Traditional forms of treatment for addiction and mental illness don’t always tackle all of our systems simultaneously, our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual systems as a whole. They often will treat, but not cure, individual symptoms without addressing the underlying reasons as to why we’re so unwell. Some medications, for example, will make a particularRead More
When we’re working to figure out how best to treat our mental health issues, along with our addictions, sometimes we’ll want natural alternatives to medication, or we’ll want to bolster the effectiveness of our medications with natural remedies. Many people find that their minds and bodies respond better to natural solutions and that their healingRead More
When struggling with addiction, we form many limiting beliefs that hinder our ability to heal from our addictive and self-destructive patterns. These beliefs stay with us and permeate our consciousness and our existence, causing us incredible harm. We believe we’re weak and powerless against our addictions. We believe we don’t have the strength, the resilienceRead More
Our addictions and mental health issues have a way of overpowering us and throwing us completely off balance. As a result, we don’t feel grounded, centered or aligned. We feel distant and removed from our inner selves. We feel disconnected from our purpose and our truth. One way we can restore our internal balance andRead More
When living with addiction and mental illness, fun and adventure are often among the things that most get sacrificed, that we most lose out on. We become so occupied with the pain of our mental and emotional challenges, the difficult circumstances we’re living with, and the daily issues we have to contend with, that adventureRead More
Our breathing is something we do mostly unconsciously, and as such it is considered an involuntary physical action. We can become more conscious of our breathing, though, and apply mindfulness to it in order to help ourselves heal from our various mental, emotional and physical afflictions. When we practice conscious breathing, we connect our minds,Read More
When people use substances, they have different reasons for starting. Some began with prescriptions, innocuously thinking they could control pain that quickly spiraled into addiction. Others suffered trauma or neglect and used substances to numb out. Other people have tried substances as a way to get high and found they liked the euphoric feeling, onlyRead More
Coming to believe in a power greater than ourselves can take time- sometimes as much time as it took to finally reach “bottom” and come to step one. Fully experiencing and integrating step two of the twelve steps can be a similar journey. Admitting that we are powerless over something in our lives and thatRead More
The second step of the twelve step program of Alcoholics Anonymous reads “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” By looking at the step more closely we find a few key concepts. First, we are told that a belief in a Higher Power is something that we canRead More
Healing from addiction is not easy. The journey is filled with challenges. Even when a person is mentally positive, they might need an extra boost to get some support. Getting outdoors has some benefits. Nature is a great way to experience peace and calming after a challenging day or just to get outside. The mentalRead More