Why connecting with therapists and staff can make all the difference
While you’re going through treatment, it is vital you take advantage of connecting with your therapists and staff in your residential treatment center. This means not only listening to them and sitting for sessions, but actively connecting and reaching out to them throughout the process. Being an active participant with them can help keep you accountable and become more serious about your sobriety.
You don’t have to go through it alone
Going through the addiction recovery process leaves you with about a million unknowns. How will you feel throughout detox? How long will it last? How do I control my temptations? Can I r...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - November 27, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment PTSD Relationships Sober Living and Aftercare Substance Abuse family therapy Source Type: blogs
Triggers to Avoid During the Holidays
Know your triggers
A major part of a successful recovery process is knowing what your triggers are. During the holidays, it can be a time that they present themselves more often than not. It can also be time when new triggers can arise that you didn’t realize you had before. It’s important to sit down and make a list of all the triggers that you think may pop up, and come up with a plan for each of them. This will give you better confidence for handling the situation when it pops up, and you will be able to move past it successfully with your newly-honed coping skills.
Common holiday triggers
Traveling
Pressure to be ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - November 13, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Uncategorized addiction alcohol family family therapy holidays PTSD relationships triggers Source Type: blogs
How to Avoid Relapse During The Holidays
The holidays can be a joyous time of year, but it can also trigger a lot of stress. There are many celebrations, social events and possible opportunities where triggers and temptations could arise. Whether or not it is your first time navigating the holidays sober, it’s always a great idea to know what may come, and that includes having a plan in place so that you don’t slip into a relapse.
Make a plan and prepare
Just like the rest of the year, it is important to take your sobriety one day at a time. Waking up in the morning with a plan on how to stay sober the rest of the day is important, especially during the holid...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - November 5, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Recovery Addiction Stories Healthy Eating and Recovery Holidays Sober Living and Aftercare christmas family holiday parties Source Type: blogs
Nutrition and Recovery
How Addiction Takes a Toll on Your Nutrition
Drug and alcohol abuse can take a major toll on your body. The recovery process is gradual, and nutrition is one of the major issues that often get overlooked, yet need attention. Our brain functions are influenced by food, and when your brain isn’t producing the chemicals it needs to maintain balance you can feel irritable and anxious. Some of the effects of having an improper diet can also be:
Paranoia
Fatigue
Depression
Impaired memory
There is a belief that in recovery you can indulge in sweets and junk food. Some studies show that these diets can hindering your path to ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 31, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Dual Diagnosis and Eating Disorder Treatment Eating Disorders Healthy Eating and Recovery Substance Abuse Sugar clean eating compu Source Type: blogs
Is Relapsing a Total Failure?
Relapsing is Part of Recovery
Relapsing can be defined as going back to drug or alcohol abuse after a period of time of abstaining. Going through the treatment process can give you the tools needed to tackle coping with difficult situations and emotions instead of turning to drugs and alcohol. However, relapse can happen. Relapse shouldn’t be looked at as a sole event that has turned into a failure in your life. Rather, it is important to look at it as a process, and something that you are able to work through.
When someone is relapsing, there are often many red flags that happen first. These red flags can include:
Beco...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 31, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Alcohol Alcoholism Drug Treatment Sober Living and Aftercare drug abuse and prevention prescription drug abuse prevention and treatment act relapse relapse prevention relapsing Source Type: blogs
What is Detox and How Long Should It Take?
What is detox?
Detox is the very first step of recovery once someone enters treatment. When you have been abusing a substance for a period of time, your brain becomes chemically re-wired to depend on this substance. When the substance is no longer in your body, withdrawal symptoms begin. This is also known as being “dope sick” or “hungover”, and a quick way to get rid of those withdrawal symptoms is to provide the body with the substance again. However, instead of providing the body with the substance, detox works to comfortably wean the client from the substance and essentially rewire the brain back to not longer ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 29, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Stories Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Drinking Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Medical Substance Abuse anxiety in withdrawal medicated-assisted detox Source Type: blogs
The Top 10 Warning Signs of Becoming Addicted to Alcohol
Having a casual night out with friends and a few drinks is often not something to worry about. However, for many people, it can become easy to become addicted to alcohol. In fact, according to the 2015 NSDUH, 15.1 million adults ages 18 and older (6.2 percent of this age group) has alcohol addiction. If you think you might be becoming addicted to alcohol, read these 10 warning signs.
Top 10 Signs of Becoming Addicted to Alcohol
Trouble in Relationships
Alcohol addiction can cause a strain on many, or all, of the relationships in your life. This can include a failed marriage, once close family members no longer inviting you...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 25, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Drinking addicted to alcohol binge drinking drinking problems Source Type: blogs
PTSD and Trauma Leading to Addiction
If you feel as if your PTSD and addiction are linked, and your trauma is leading to addiction, chances are you are probably right. The good news is that you are not alone. Time reports that about 50-66 percent of those who suffer from PTSD also battle simultaneous addiction. In addition, around 50% of individuals seeking substance use treatment also suffer from PTSD according to MentalHelp.
