What Is Hybrid Addiction Treatment?

Addiction is a complex disease that requires a multifaceted approach to healing and recovery. While we know there’s no cure for this illness, it is possible for people to break free from the cycle of self-destruction and learn to manage their addiction for the rest of their lives. To succeed in your goals, look for a certified drug and alcohol rehab facility that offers hybrid addiction treatment.

A Closer Look at Hybrid Addiction Treatment

Many inpatient drug rehab centers use “one-size-fits-all” methods for treating addiction. The most prevalent example among these is the 12-step model. Though the 12-step program has helped many people find a path to wellness, facilities that rely solely on the 12 steps may leave people with fewer tools to maintain their long-term sobriety.

Another potential drawback of a more rigid approach is that the treatment philosophy might not align with everyone’s values. For instance, if you’re not a person of faith, you may struggle with the idea of surrendering to a higher power in 12-step addiction recovery. Ultimately, a rehab program that doesn’t click with you could make it even more challenging for you to get – and stay – on the right track.

In contrast, a hybrid addiction program combines several treatment modalities, all of which work together to help ensure the higher probability of long-term success. In hybrid treatment, for example, clients who prefer a more secular approach may thrive in SMART® Recovery, which introduces people to a science-based, self-empowering pathway to lifelong abstinence from harmful substances. Adding holistic therapies such as yoga and acupuncture to the mix provides a well-rounded foundation for recovery.

Advantages of the Hybrid Approach

Hybrid addiction treatment has several notable benefits that set it apart from more traditional methods of achieving sobriety.

• Helps avoid a relapse: Combining holistic and evidence-based treatments will give you a broader set of tools and skills to choose from when you leave rehab. Having these at your fingertips can be invaluable as you encounter the triggers and stresses associated with the “real world.”
• Addresses the underlying cause of your addiction: Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy are ideal for treating addictions because they help you relearn how to respond in different circumstances. You can learn to uncover the root of your addiction and why you crave substances in specific scenarios.
• Heals all facets of a person: Hybrid addiction treatment can simultaneously address physical, mental, emotional and spiritual issues for comprehensive well-being.

Hybrid Addiction Treatment in California

If you’re looking for a program that combines conventional and alternative strategies for treating addiction, Complete Harmony can help. We provide a full continuum of care for people who need help turning their lives around. Our compassionate advisors are standing by to take your confidential call. Entering treatment could be the best decision you’ve ever made.

Rediscover Your Health With Alternative Therapies

If you’re working on overcoming an addiction, your primary focus is to reclaim your health. Long-term drug and alcohol misuse has left you physically, mentally and spiritually imbalanced, and now you have turned your attention to the quest for wellness. Alternative therapies, including the field of holistic medicine, can be the asset you’ve been looking for.

What Is Holistic Medicine?

Holistic healing is based on the idea that treating the whole person is essential to better health. All living beings are a system of interdependent parts, and if one of those parts is not working properly, it will cause all the other components to suffer.

While traditional Western medicine relies heavily on prescription medications to “cure” illnesses, holistic doctors rely on all forms of available health care to treat their patients. Giving you medication will not be a holistic healer’s first and only recourse. To begin with, they will take into account all the other factors that may be contributing to your imbalance, including sleep habits, stress, diet and exercise. A holistic treatment plan will include lifestyle modifications to realign your overall well-being, rather than addressing only one symptom.

Guiding Principles Behind Alternative Therapies

Holistic medicine draws its effectiveness from the concept that all people are born with self-healing abilities. A physician who specializes in holistic healing takes a person-centered approach. Instead of focusing solely on your ailment, they will address the underlying causes of the condition using a variety of treatment options.

Your practitioner’s goal will be to help you take responsibility for your health and well-being. Depending on their training, they may recommend specific lifestyle changes to help you achieve a better physical, mental and spiritual state of being. These changes may include nutrition, counseling, exercise or modifying your sleeping habits, among others. Some alternative wellness providers also offer therapies such as massage, acupuncture, homeopathy and naturopathy.

How to Find a Holistic Healer

If you are interested in working with a holistic practitioner near you, you can use the search feature on the American Holistic Health Association’s website to connect you with healers in your area. When choosing a doctor, be sure to research their training, experience and background, and make sure the provider is board-certified.

