Treatment does not guarantee anything about recovery. Relapse triggers can happen to the best of people, who have the best intentions, and try to ‘do everything by the book.’ There are no guarantees people will not relapse, but here are some common triggers that pop up. Family and friends who support a loved one inRead More
When seeking treatment for a dual diagnosis, it’s important to feel heard on all levels, not just one. A holistic approach to treatment means that your healthcare team will consider everything that has influenced who you are today; this could include your family history, medical history, personality, previous instances with substances, current substance patterns, symptoms,Read More
If someone has a co-occurring disorder, they are experiencing both a mental illness and a substance use disorder (SUD). Co-occurring disorders are quite common, as they affect approximately 7.9 million people, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Co-occurring disorders, or dual diagnoses, can be difficult to treat because symptoms mayRead More
Trauma comes in three forms. First-hand experience is trauma which happens directly to us. Secondary trauma is trauma we experience through the trauma of others. Tertiary trauma is trauma which we are removed from, like terrorist attacks on the news, but that we are still affected by. In recent years, violent events and the chronicRead More
With Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s coming up, the holidays can be very triggering for people, especially for those who have lost family members, are disconnected from their family, associate traumatic events around that time period, or have seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or another disorder. With the stress and tension surrounding this time of year,Read More
Bipolar disorder (BPD) is known as a manic-depressive illness – mania may include impulsivity, less need for sleep and euphoric feelings, while depressive episodes may involve hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, and very low energy. If you’ve been diagnosed with BPD, the type that you have should accurately reflect your overall experiences. BPD can make work, homeRead More
Trauma impacts the sympathetic nervous system, the nervous system we use to put our body and brain into high alert in order to survive. We don’t just experience activation of the sympathetic nervous system when we experience trauma. Trauma influences our mind and body for a lifetime. Though every person will experience the effects ofRead More
The idea of treatment can inspire a scoff from many. Treatment programs today are loaded with a variety of evidence-based and non-evidence-based therapeutic applications, from traditional psychotherapy to cognitive behavioral therapy, from equine therapy to art therapy, from massage to acupuncture, from brain mapping to neurofeedback. Whether clinical or holistic in nature, the amount ofRead More
Everyone has a history that has informed who they are today. As a child, we develop thinking and behavioral patterns that oftentimes stem from our experiences. Even as an adult, traumatic events can affect us so strongly that it forever changes us. This doesn’t mean that we can’t recover or that we can’t become aRead More
We learn through treatment that we are a holistic being, meaning, that our minds and our bodies, as well as our spirits, are not separate entities. Though there might be many times in our life we wish they were separate, we are usually grateful to learn we aren’t made of a bunch of different partsRead More