Co-Occurring PTSD and Addiction
PTSD, which stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is defined as a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serio...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 23, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources Alcohol Anxiety Drinking Drug Treatment Mental Health PTSD Substance Abuse alcoholism co-occurring disorder co-occurring disorders co-occurring disorders trea Source Type: blogs
The Top 10 Warning Signs of Becoming Addicted to Medication
Substance abuse and addiction isn’t just limited to alcohol and street drugs. It can also be very easy to become addicted to medication. This can be very confusing and dangerous all at the same time, because medication has been prescribed to help treat something that might be wrong.
While taking medication prescribed by a doctor and following all dosing instructions can be beneficial for many, it can also lead to addiction when tolerance builds and someone begins to take more than the recommended dose. If you feel as if you may be becoming addicted to your medication, read these warning signs below and seek help.
Top 10 ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 16, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Anxiety Depression Depression Treatment Drug Treatment Painkiller Substance Abuse medication painkillers prescription drug abuse prescription drug addiction prescription drug detox prescript Source Type: blogs
Can I Become Addicted To My Depression Medication?
What is depression medication?
Depression medication, also known as antidepressants, are prescription medications used to treat moderate to severe depression. When taken under the supervision of a medical professional and according to their prescribed dosage, depression medication can work well to help people manage their symptoms and lead happy, healthy lives.
Depression is more than just feeling sad, or needing to be cheered up. Often times, people can become frustrated that nothing is making them feel better, when in reality depression is a chemical imbalance that needs to be treated. Depression symptoms can include:
T...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 12, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Recovery Depression Depression Treatment antidepressants depression disorders depression medication dual diagnosis Source Type: blogs
Can I Become Addicted to My Anxiety Medication?
What is Anxiety?
Having anxiety is a difficult issue suffered by millions. It is much more than just butterflies in your stomach before going on stage or before an important event – it can be crippling and can cause severe impacts on one’s life, and you may need to be on anxiety medication to help with the symptoms.
According to anxiety.org, there are many anxiety-related disorders, and they are divided into three main categories:
Anxiety disorders
Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders
Trauma and stressor-related disorders
Anxiety disorders are characterized by a general feature of excessive fear (i.e. emoti...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 8, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Anxiety Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment PTSD anxiety medication benzodiazepines Source Type: blogs
Co-Occurring Mental Health and Addiction
What is a Co-Occuring disorder?
The coexistence of both a mental health disorder and a substance abuse use disorder is referred to as a co-occurring disorder. Any combination of mental health and addiction can be referred to as having a co-occuring disorder. The combinations can be seemingly endless, and can even include more than one of either a mental disorder or an addiction. Combinations may include depression and alcoholism, anorexia and cocaine addiction, bipolar disorder and heroin addiction and the list goes on. Surprisingly, as many as 6 in 10 substance abusers also have at least one other mental disorder.
There i...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - September 26, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources ADHD Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Anxiety Behavioral Addictions Depression Depression Treatment Drinking Drug Treatment Dual Diagnosis and Eat Source Type: blogs
Is Addiction Hereditary?
Looking at Your Family History
It can be widely speculated that addiction can be hereditary. If there are addicts in your family, it could be possible that their behaviors can be passed on to you, as well. When considering this, it is important to look at your family history, especially your parent’s. Numerous studies show the cause of addiction can be broken down to 50 percent genetic and 50 percent issues with coping skills.
Further studies have shown that children of addicts are up to 8 times more likely to also develop an addiction. One study in particular took 231 individuals who had been clinically diagnosed with a...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - September 20, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Alcohol Alcoholism Depression Depression Treatment Drinking Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Dual Diagnosis and Eating Disorder Treatment Mental Health family family disease hereditary Source Type: blogs
What Support You Should Have After Treatment
What happens after treatment?
When you leave a treatment facility, you will be entering an entirely new life. For many people, entering treatment means completely changing one’s life in order to maintain sobriety once they leave. While this is an exciting time, it can also be a little scary for some. But with the right support system, you might be able to transition into your new life quicker than you think.
New daily routines
During treatment, you learn many new skills that will help you maintain a sober lifestyle. This includes exercise, eating healthy and being active in order to take care of your body. Holistic thera...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - September 14, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Drinking Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Exercise Sober Living and Aftercare continuum of care family frien Source Type: blogs
Anxiety and Addiction
Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a complex condition that affects millions of people all over the world. It is a broad term in itself and can look different on everybody. It is literally defined as: “a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks.” Often times, anxiety and addiction can also go hand-in-hand.
Much like anxiety, panic attacks can be completely different for everybody who experiences them. You may experience all symptoms, or only some. Some symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks may include:
Rapid heartbeat
...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - September 11, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Addiction Treatment and Program Resources Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Anxiety Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Dual Diagnosis and Eating Disorder Treatment Source Type: blogs
