Addiction Treatment Centers and How They Can Save Your Loved One’s Life

The initial step towards recovery from any kind of addiction is admitting and accepting their struggle with independence on the substance. Then you need to find out a place where you can go for your treatment which would help you in restoring your overall health, happiness and wellbeing. There are multiple options of treatment that are available at the addiction treatment centers. These centers play a great role in saving the life of your loved one such as breaking the addictive cycle by making them live in a drug-free environment. Digging deeper into the underlying issues and finding out the reasons which made the people rely so much on drugs. These addiction treatment centers help peeling off the layers of your behavior so that they can understand your habits of drugs. Make sure you go through all the therapies so that you can recover quick.

Sex Addiction Treatment Facilities – How Do They Provide Care?

Intimacy disorders or compulsive sexual behavior can bring damage to your life as it can wreak havoc on your relationships, career, health and finances. Sexual addiction usually goes hand in hand with other addictions or disorders as well such as substance abuse, PTSD/trauma, bipolar disorder, eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder etc. the sex addiction treatment facilities provide care through a multiple ways such as they create an accepting environment for the patient, provide them comfortable houses, and give complete attention to their trauma and shame they are going through. The treatment for various underlying issues is also given and the couples and family therapy is recommended for one and all so that the patients can also get the help from their family which is the biggest support system for any human.

 

3 Critical Reasons to go for intensive Outpatient Treatment

The intensive outpatient program or IOP are important as they address the depression, addiction, eating disorders and other kinds of dependencies which don’t really require any round the clock detoxification and supervision. The normal routine activities of the patients are maintained which is usually not possible with residential treatment facilities. This is one reason why people prefer IOPs since they can work and earn money in order to bear the burden of their treatment. You can breathe free and fresh air at the IOPs and you will want to recover and heal yourself. These IOP detox centers assist you in managing your withdrawals. IOP therapy has a way which lets you maintain your lifestyle and also get you the required help that you need to overcome the addiction. These programs are nothing short of support mechanisms which assist the patient in getting well.

 

Understanding Emotional Trauma Symptoms for Proper Treatment

Psychological trauma is nothing short of an injury to the spirit which usually happens after going through something distressing or disturbing. Sometimes, people have been through frightening events which may lead to challenges in coping with the issues. You must look for signs and symptoms of emotional and psychological trauma such as emotional symptoms, behavioral symptoms, cognitive symptoms, psychological symptoms, and physical symptoms. As a fact, there are a number of people who go through with these traumas all through their life without getting any kind of treatment done. Eventually this leads to shrinking of their friend circle and they become more and more weak. Rather than feeling traumatized and helpless, a person must work towards getting to a better place. It is suggested that professional help must be taken in order to get rid of trauma.

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How PTSD Treatment Cured my Back Pain and More on the Mind-Body Connection

Women struggling with anorexia nervosa, are at a larger risk of developing the illness. Usually, it is due to the eating disorder which leads to developing issues with thyroid function. An eating disorder is something hazardous and can also lead to life-threatening situations. Starting from your hair to your toes, it seems to have an impact on every part of the body. You may happen to notice symptoms such as hair loss, brittle and dry nails, menstrual irregularities, tooth decay, acid reflux, cardiovascular issues and gastrointestinal issues. You may feel bloated or undergoing severe pain and compromised cardiovascular health and immune system. The blog shows how PTSD treatment can help to cure your health as well as mental issues. You need to have the want to get healthy and be better. Only you can take steps towards the improvement of your health.

 

What I Wish I’d Known as a Teenager

It is of extreme importance that teenagers are educated in terms of mental and physical health. Many cases of sexual violence against teenagers can leave them to be suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance use disorder, and other trauma-related issues. They also need to be taught that it is good to be anxious but getting on the level of isolation due to this anxiety is not a healthy sign. Besides, your body has a relationship with the food you consume. Sometimes, out of stress teenagers end up binge-eating fast food which leads to a plethora of health problems. Also, not taking enough sleep is one cause behind depression and anxiety. As a parent, you must educate your children about sexual violence if ever taken place with them. There are many issues related to such sexual activities where the consent is missing.