In holistic medicine, you and your health care provider work as a team to heal you physically, mentally and emotionally, so you should be sure to look for a doctor whose treatment philosophy and ideals align with yours. You also want to find someone who makes you feel at ease and respects your goals and beliefs.

Above all else, when researching potential alternative therapies, make sure the treatment options go beyond pills. You want to rediscover whole-person wellness that also takes your unique needs as a recovering addict into account. A doctor whose foremost approach is to send you home with one or more prescriptions is understandably someone you might be wary of working with.

An Alternative Approach to Addiction Recovery

Are you ready to rediscover the joy and confidence in your life? At Complete Harmony, our caring team of specialists is dedicated to helping you conquer your addiction and heal you with our state-of-the-art, non-12-step programs. We will develop an individualized treatment plan that respects your beliefs and boundaries, and you will realize the best in yourself along the way. Call our California addiction treatment center at 866-930-4673, or reach out to our recovery advisors online.

What You Need to Know About Guided Imagery

Can going to your “happy place” help your recovery? While it’s a lot more complex than that, guided imagery is a type of therapy that involves visualization and guided images to create positive changes in thoughts and behaviors. 

More rehabs are using guided imagery as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. The mind-body intervention works by activating the connections in your brain, nervous system and visual cortex to impact your emotional and physical state. Guided imagery is often used with meditation and mindfulness.

Under the guidance and direction of a trained addiction specialist, an individual can learn to listen to someone else’s voice and consciously generate images in his mind to reduce stress and promote calmness. You can also use audio recordings, create your own recordings or use your inner voice and imagination.

The Academy for Guided Imagery (AGI) classifies guided imagery into three categories:

• Stress reduction and relaxation.
• Active visualization or directed imagery (for improving performance, changing behavior, or influencing an outcome).
• Receptive imagery (in which words and images are brought to consciousness to explore and give information about symptoms, treatments, moods or illnesses).

The Benefits of Guided Imagery

Guided imagery can help you relieve physical tension and psychological stress in minutes and be a healthy distraction from daily stressors. In this way, it can also help you develop a positive mindset and coping mechanisms for maintaining resilience during difficult times. Other study-proven benefits of guided imagery include: 

• Decreased need for pain medication
• Reduced fear and anxiety
• Better stress management skills
• Headache & migraine relief
• Improved sleep and reduced insomnia

Holistic Addiction Treatment by the Sea

Guided imagery is part of our alternative treatment schedule for both men and women at Complete Harmony. We also offer other complementary therapies, including yoga, meditation, mindfulness and acupuncture, in order to address every aspect of health: mind, body, spirit and social. To learn more, call today: 866-930-4673.

Could a Mindfulness App Help Your Recovery?

Mindfulness mediation is more than just a hot trend but a core part of lasting sobriety. As we’ve discussed in the past, this ancient practice can help you experience each moment of life – the good and the bad – without judgment or preconceived notions. The result: less stress, anxiety and depression and more self-esteem and enthusiasm for life.

With all of the mental health benefits of mindfulness, it’s not too surprising that more and more companies are developing mindfulness apps. Certainly an app can never replace professional counseling, but it could be a helpful tool once you’ve completed your primary or residential addiction treatment. It’s something you can turn to 24-7 to ease anxiety and manage stress.  

With so many apps on the market, how do you know which to choose? Ask yourself why the app would be helpful and how it will help you. For example, if it’s for stress, then which features help reduce stress? It’s also important to make sure any claims are backed by studies. Before downloading an app, talk to your addiction counselor or therapist to make sure the app aligns with your individual recovery goals. 

