sweater. Use the activity as a time to practice remembering not to take yourself, and even the holidays, too seriously.

We know the holidays can be hard. You don’t have to do it alone. If you or a loved one are in need of seeking treatment this holiday season, Enlightened Recovery is here to help. Give yourself the gift that will last the rest of your life. Call us today: 833-801-5483.

Doing “The Work”

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What is “the work”? We hear it referred to all the time in recovery when we seek treatment for our addiction to drugs and alcohol. “Work it because you’re worth it” twelve step meetings attendees proclaim at the conclusion of their meet up. “The work works”, they say, never truly defining what it is they are alluding to. “It only works if you do the work”, they nearly threaten, yet still they don’t explain what “the work” is.

Most often, in the 12 step world created by Alcoholics Anonymous, the work refers to the journey of the 12 steps. Each step requires a certain kind of assignment, as it is laid out in The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Certainly, there is work to be done to get from step one to step twelve. For example, the fourth step which states “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves” asks us to make an informed inventory of our lives.

Is it possible that the “work” which occurs through the twelve steps is so remarkable that everyone who goes to twelve step meetings would refer to it so ambiguously? It is possible, but it is only part of what everyone is talking about.

“The work” in recovery is not graded. Unlike schoolwork, the work that takes place by choosing to walk this path happens spiritually. It is in fact spiritual work. Spiritual work happens incrementally, though sometimes it can feel like it happens all at once. Emotional work happens through emotional breakthroughs, realizations, and insights.

All of the work takes willingness. Like space travelers, we have to be willing to boldly go where we have not gone before wishing the depths of our spirits and our minds.

Is the work worth working? Absolutely. No doubt it all sounds very strange. There is indeed a mystery to all of it. For the millions of people around the world who have been recovering for years by doing “the work”, it seems to be working for them. They found the willingness they need to grow along spiritual lines, progressively. Are you ready to begin? The work is waiting.

Enlightened Recovery offers a combined approach to treating addiction and alcoholism, including evidence based treatment, twelve step philosophy and holistic healing. Treating mind, body, and spirit, Enlightened guides patients on the path of recovery, one step at a time. For more information on our programs for men and women, call 833-801-5483.

Yes, You’re Going To Do Yoga In Rehab: Here’s What You Need To Know

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Yes, You’re Going To Do Yoga In Rehab: Here’s What You Need To Know

Yoga has become a staple of treatment for recovery from addiction, alcoholism, and mental health. Used as an integrative, preventative, and therapeutic practice, yoga is an essential tool for early recovery.

You’re Not Going To Do Yoga Every Day

For many people, their experience with yoga during their stay in a treatment facility for addiction will be their first. Trained yoga teachers, especially those versed in addiction treatment, will be skilled in working with the newcomer and slowly introducing them to the practice. After a few weeks you might find yourself working up to a daily practice. As it is said in recovery, “easy does it”. Take it one day at a time. Yoga is not about competition, judgment, or even achievement. The true practice of yoga lies in meeting yourself exactly where you are and embracing yourself there.

You Are Going To Notice A Change Every Day

You may not touch your toes in a forward bend after just a few therapeutic yoga sessions, but you might notice other positive benefits. Innumerable scientific research studies have been dedicated to analyzing the positive benefits of yoga. For addicts and alcoholics in recovery, there are specific benefits of yoga that are especially helpful. Yoga has been proven to reduce the intensity or presence of symptoms for mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.

Addiction and alcoholism affect the brain, body, and spirit. Yoga helps rejuvenate the body by making it stronger and more flexible. Stress is greatly reduced through yoga practice which helps the heart become more healthy and function better.

Each day of yoga helps us open up. Yoga is about finding union between the mind, body, and the spirit. Starting a journey of spirituality through recovery where you are also working on healing the mind and body is challenging. Drugs and alcohol shut our minds off and leave us at dis-ease with ourselves. Yoga gently helps us to settle back into who we are as a holistic whole.

Enlightened Recovery provides spiritual and holistic healing and therapeutic treatment modalities as part of an integrative treatment program. As a certified and licensed dual diagnosis treatment center, Enlightened is able to serve the needs of those suffering from addiction, alcoholism, and co-occurring mental health diagnoses. Combining the philosophy of the 12 steps with evidence based treatment methods, the program at Enlightened is a soulful approach to starting life long sobriety. For more information on our programs please call 833-801-5483.