 

Healing the Shame of Sexual Addiction

Sex is a natural and an innate need that humans are born with. But then it can also lead to some of the shameful experiences. The blog shows how one single sexual incident of embarrassment makes a person captive for a long time. It can also wreak havoc to the personality of the person. It can further lead to isolation from other people. Sexual addiction leaves scars which people take a lot of time to recover from. These people will display all the shame while talking and their body posture and body language can show the pain he is going through. Though a person ends up getting emotionally isolated from others, it is also a fact that to recover he needs to mingle and connect with others. They need to push their past away and get rid of fear and shame so that they can experience freedom and healing.

 

Meet The Masters New York Was a Success

Meet The Masters, hosted by The Meadows at the Convene Conference Center in New York, was a huge success. Senior Fellows Claudia Black, PhD, MSW; Tian Dayton, PhD, MA, TEP; Shelley Uram, MD; and Bessel van der Kolk, MD presented to an audience full of 130 professionals seeking to expand their professional expertise and find new and improved ways to treat their patients. While the general theme woven throughout all the presentations related to childhood trauma and the brain, each one focused on unique ideas, including complexities of treating young adults, neuro psychodrama and sociometry, a return to the Essential Self, and the effects of trauma on mind and body. As one attendee commented, “I enjoyed having the four different views to bring together trauma treatment.” The Meadows in the premier drug rehab and psychological trauma treatment center in the country, we help change the lives of individuals through The Meadows Model, 12-step practices, and the holistic healing of mind, body, and spirit. For more information on our Senior Fellows, click here.

We would like to thank all of those who attended this special event. Together we can help improve the quality of life for our patients around the world.

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Chronic Pain Management and Opioid Addiction

 

By: Tammy M. Bolles, LCSW

Our stressed out society is very focused on comfort. A spa, salon, or massage therapist’s office can be found on almost every corner. Who doesn’t enjoy an occasional foot rub or the ability to sit back for a pedicure without a care in mind? For most people “comfort” simply means a time to relax and allow the stresses of life to fade from your mind for a bit.

However, for those who struggle with chronic pain, finding comfort is an everyday challenge. Chronic pain is defined as any pain that lasts more than 12 weeks. It can include post-surgical pain, pain from injuries related to an accident, lower back pain, cancer pain, arthritis pain, pain caused by Fibromyalgia, and pain caused by nerve damage.

To relieve their chronic pain for even a few moments at a time doctors often introduce their patients to opioid pain medications like Vicodin, Percocet, Demerol, Lorcet, Opana, Oxycontin, and Fentanyl. These medications do their job well in providing much-needed relief, but can quickly become a pain-burdened individual’s new best friend.

When Your Best Friend Becomes Your Worst Enemy

Trouble arises when the pain medications begin to rule their lives. As with most narcotics, the initial dosing works for a period of time until the body builds up a tolerance to the chemical. The dosage must then be increased to allow the patient to find the same level of comfort they experienced initially. This is where the cycle of addiction often begins. The “new best friend” starts to reveal its dark side. Soon, all they can think about is their “new best friend” and they become willing to do anything it takes to get more of it even bypassing the doctor who prescribed the medication and seeking out alternative methods of getting their hands on it.

Having an opioid as your “best friend” may help you stay free of pain for a period of time. But, once it wears off and your body becomes accustomed to higher and higher doses you may begin to see the downside to this “friendship” such as muscle aches, runny nose, anxiety, sweating, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and dilated pupils.

To rekindle the “friendship” with this “new best friend” you may begin taking drastic measures to get your next dose, including lying, stealing, and manipulating friends and family—whatever it takes.

