Dealing With Urges and Cravings

It’s pretty normal to battle urges and cravings during recovery – but that doesn’t mean that they have to win! The good news is that cravings and urgings do decrease in strength and frequency over time. In the meantime, here are a few proven strategies to help amp up your defenses and prevent relapse. 

• Delay and distract. When you get an urge or craving, the goal is to delay it, so it eventually passes. One way to do this is to find a healthy distraction. For example, you can go for a brisk walk, cue a funny YouTube video, run up and down the stairs, scroll social media, color in an adult coloring book. Start a running list of some possibilities – and have that list some place accessible when an urge or craving strikes. 
• Know your triggers. Is it a beer or wine commercial or song on the radio or driving past an old haunt? Make a list so you know your triggers and then do your best to avoid and escape them. Just the simple act of refocusing your mind away from your trigger can help lessen any cravings or urges. 
• Accept and understand. A big part of recovery is learning to accept discomfort – and this includes the way you feel when you get an urge or craving. Remind yourself that it’s normal and that it will pass and that the discomfort is a small price to pay for lasting sobriety. 

Relapse Prevention at Complete Harmony

Preventing relapse and ensuring lasting sobriety means creating long-term strategies to deal with urges, cravings, negative patterns, emotional duress, poor self-esteem and more. We help our clients change behaviors from the inside out with proven holistic treatment approaches to addiction. To learn more about our alternative relapse prevention program, call today: 866-930-4673.

How Exercise Can Help Fight Relapse

Unfortunately, relapse is all-too common when it comes to recovery from drugs and/or alcohol. This is partly due to the many triggers – or people, places or things – that are so hard to resist. Yet a new study shines light on another possible tool against relapse for people struggling with a substance use disorder: exercise.

While previous studies have shown a link between physical activity and reduced cravings, a recent mice study found that exercise may just strengthen a person’s resolve by altering the production of peptides in the brain. The findings were published in the journal ACS Omega.

Mice were given injections of cocaine and placed in a cage with unique flooring designed to mirror a drug using environment. The goal was to imprint these features into their memories. After four days, the mice were moved to special cages with running wheels for 30 days.

The mice who jumped on the wheels had lower levels of brain peptides related to myelin, a substance thought to help fix memories in place and, when re-exposed to the cocaine-associated environment, they showed a reduced preference for the cocaine-associated environment compared with sedentary mice. Researchers also found lower levels of actin in the mice that exercised. This is important because actin is involved in learning and memory and drug-seeking behaviors in those with substance use disorders, according to researchers.

The takeaway: “Regular exercise can be helpful with self-care, which can assist someone with an overall goal of wellness,” Costa Provis, a licensed psychotherapist who works with clients in recovery from drug and alcohol, told reporters. However, exercise is not a cure-all, Provis cautioned. A better plan would be to combine exercise with other proven relapse prevention strategies and coping techniques.

Relapse Prevention at Complete Harmony
Relapse prevention is key for long-term recovery – and we're here to help. At Complete Harmony, our holistic treatment and relapse prevention plans provide a firm foundation for lifelong sobriety. To learn more, call: 866-930-4673.

Tips for Recovery-Boosting Sleep

You can’t be your best in recovery unless you care for your mind, body and spirit – and quality sleep can strengthen those connections. Regular, restorative sleep will allow you to feel present, energetic, focused and emotionally balanced. Sleep will also enable you to adopt a more positive mindset to overcome any challenges or setbacks along the way. 

Unfortunately, it’s pretty common for people in recovery to struggle with sleep. This is mainly because addiction as well as co-occurring mental illnesses can disrupt your body’s circadian rhythms. Plus, a long history of abusing drugs or alcohol often leads to poor sleep hygiene. Luckily, these steps you can help enhance your recovery and improve your shut-eye. 

• Avoid long, late-day naps. While a short nap (20 minutes or less) can help you feel revitalized and refreshed, a longer nap can cause you to feel groggy and disrupt your sleep cycle. It’s also wise to avoid naps after 3 pm, which will do more harm than good.  
• Stick to a regular sleep schedule. This means doing your best to wake up and turn in the same time each night – even on weekends. 
• Create a ritual for bedtime. Whether you do gentle yoga poses, stretch, meditate, read, listen to calming music or soak in a bath, that half hour prior to bedtime should consist of something that relaxes your mind and body. 
• Watch what you eat or drink. Eating too much or too little before bedtime can interfere with your sleep. If you’re looking for a bedtime snack, choose a healthy food combo that will fill you up and help you feel energized in the morning. Some examples: apple with nut butter, cottage cheese and peaches, whole-grain toast with avocado or a banana and a handful of sunflower seeds. Also, avoid nicotine and caffeine, which disrupt sleep cycles. 
• Exercise every day. A regular exercise routine has been study-proven to help you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly through the night. Just be careful not to work out too close to bedtime, as you may be too amped up to fall asleep. 
• Eliminate light and sound. This means shutting off smartphones, computers, laptops and other electronics. To block outside light and noise, consider using blackout curtains, eyeshades, earplugs, “white noise” machines, humidifiers, fans and other devices. 