Seasons of Change in Recovery

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The seasons are changing. Fall, or Autumn, is the beginning of the earth’s hibernation period. Leaves changing color and falling off the trees is the first sign of earth preparing to rest and prepare itself for the next spring. Seasons are a cycle of shedding, growth, and rebirth. How the seasons change and what nature does to transition between the two is a metaphor for recovery. Through the different stages of our emotional, physical, and spiritual development, we too go through seasons of change.

Active addiction is not our only winter. Winter can be seen as a time of being barren. Trees are bare, stripped of their color and opulent leaves. The weather is cold and there is often rain, darkness, or snow. Though the winter is the most “empty” time of the seasonal year, it is when the most work is being done. It may be hard to see it at the time, but at the end of every winter is a coming spring. Winter is when the earth is preparing to bud, bloom, grow, and produce rich fruit out of beautiful flowers. When we experience seasons of winter, of hard times that feel cold and empty, we are actually preparing for tremendous growth. As the spring demonstrates, often that growth is incredibly beautiful.

In the Spring, the earth stretches its branches, roots, and petals after a long winter’s hibernating nap. It explodes into amazing color. Animals birth the babies they conceived and grew during the winter. The world is alive and pushing out the fruits of its labor, quite literally. Spring, as good as the warm sun feels and the beautiful flowers are, unfortunately does not last. For recovery, this is an important lesson. “This too shall pass” is often offered as a consolation during difficult times. However, it also applies to good times. Like the seasons, everything continues to change.

Spring turns into summer full of heat and sun, healing the earth after it’s victorious rebirth. Eventually, the heat begin to dry out the trees and once more fall sets in, preparing for winter again.

During the challenging months of early recovery, change can feel impossible to endure. We long for consistency. Just as things are feeling familiar, they begin to change again. This is the cycle of recovery and of life. Part of our mission in learning to live a life of sobriety is learning how to live with life on life’s terms. Simply stated, life changes. We change with it. When the discomfort passes, you’ll learn to see these passing seasons as beautiful opportunities to learn and grow. Welcome to the beginning of your life.

Enlightened Recovery offers a program of freedom to those trapped in the endless season of addiction to drugs and alcohol. Providing compassionate therapy in the comfort of a residential home, Enlightened solutions combines twelve step philosophy with evidence based treatment and holistic healing modalities. Call us today to find out how we can put you on the path to recovery 833-801-5483

Processing Stress In Recovery

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Nobody likes stress. In fact, no body likes stress. Stress, it has been proven hundreds of times over, is incredibly bad for your health. Stress is one of the leading causes of disease, heart failure, and poor health throughout the world. To deal with stress, the body produces adrenaline, which stimulates the fight or flight response. Inherently we don’t even really “deal” with stress, we either fight it off or run away from it. Going against our survival instincts and choosing to work through stress is a major part of growing in recovery. Life can be stressful, but the stress does not have to win. Here are some tips for learning to grow through stress rather than run from it, fight it, or be consumed by it to the point of ill health.

Failure Happens

“Progress not perfection” is a popular saying in the rooms of recovery and twelve step meetings.  The Big Book of Alcoholics in Chapter 5 titled “How it Works” reads, “No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.” The truth is, nobody is perfect. Trying to bear the responsibility of being that one perfect person is just too much for anyone’s back. As alcoholics and addicts, we tend to convince ourselves we’re “special”. We have to succeed because we are capable of it, even if nobody understands. Consequently, we begin to view failure as stress and stress as failure. Stress is a natural reaction to life. Being the wonderfully imperfect beings that we are, we get stressed and sometimes we “fail”. It’s okay.

Give It Away To Keep It

Stress is actually a gift of recovery. In early recovery, we work hard to keep our stress at a minimum in an effort to support our treatment. We continue to grow and begin living our life again. Jobs, responsibilities, all the little pieces of life come trickling back in, and cause us stress. The truth is, we worked hard to get here. We’ve earned our stress because we’ve developed an entirely new manner of living in which to handle it- even if we don’t always handle it well.

Being of service is a critically important component in recovery. One of the quickest and most sure-fire ways to get out of self when you are super focused on your stress is to be of service to another person. You might be thinking you don’t have time to be of service because you are too busy with all the stressful things you have going on. Usually, that’s the strongest indicator that you need to make the time. It will significantly help you reduce your stress by helping you get grounded and grateful for the life you have created!

Enlightened Recovery compassionately treats each patient with the therapeutic skills necessary to help them build a new spiritually founded life. Our treatment programs for addiction and dual-diagnosis disorders are integrative, combining twelve step philosophy with effective therapy models and holistic healing modalities. Call us today for more information 833-801-5483.