Though not all individuals with chronic pain develop an addiction, it has, unfortunately, become a growing trend. According to the New York Times, the current opioid epidemic in the U.S. killed more than 33,000 people in 2015 alone. (Bosman, J.2017)

It is unclear how many of these individuals suffered with chronic pain, but it does raise the question: Is opioid pain medication being over prescribed? It also leaves those suffering from chronic pain facing difficult decisions.

As a nation that is currently in an ongoing battle with opioid addiction, effectively managing chronic pain while preventing and treating addiction continues to challenge healthcare providers and chemical dependency counselors alike.

Find Freedom from Both Chronic Pain and Addiction

Google search ‘opioid use’ and you immediately see a clear lack of collaboration among physicians and addiction professionals, as most articles that come up focus on the viewpoint of one or the other. Influencing physicians and addiction experts to work side-by-side may be the key to a pain and addiction free solution to the current dilemma. There should be a better solution for those who suffer from chronic pain that will relieve their physical pain without leading to addiction. The “cure” for chronic pain should not be worse than the disease.

If you suffer from chronic pain, it’s important that you take a proactive approach to treatment as you seek relief. Educate yourself on the prescribed medication, consult multiple healthcare providers, and ensure all of your doctors are aware of all medication changes. Remain vigilant in your endeavor to also find alternative life adjustments that may ease pain such as a change in diet and/or exercise, yoga, meditation, or acupuncture. As a precaution, you may also want to seek out guidance from an Addiction Therapist or Mental Health Counselor to help ensure that you don’t become dependent on the medication. These proactive approaches can help prevent a long and painful battle with opioid addiction that you never saw coming.

In the event that you find yourself addicted to prescription pain medication, you are most certainly not alone. We’ve helped many chronic pain sufferers free themselves from addiction, and find effective, alternative methods for relieving their pain through our highly individualized treatment program. For more information, give us a call at 1-866-292-7086. Our friendly staff are ready to help you take a look at your treatment options, and will help navigate through your health insurance benefits.

References:

Bosman, J. (2017 06). Inside a Killer Drug Epidemic: A Look at America’s Opioid Crisis. Retrieved June 19, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/opioid-crisis-epidemic.html

Hedegaard H Chen LD, Warner M. Drug-poisoning deaths involving heroin: United Sates, 2000-2013. HCHS data brief, no 190. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved June 19, 2017, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db190.htm

Content Source Chronic Pain Management and Opioid Addiction

 

Do Religious Families Play A Role In Addiction?

Religious Families and Addiction

Written by Thomas Gagliano, MSW

In order to understand why religious families inadvertently and at times unintentionally create an environment where their children run to addictions rather than God as their coping mechanism, we must first begin by understanding the mindset of a child. When we look back on our childhood, we look back through adult lenses. Since then, we have grown by our maturity and life experiences, which may have distorted the truth of our childhood. Many of us carry messages that tell us we are bad children if we get mad at our parents or disagree with them. This message can have a profound impact on the way the person feels about himself or herself in adulthood. It is important to respect our parents but we can also have different opinions. A child needs to feel their opinion is important to their parents or the child may feel he or she isn’t important. Validating and acknowledging a child’s feelings is essential if they are to have self-worth. If children are afraid to share their true feelings and doubts in fear of reprisal then who can they trust? All of these messages set up the destructive entitlement that leads to addiction. It’s no coincidence that most addictions begin before the age of 18.

It’s important to understand that all children are egocentric at an early age. When my son was five, I was carrying him down the stairs and I stumbled. I banged my arm against the wall, broke my glasses, and hurt my shoulder while making sure he wasn’t hurt. At the bottom of the stairs, he looked at me and said, “It’s not nice to push little boys down the stairs.” This is the way children think at this age. They believe they are the center of the universe. Even when a parent dies at an early age, the child feels anger toward the deceased parent because they felt abandoned. If a parent works long hours in order to save for life’s expenses, the child may not view it this way. They may believe if they were better children, then the parent would want to spend more time with them. Their brain hasn’t developed enough to view this differently. Regardless of religion, skin color, or socioeconomic status, all children believe the world revolves around them. If the child believes something is more important to the parent than he or she is, then the child will develop animosity and defiance towards whatever it is. This includes religion. Contrarily, if a child feels he or she comes first, then religion does not become the enemy. They will welcome and accept religion as they grow older.