Healing the Mind, Body and Spirit

At Complete Harmony, we use traditional and holistic therapies to help clients rediscover their mind body connection and address  the secondary health challenges that complicate substance abuse. To learn more about our cutting-edge treatments, call 866-930-4673.

Low Self-Esteem and Stress Linked to Opioid Use

Is there a link between life stressors – health, money, work, family and romance – low self-esteem and opioid use? This is what researchers from Binghamton University set out to discover when they surveyed 1,000-plus adults.

The results: Researchers found that high life stressors plus poor self-esteem does increase the chances for opioid use. This is partly because opioids increase the effects of dopamine and serotonin in the brain – and people with low self-esteem are attracted to the drugs because they have the ability to change how they feel about themselves, noted Binghamton University graduate student and researcher Damla Aksen, in a statement.

“In other words, opioids may serve as self-medication in response to social stressors and its cascade of negative consequences,” Aksen said.

The researchers hope these findings will urge addiction professionals to be mindful of the risk factors that contribute to opioid abuse and work to educate individuals about the particular life stressors that increase an individual’s risk for opioid abuse.

More About Stress

What might be a stressor for one person may not be a trigger for you. Stress is individual and so is the way in which you best cope with it. In addition to caring for your mental health – getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, making time for yourself, taking breaks – you might need to experiment with a few stress-reducing activities to find out what work best for you. 

Some ideas:

• Exercising
• Listening to music
• Reading a book
• Writing
• Meditation
• Massage
• Sober socialization or spending time with a friend or relative
• Talking with a trained mental health professional

Holistic Therapies for Recovery & Stress ManagementIf stress and low self-esteem has contributed to your opioid abuse, Complete Harmony has a recovery path to help your physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Our model for hybrid addiction treatment includes comfortable detox and holistic therapies like massage, meditation and yoga. To learn more, call today: 866-930-4673.

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.

National Recovery Month: Stopping Stigma, Busting Myths

September is an important month for those of us in the recovery community. This is because it’s National Recovery Month, created by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), and it’s a chance to celebrate your recovery and help stop the stigma and harmful myths surrounding addiction and addiction treatment. 

This year’s theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Invest in Health, Home, Purpose, and Community,” emphasizes community involvement and how we can all help educate and spread awareness that prevention is possible and treatment works.

Let’s face it: Having the courage to face your addiction and get help takes courage and hard work – and that’s even without having to address common misconceptions like addiction being a character flaw and there being a magic bullet or one-size-fits-all treatment. This is your month to honor your journey and those who have helped you find your way back to a sober, fulfilling life.  

“Each September, tens of thousands of prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and facilities around the country celebrate Recovery Month,” writes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). “They speak about the gains made by those in recovery and share their success stories with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues. In doing so, everyone helps to increase awareness and furthers a greater understanding about the diseases of mental and substance use disorders.”

What will you do this month to join the celebration? You can spread the word via FB, twitter or Instagram. Recoverymonth.gov has banners, flyers, and customizable posters to promote Recovery Month on social media. If you feel comfortable, you can even share your personal recovery story in the hopes of empowering someone else to take that brave step toward sobriety. There may even be a Recovery Month event going on in your area. If attending is not possible, there’s live streaming of some of the more notable events throughout the month.

There’s No Shame in Getting Help
September is your month to begin your recovery and take back your life! At Complete Harmony, we celebrate people in recovery and the professionals and loved ones who have helped make recovery possible. To learn more about dual-diagnosis or about rehabilitation for yourself or someone you love, call us today: 866-930-4673. 

How to Make Gratitude Part of Your Daily Recovery

 Being grateful may seem like a piece of cake but in fact it takes practice. By working to incorporate gratitude into your daily life, you’ll boost your immune system, mood, recovery and more. Here are a few ideas to get started:

• Start a gratitude journal. Each day, jot down three things you’re grateful for – and keep a running list that you can refer to when you feel as if you have no blessings to count.
• Shift your mindset. You have control of your thoughts, so instead of thinking about what you don’t have, think about what you do have. This isn’t to say that you can’t strive for more, but take time to be thankful for the little treasures found in daily life.
• Make time for loved ones. Even if it’s a quick phone call, check in with your loved ones and let them lift you up. Talking with or spending time with family and friends who support you and your recovery journey is a surefire way to make you feel grateful.
• Remain teachable. With gratitude comes self-awareness or the ability to recognize how far you’ve come in your recovery and how much learning you still need to do. We never know it all and being humble and teachable will help you to feel grateful for the chance to learn more about yourself during recovery.
• Recall tough times. When it feels like you have nothing to be grateful for, think about a bad time in your life and how far you’ve come since then. Embrace these moments to make you grateful for the sober life you’re now living.
• Volunteer or simply help a fellow recovery peer. When you give rather than receive you become more grateful for what you have. In fact, volunteering has been linked to numerous benefits including decreased depression and increased well being.
• Meditate. Carve out time daily to sit quietly give thanks to all of the small gifts in life; you can even use the running list from your gratitude journal to help. 

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