Tag Archives: Addiction Recovery

Addicted to Drugs – How Long Does it Take?

Individuals who experiment with substances of abuse for the first time usually wonder how long it takes to get addicted to drugs or alcohol. Or, how much can they take before developing an addiction? The answer is complicated because many factors contribute to the development of addiction.

Many people don’t understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to. Fortunately, researchers know more than ever about how drugs affect the brain and have found treatments that can help people recover from drug addiction and lead productive lives.

You may have heard that certain drugs are more addictive than others, or someone may have told you that some drugs are not addictive at all. You may have even witnessed someone using drugs recreationally who didn’t seem to be addicted to what they were taking. What is true, what is not, and just how easy is it to get addicted to drugs? The information here will help you navigate what can be a confusing topic.

Addicted To Drugs - How Long Does It Take?

Dependence vs. Addiction

Sometimes, these two terms are often used interchangeably when talking about substance abuse. They are not the same though. It is essential to understand the difference to better understand withdrawals, treatment programs, and sustained recovery. It is important to understand that someone can be addicted to drugs or alcohol without demonstrating a physical dependence to that substance. When people use the term “dependence,” they are usually referring to a physical dependence on a substance.

Dependence is characterized by the symptoms of tolerance and withdrawal. While it is possible to have a physical dependence without being addicted, addiction is usually right around the corner.

Addiction is marked by a change in behavior caused by the biochemical changes in the brain after continued substance abuse. Substance use becomes the main priority of the addict, regardless of the harm they may cause to themselves or others. Addiction causes people to act irrationally when they don’t have the substance they are addicted to in their system.

Your Brain Addicted to Drugs

You are at the mercy of your brain. It plays a significant role in your dependence on a substance. The first time someone uses a drug, he or she may begin to feel its effects immediately. For example, when someone consumes ecstasy, they experience a burst of euphoria. When they take a painkiller such as oxycodone, they may feel extreme relaxation and reduced anxiety. Your brain reacts differently to each drug, and each drug affects certain areas of the brain. Addiction can be expedited if the substance is injected intravenously, snorted, used in large amounts, or taken in high frequencies. The more you take, or the heavier the dosage, the higher your tolerance becomes over time. This causes the pleasure to weaken and the cravings to heighten. Oftentimes, this result leads to an individual becoming addicted to drugs.

Tolerance Is a Key Symptom of Being Addicted to Drugs

Sometimes an addiction can sneak up on you slowly and insidiously. As you continue to use a drug, you can slowly build up a tolerance to it, which means that you no longer get the same feeling or “high” that you once got by taking a small amount.

Once your tolerance begins to build, you might increase the dose or frequency of taking the drug. You are trying to get that same “high” that you felt in the beginning when your body was not used to the drug. As you continue to build tolerance, you end up taking more of the drug. Your body becomes chemically dependent on the drug. This means you discover that you need to take the drug just to feel normal or leveled out

Health Effects of Addiction

Many people who use illicit drugs think that the only bad thing about doing drugs is that they are illegal and if you get caught, you can go to jail. The truth is there are negative health effects associated with every illegal drug out there and some of them can be fatal.

Cocaine

The effects of cocaine may not be as immediately noticeable as those of meth use, but they can be just as devastating. Although cocaine overdose is rare, the use of the drug can lead to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.⁴ Cocaine stimulates the central nervous system and affects how the brain processes dopamine. Other health problems can occur depending on how the drug is used: snorted, ingested, or injected.

Methamphetamines

The health effects of methamphetamine use may be the most noticeable and visible of any of the commonly abused illegal drugs because it has such a dramatic effect on the outward appearance of people who chronically use the substance. After a relatively short period of use, methamphetamine will begin to show on the faces of some who use it and begin to rot their teeth. Meth is a stimulant, which affects the body’s central nervous system. It’s highly addictive and cheaper than many other street drugs, which is why so many get hooked so easily.

Heroin

Some of the health effects associated with heroin use are not due to the use of the drug itself but related to the manner in which it is used. People who inject heroin can suffer many negative health effects related to infections that develop due to the use of non-sterile injection techniques. It’s easy to overdose on heroin, which is often cut with other toxic substances. Heroin is a highly addictive drug in the opioid family, with withdrawal symptoms beginning shortly after the drug is taken. Studies have also found that heroin use can lead to a loss of the brain’s white matter, which plays a role in a variety of important brain functions.