Anxiety Behaviors You Might Not Notice

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Introvert or Anxiety?

Someone with anxiety might be overly intimidated by the prospect of attending any kind of social event. As a result, they will consistently decline invitations to go out. It’s easy to write social situations off. Someone might be introverted, anti-social, isolating, or just prefers being alone. Anxiety is all of these things, on an extreme scale. If you notice a loved one socially withdrawing more and more, it might be time to lovingly confront them on their anxiety.

Always Awake, Always Tired

When your thoughts are running a thousand miles a minute in a thousand different directions without any sign of stopping, it’s hard to get a good night’s rest. Late to sleep and early to rise, living with anxiety can sometimes look like an abundance of energy. In truth, anxiety is an abundance of stress, worry, and uncontrollable looping thoughts. Despite emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion, a loved one with anxiety might be up and at it, regardless. Sleep medications, anxiety medications, and holistic evening rituals can help contribute to better sleep. Herbal teas, warm baths, and mindful meditation can help the mind relax.

Can’t Take a Compliment Or A Hint

Not everyone is well versed in openly receiving kind words or criticisms. It is difficult for someone with anxiety to hear someone express their concerns towards them. Though a loved one will mean well, they will likely cause someone with anxiety to become more anxious. Furthermore, if a person with anxiety is recovering and receives a compliment about how well they are doing, that too might cause them more anxiety. Mindfully pay attention to how your loved one reacts to different kinds of statements. There could be more than meets the eye.

Total Disability

Keeping up with an anxious mind is exhausting. Living with a mental illness such as anxiety is all-consuming. WIthout the proper medications, life skills, and coping tools, anxiety can be too much to bear. If you notice that your loved one frequently needs to take a down day where they hardly move or function unless completely necessary, there may be coping going on. Take a rest day is a vital practice for anyone. Taking multiple rest days in a short amount of time is a sign of exhaustion.

Enlightened Recovery is a licensed and certified dual diagnosis treatment center serving those with substance abuse issues and mental health disorders like anxiety. Through a combination of twelve step philosophy with proven treatment methods and holistically inspired healings, Enlightened offers a compassionate and comprehensive program. For more information, call 833-801-5483.

ADHD Is A Plus, Not A Minus

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Within the name, ADHD makes the diagnosis sound as if it is a matter of lacking rather than an actual advantage. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is usually characterized by an inability or extremed difficulty in concentrating or focusing. Along with inattention, ADHD comes with other characterizations that are not negatives. Sadly, ADHD is often labeled as being unmanageable. It is true that learning to live with ADHD requires adopting tools for managing an array of hyper-traits. However, they do not make you deficient, as the name might indicate. Instead, parts of living with ADHD man you an exceptionally unique and gifted person.

For example, you have an endless amount of energy. Though others call it “hyper”, your energy can be used in many different ways. Exercise is very good for managing ADHD. You have enough energy to be great at sports and get tons of things accomplished throughout the day. Harnessing that energy and focusing it on the task at hand is your challenge. When you learn to work with your energy, there is little you will not be able to accomplish!

“Learning disability” has nothing on creativity. People with ADHD think faster and more creatively than other people. You don’t have to work hard to come up with original ideas that are out of the box. You don’t even know what the box looks like!

Your hyperactive attention may sometimes make you feel like you’re not taking any information in. On the contrary, you pay attention to more detail than most people. You have more attention to be paid than you do things to pay attention to. For some, ADHD causes them to be bored because they are not being mentally stimulated by what is in front of them.

When you put your mind to it, there is literally nothing you cannot do. Passion is a factor in changing that boredom to incredible productivity. Once you find something you are interested in, your hyperactivity turns into hyperfocus. There will be no stopping you until you are done. Most of the time, you will do whatever you are doing with great success.

Other characteristics of ADHD that are usually seen with a negative connotation are impulsivity and risky or reckless behavior. It is true that when ADHD is not properly managed, that can lead to dangerous places. ADHD creates a three time higher chance in young people for experimenting with drugs or developing an addiction. However, impulsivity can become spontaneity and reckless behavior can lead to successful risk taking.

Enlightened Recovery is a licensed dual-diagnosis treatment facility equipped to treat patients with co-occurring disorders of substance abuse and mental health issues, like ADHD. ADHD can be managed with the proper treatment and education in life skills and personal development. We see your potential. Let us help you exceed it. For more information call 833-801-5483.