Here are three science-backed meditation apps touted by numerous health professionals:

Insight Timer: Thousands of guided meditations and talks by top mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and meditation teachers 

• Discussion groups and community features
• Stats and milestones for tracking your progress
• The world's most popular meditation Timer
• Follow your favorite teachers
• Music tracks from world-renowned artists

Calm: Guided meditation sessions available in lengths of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes

• Daily calm: a new 10-minute program to help ease you into the day or unwind with before bed
• Sleep stories: adult bedtime stories to lull you to sleep
• 7-day and 21-day programs for both beginner and advanced users
• Breathing exercises 
• Unguided timed meditation
• Open-ended meditation
• 25+ soothing nature sounds and scenes 

Aura: Daily science-backed and personalized mindfulness meditation exercises

• Meditations specifically created for your feelings 
• Track your mood to learn about your mood patterns
• Daily reminders for mindful breathers and meditations
• Daily reflections to make gratitude a habit 
• Various relaxation sounds and music for unguided meditations before sleep 

Finding Peace at Complete Harmony

At Complete Harmony, we encourage the use of many different cutting-edge techniques to help clients heal the mind, body and spirit, including mediation. To learn more about our treatment center and our approach to addiction recovery, call today: 866-930-4673.

5 Ways Meditation Makes You a Better Person

When it comes to recovering from addiction, meditation can be a great tool to help you mentally push away any cravings for alcohol or drugs or another addiction behavior. But the benefits of this mindfulness technique go beyond staying sober. In fact, daily meditation practice not only helps with recovery, but it can also make the new sober you a better person with a more meaningful and joyful life. Here’s how:

1. You’ll have more self-compassion. Meditation teaches you to recognize and then let go any feelings of doubt or frustration as you go through the ups and downs, successes and failures of life. The result: You’ll be more caring and supportive of yourself on your recovery journey.
2. You’ll be better equipped to handle stress. Do you ever find yourself feeling out of breath or forgetting to breathe when a situation is particularly anxiety provoking? This is pretty normal. The good news: Controlled breathing can help you quell those nerves when you need it most. 
3. You’ll be less angry. Meditation is the perfect remedy for releasing any feelings of anger or resentment – toward yourself and toward others. 
4. You’ll be more forgiving. Meditation helps you learn forgiveness by developing your ability to be compassionate and empathetic. It also teaches you how to heal old wounds, clear mental blocks and manage any past trauma, which are all important parts of forgiveness.
5. You’ll be more self-aware. Self-awareness allows you to better identify what your body, mind and spirit is craving in order for you to live a well-rounded life. The best way to do this is to quiet your mind using meditation. 

Holistic Addiction Treatment  
Complete Harmony offers an evidence-based blend of holistic modalities, alternative rehab approaches and mindfulness practices. We customize care to your personal objectives, religious beliefs and health considerations to help you achieve personal sobriety goals. To learn more, call 866-930-4673.

Meditate Your Way To a Better Recovery

Meditation, which has already been recognized as a means to reduce stress, blood pressure, and fatigue, is also an important part of an addiction recovery plan.

An integral part of Buddhist tradition, mindfulness meditation focuses on bringing your attention to the present moment — whether you’re cooking dinner or taking a shower. Having a heightened awareness of the here and now allows you to put aside thoughts of past and future.

It makes sense then that this type of meditation can help keep you more centered and motivated so you can focus on your present task at hand – to overcome your addiction and stay sober for the long haul. It has been shown to help with decision-making, impulse-control, and self care, among other recovery essentials.

How Mindfulness Helps Overcome Addiction
Here we take a closer look at how practicing mindfulness meditation can help your recovery:

Stress: You’ll learn to slow breathing, calm anxiety, and relieve tension – and better cope with the inevitable stressors that threaten sobriety.

Cravings: You’ll learn to respond to any cravings with awareness, not to react automatically.

Triggers: You’ll learn to better recognize any patterns in your behavior, including triggers for relapse. Mindfulness will also help you improve the part of your short-term memory responsible for managing information and controlling emotions.

Self-criticism and blame: You’ll learn how to practice nonjudgmental acceptance of moment-to-moment thoughts.

And, perhaps, the best part: Making meditation part of your recovery plan doesn’t require a huge time commitment — studies show that as little as 15 minutes per day has big health payoffs.

Holistic Addiction Treatment  
Complete Harmony offers an evidence-based blend of holistic modalities, alternative rehab approaches, and mindfulness practices. We customizing care to your personal objectives, religious beliefs, and health considerations, and help you achieve personal sobriety goals within the safe, beautiful confines of our seaside retreat. To learn more, call 866-930-4673.