How Long Does It Take to Get Addicted to Drugs?

There isn’t a simple formula for how long it takes an individual to become addicted. Some users will begin craving the drug immediately after it wears off the first time. Others may use a drug recreationally several times. Or even binge on it a few times, before developing a daily drug habit.

Users of habit-forming prescription drugs may prevent dependency by speaking to their prescribing doctor about the possible risks of dependency. While short-term use of habit-forming drugs may be effective in treating some conditions, long-term use may lead to tolerance and dependency. Especially in those who have a history of substance abuse.

A good indication of how habit-forming a medication is can be its half-life. This is the time it takes for half of a drug’s dosage to be metabolized and eliminated from the bloodstream.

Those with a shorter half-life may take action more quickly, but they also leave the body more quickly. These drugs have a higher risk of withdrawal symptoms and a higher risk of abuse or dependency.

Steps to Prevent Addiction

Opioids are safest when used for three or fewer days to manage acute pain, such as pain that follows surgery or a bone fracture. If you need opioids for acute pain, work with your doctor to take the lowest dose possible, for the shortest time needed, exactly as prescribed.

If you’re living with chronic pain, opioids are not likely to be a safe and effective long-term treatment option. Many other treatments are available, including less-addictive pain medications and nonpharmacological therapies. Aim for a treatment plan that makes it possible to enjoy your life without opioids, if possible.

The most important step you can take to prevent opioid addiction? Recognize that no one is safe, and we all play a role in tackling the grip these drugs currently hold on our loved ones and communities.

Addicted to Drugs? Harmony Ridge Recovery is Here to Help

The time it takes to pick up the disorder is different for everyone, though evidence shows it may not take very long for some people. Once developed, addiction can consume your everyday life, taking you down a long, dark road. If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs now is the time to reach out and ask for help.

Inpatient Rehab for Addiction

Has your addiction left you feeling helpless with no way out? Has your loved one’s addiction made them unrecognizable? We understand what you are experiencing and are here to help! Harmony Ridge Recovery Center’s inpatient rehab for addiction program provides comprehensive care for individuals who are seeking help for their substance dependency. Our remarkable highly structured residential rehab program provides attentive and supportive medical and emotional attention during care while maintaining a calm and serene environment. Inpatient rehab for addiction is perfectly designed for those wishing to overcome their addiction in a longer-term holistic treatment setting. Take a minute to read what you need to know about inpatient rehab for addiction with Harmony Ridge Recovery Center.

What does Inpatient Rehab Mean?

Inpatient rehab is also called residential rehab because you live at the rehab facility. Inpatient rehab can be effective for people with severe problems with drugs or alcohol, and especially people who are dealing with other mental health conditions. Living at the rehab program facility helps you avoid the temptations and influences in your daily life that trigger your substance use. Living in a healthy environment supports your recovery.

Inpatient rehab treatment programs offer a high level of care, which often includes:

24-hour supervision and support in a safe environment.
Time away from your home environment to concentrate on your well-being.
Behavioral therapies (e.g., individual, family, group).
Medication-assisted therapy.
Medically assisted detoxification (detox).
Services to address any significant social, vocational, and legal issues.
Access to medical and mental health care services, when needed.

When is Inpatient Rehab for Addiction Necessary?

Choosing to change your relationship with drugs or alcohol is an essential first step toward recovery. But recovery is a process. A process that drug and alcohol rehab programs can help you through.

There are many types of substance use treatments, including detox, therapy, and counseling. These fit into two categories: outpatient and inpatient rehab. Your needs and the severity of your substance use problem will help determine which type of rehab is best for you. Both outpatient and inpatient rehab will help you stop using drugs or alcohol and reduce the risk of using them again after your recovery. One type of rehab is not better or more effective than the other. What’s different about them is the setting and what works best for you and your personal situation.

Preparing For Inpatient Rehab

It’s important to properly prepare for rehab. There’s no set amount of time needed to prepare for treatment. It is important to set an entry date for rehab and to have affairs settled before that date.

Some of the things to take care of before entering rehab include:

Talking to your employer
Finding living arrangements for children or other family members
Planning how to get to and from the rehab center
Finding out what personal items are allowed

What to Pack for Inpatient Rehab for Addiction

One concern you might have is what to pack for your stay. A quick look at your chosen treatment center’s website can provide you with a basic list of what to bring and what to leave at home, but there are certain items you can bring to make your stay more like home.