Today, there is a need to increase structure in the family system when raising our children. Unfortunately, too much control will create a child that loses their sense of self. In many religious families, parents use control as a mechanism to mold their children into who they want them to be. They forget that children need to feel understood for their beliefs and fears, as well as loved unconditionally, in order to want to be religious rather than feel they need to be religious as the way to receive their parent’s love. Parents’ control covers fear and fear covers inner pain. If they are very insecure on the inside, they tend to feel a greater need to control others on the outside. I see this quite often in religious families. When parents are afraid the child will not be religious, they tend to set many rules hoping their control will get the child to see things their way. The parents link this control to survival. In other words, parents believe if the child does not act and think the way they do, then something bad will happen to their child. As the child grows older they become more defiant against all types of rules. For example, many of my religious clients don’t wear seat belts when they drive, have multiple speeding tickets, and arrive late to sessions. They are basically telling the world that which they couldn’t say as a child, “Stop telling me what to do all the time, I’m tired of rules and regulations.”

They feel angry because they felt controlled and weren’t appreciated for who they are at their core, thus making them feel unworthy as children. This message is carried into adulthood and acted out with addiction. They need something to fill that void and feel independent and free. This freedom is shown with defiance towards any higher authority. These struggles create a need to medicate their inner pain with addictions, particularly with pornography. When children grow up in a religion that separates the sexes and restricts what nature deems natural, then sex becomes even more taboo and intriguing. The separation of sexes in itself doesn’t create addictive behavior. Addiction is created when the child feels defective or unimportant and needs something to fill that void. Easy access to the Internet has created a vehicle in which people can view almost anything with the touch of a button. It then becomes an easy escape, a quick ‘feel good’ for many adults, particularly men. They begin to feel, in a distorted way, that they are in control of their pleasure without any strings attached. The delusion that the individual can control sexual intimacy is what pornography offers. This could be a gateway to more serious addictions like strip clubs and prostitution. If a person cannot regulate and talk about their discomfort, they will learn to act out their discomfort. The neurons that connect discomfort to addiction will begin to fuse together as their coping mechanism.

Another hindrance on healthy parenting includes the need for many religious families to have many children, as they themselves came from large families. Even the most diligent parents will find it impossible to supply their children with the time needed to properly nurture each child. Again, at a young age the child won’t have the capacity to understand this; rather they will again feel dismissed and not important.

Healthy families are CURIOUS and HONEST with each other. They ask questions like “what was the best part of your day, what did you struggle with?” Healthy families don’t try to control their children’s behaviors; rather they supply their children with the tools to control their own behavior. For example, eventually a child will be on their own, so we want our children to avoid destructive behaviors because they want to, not just to please their parents. If the motive is to solely please their parents, then over time the person may fall victim to these behaviors. Wanting to do something is more powerful than needing to do something. For example, there are many people that need to stop watching pornography, but only those that want to stop will find recovery. Furthermore, healthy families create a safe environment for healthy communication, where each individual feels like their feelings are acknowledged and validated. They don’t have to agree with each other, but they still need to acknowledge each other’s feelings. They also share the belief that conflicts can be resolved. No one shuts down, runs away, or rages when there is disagreement. If the parents model this type of environment, while giving the child the message that they come first, then the child is more likely to walk towards religion on their own, as opposed to believing that you have to be religious first in order to be loved and accepted.

Thomas Gagliano, MSW, is the best-selling author of The Problem Was Me: How to End Negative Self-talk and Take your Life to a New Level, with Dr. Abraham Twerski and Don’t Put Your Crap In Your Kid’s Diaper: The Clean Up Cost Can Last a Life Time.

Content Source Do Religious Families Play A Role In Addiction?