Comfortable Clothes and Sneakers: This one might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised by the number of people who treat rehab like a fashion show or a night out at the club. Tight, revealing clothes send out the wrong message and can be a major distraction, hindering your ability to get work done. Once you get settled in, chances are you’ll just want to rock sweatpants every day, anyway. Additionally, a lot of treatment centers take you to the gym, and it’s pretty difficult to work out in tight jeans and high heels.
Paper List of Important Phone Numbers: This is pretty self-explanatory. Odds are you aren’t going to have access to your personal phone to get any numbers out of it that you may need. Before you check in, take a few minutes to jot down your important contacts.
Alcohol-Free Toiletries:Believe it or not, things like hand sanitizer and hairspray are high on the contraband list. These prohibited items contain denatured alcohol, which is ethyl alcohol before it’s chemically altered.
More Cigarettes Than You Typically Smoke: If you smoke one pack per day in the outside world, chances are you’ll smoke more in rehab. Even though a large portion of your day will be taken up by group therapy, individual therapy, meetings, and recreational activities, there’s still plenty of downtime. People frequently find themselves outside socializing and smoking when there’s not much going on.

How Our Residential Treatment Program Works

Residential drug and alcohol rehab begins with a full evaluation of each patient’s needs in regards to their specific circumstances. After an evaluation is fully performed, an evidence-based and outcome-focused treatment plan is prepared for each individual. These plans are uniquely created and modified by our licensed and experienced clinical and medical staff. Our patients will receive care and treatment according to these plans throughout their time with us.

Operating under 24-hour medical and clinical supervision, our residential treatment program encompasses a daily schedule for our patients to follow. Each patient will begin their day within their specified living quarters and then be able to head out to our clinical building for their daily treatment to commence.

Each patient is given the opportunity to follow a highly structured individualized program designed to specifically treat the underlying causes that have fueled their addiction. This typically requires individuals to be open about their triggers, environmental stressors, coping mechanisms, or underlying dual diagnosis. By openly communicating and addressing these concerns in a place where safety and security are of the highest priority, the rehabilitation process begins to take shape.

During The Day Inpatient Rehab for Addiction

Throughout the day, during periods of downtime, patients are welcomed and encouraged to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, take a swim in our indoor pool, or even take some private time to reflect upon the day’s activities, lessons, accomplishments, and words of encouragement.

Since rehabilitation is a unique journey, patients respond to sharing and learning during treatment in different ways. In some cases, patients will take time alone, appreciating the time to reflect silently. Other times, the comfort and support of their peers will be something to look forward to in between therapy or group sharing sessions.

What is the Difference Between Inpatient and Residential Treatment?

Though the concepts of inpatient and residential treatment often overlap, the term inpatient sometimes can reference a more clinically intensive treatment versus residential settings. Both require the person to stay overnight in the facility with monitoring and support, though inpatient efforts may focus more on medically managing detoxification, addressing certain medical issues, and providing services for emotional, behavioral, or mental health conditions.

With this distinction in mind, a period of inpatient detox and medical withdrawal management may be shorter than the full length of stay in ongoing residential treatment. Though treatment times will vary for each individual, such a period of relatively intensive inpatient treatment might be expected to last from a few days to a few weeks. On the other hand, residential care may more commonly last from a few weeks to several months depending on the needs of the individual.

Get the Right Mindset for Success

Early recovery is a time that involves many emotions for many reasons. Withdrawal symptoms, insomnia, major life changes, nutritional deficiencies, facing past traumas, and cravings make early recovery very difficult. The recovering addict is working hard to get sober, but the first couple of months are full of anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, and loss. Recovery is hard work, and it is a choice that must be made and worked toward every single day. Individuals often end up feeling exhausted both mentally and physically as they work toward getting sober and learning healthy ways to cope with negative emotions. However, it is possible to stay positive even on the hard days.

Even those who attend rehab of their own volition will sometimes develop toxic attitudes. They may believe that they’re different from the other patients, and that they don’t really need to bother with all of the counseling, group work, and other therapies. However, this kind of bad mindset leads to unsuccessful recoveries. It’s crucial that addicts approach their recoveries with open minds and positive attitudes.

Inpatient Rehab for Addiction with Harmony Ridge Recovery

Making the decision to incorporate Inpatient Rehab for Addiction on your road to recovery could be the best decision you make for yourself or a loved one today. Following and learning the methods used by so many patients who have achieved and maintained their life with sobriety can make all the difference in how you view your rehabilitation.

Being provided with the care you deserve in a facility like Harmony Ridge, surrounded by the encouragement of trained medical staff as well as a community of your peers, will only add to the quality of life that is on the road ahead. Don’t wait another minute to reach out and get the information you need to become a part of our rehabilitation and recovery community. We look forward to sharing in your recovery journey toward a life of sobriety, giving you the courage to leave addiction behind everyday moving forward. Contact us today.

Self-Care and Recovery

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “You can’t pour from an empty cup” before but how often do you apply this to your life? The only way to be at peace with yourself is by embracing the numerous responsibilities and taking some time to focus on what is essential. This includes self-care and recovery.

If you think you’ve been hearing more about self-care now, you’re right. One indicator: According to Google Trends, the number of searches for “self-care” has more than doubled since 2015. Although prioritizing self-care may sound like common sense, especially if you’re considering longevity, it’s often the first thing to go when we find ourselves in challenging situations, whether because of bad health, a financial crisis, job loss, divorce, or, in our current situation, the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why it is important to keep it top of mind and not an after-thought, especially when we find ourselves in challenging times during recovery.

Although most treatment programs provide aftercare services, such as referrals to community resources, individuals in recovery are ultimately responsible for their own lives. Support is important, but self-care is essential. In the end, we are responsible for our own happiness and sobriety. Today we will take a closer look at self-care and recovery, and what you can do to cultivate a self-care practice that works best for YOU!

Why is Self-Care Important?

Addiction negatively affects your mood, motivation, self-perception, and sense of well-being. Most people initially abuse drugs or alcohol to reduce stress, cope with negative emotions, escape boredom, or reward themselves. Once an addiction develops, stress, negative emotions, and boredom become major triggers for using. Burning the candle at both ends, so to speak, comes with significant consequences, which may include but are not limited to burnout, depression, anxiety, resentment, and a whole host of other negative implications.

On the other hand, a high level of self-care helps you maintain a stable mood, and it leads to more energy and motivation and better-coping abilities. Just one small act of self-care can snowball, leading to other healthy decisions that give you self-confidence and improve your sense of health and well-being.

H.A.L.T for Self-Care and Recovery

The very definition of halt means to stop. This halt acronym is often used in recovery to serve as a reminder to stop, take a minute and evaluate what you are feeling that could be triggering a craving or urge to use substances. Understanding your thoughts and emotions will help you to counteract an urge when it arises. Ask yourself, are you hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (H.A.L.T)?

The feelings of hunger, anger, loneliness, or tiredness are often common triggers that could lead to relapse. These are oftentimes the best places to start when considering how to provide yourself with the self-care you need during recovery. It seems simple enough, but we are susceptible to self-destructive behaviors when these basic needs are not met, including relapse. Fortunately, hunger, anger, loneliness, and tiredness are easy to address and serve as a warning system before things reach a breaking point.

Using “H.A.L.T.” in everyday life is one way everyone, recovering addicts and those who have never touched a drug, can get along better. By checking ourselves when we’re hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, we can step outside of ourselves for a moment and realize what we need to do to get ourselves into a positive frame of mind.

Granted, “H.A.L.T.” isn’t the answer to all of life’s situations, but you might be surprised to find out how well it works in your own life. It’s simple, but that’s OK — sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that keep addicts clean and all of us sane, just for today.

How to Create a Self-Care and Recovery Practice

Recovery is about so much more than just getting sober. Once we put down the drugs or alcohol, we must find a new way to live. We are undergoing a profound transformational process – one that largely centers on self-care. Also, taking care of your health helps to prevent a reoccurrence or relapse. One of the primary objectives of recovery is to celebrate ongoing, continuous abstinence from drugs and alcohol. You will greatly increase your chances of sobriety when you practice self-care.

Physical Self-Care

Get Up and Get Moving

You don’t have to weight train or run a marathon. A simple walk to the store or an occasional bicycle ride will create “feel-good” endorphins and relieve stress. And remember, exercise and fun are not mutually exclusive. Join a recreational sports league or try surfing. The possibilities are endless.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep affects our mood and how we view each day. You’re much more inclined to keep a positive attitude during the day after a full night of restful sleep. Although life happens, even after 11 p.m., keeping a regular sleep pattern can be very beneficial, physically and emotionally.

Proper Eating Habits

In recovery, it may be tempting to swap old bad habits with new ones, such as eating junk food. However, eating well will give you more energy and promote a positive outlook on life.

Mental Self-Care

Practice Mindfulness

You hear a lot about mindfulness in recovery, but what does being mindful really mean? Mindfulness is the practice is being aware of physical and mental sensations. Staying in the present moment can be difficult, and even uncomfortable at times. Sticking with the thoughts and feelings you’re experiencing in the moment gives you a chance to get in touch with what’s really going on inside you, and allows you to explore emotions and thoughts that you avoided when you were in active addiction.

Practice Compassionate Self-Care and Recovery

When developing compassion, it’s typically easiest to start with yourself. Even if you don’t like yourself very much, at least you genuinely desire your own happiness. Many people struggle with guilt and shame as they try to recover from addiction and developing self-compassion will definitely help with that.

Practice Forgiveness

As you work to correct your wrongs, be gentle on yourself, and try to do good for others whom you may have hurt in the past. Sometimes all you have to do is ask for forgiveness. If you can speak with those who you hurt when actively addicted to drugs or alcohol, ask if they can forgive you. Be careful of your actions and only speak to those who would not be hurt more by your presence or communication.You should also continue to work on forgiving yourself – remember you are still learning and that patience is very important in the recovery journey. Be patient with yourself, allow yourself grace and forgiveness as you heal.

Emotional and Social Self-Care

Social Situations

Relationships are important and social self-care means taking time to nurture the relationships you have. You may practice social self-care by spending quality time with individuals who uplift and support you. These people can be your friends, family or even your sponsor. If you’re trying to escape negative social circles that don’t support your sobriety and recovery, social self-care might mean looking outwards to create new, meaningful friendships and connections. A few ways to do this may be to join a 12 step recovery group, volunteer at special events or sign up for new activities.

Emotional

Emotional self-care is important for both your internal and external health. You can take care of your emotional well-being by processing and verbalizing feelings with trusted confidants. You can also release negative emotions through an expressive art form, such as listening to music, singing, drawing or dancing. It also helps to avoid situations and people that cause you undue emotional distress, practice setting boundaries, and learn to be in touch with your thoughts and feelings. Release your emotions rather than bottling them in. You can move through painful experiences that may otherwise cause you to suffer.

Self Care and recovery Boundaries

Before getting sober, you probably had a group of people you spent a lot of time with that either encouraged your drug and alcohol use or used with you. When you make the decision to get sober, it can affect the relationships you have with those people. As difficult as it is, cutting off communication with these people is going to help you resist the temptation to go back to using your drug of choice. Self-care is about protecting yourself and your sobriety.

Being open about the fact that you’re living a sober lifestyle is important because it lets people around you know that you aren’t going to be drinking or using drugs with them anymore. Setting boundaries regarding who you spend time with, where you go, and what you do will help you avoid situations that could set you up for a relapse. In sobriety, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to form new relationships with people who are also in recovery!

We Are in This Together – Self-Care and Recovery

Addiction is isolating, but you are not alone. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Recovery is a lifelong process, and there will be challenges throughout your recovery. Take the first step toward freeing yourself from the chains of addiction, and contact us at Harmony Recovery Center.

Sober Activities

Let’s face it: sometimes the weekends can be hard when you’re in recovery from addiction. Maybe it’s the idea of having too much time on your hands, or you don’t want to pass up on going out with friends, or maybe you’re just not sure what to do for fun on a Friday night that doesn’t involve partying as you have in the past. We’re here to highlight sober activities to consider.

Many of your friends may still spend most of their time off at bars, watching sports games or taking advantage of happy hours. While there’s nothing wrong with that, for someone who has recently entered recovery it can seem daunting to have to hang out at bars with friends who are still drinking. It can also be risky putting yourself in that situation too early in your recovery. So what do sober people do for fun?

Are you looking for something fun to do that doesn’t involve drinking or getting high? Instead of escaping from reality, dive in and enjoy just living life. Here is a list of fun activities you can do to start living a fulfilling and exciting life.

Before You Find Sober Activities: Identify Your Triggers

A big part of preventing relapse is understanding your external triggers (people, places, things, and situations that elicit thoughts or cravings associated with substance use) as well as your internal triggers (feelings, thoughts, or emotions associated with substance abuse). Once you identify your biggest risks, you can create a plan to prepare for or avoid them.

Some common triggers may include:

Stress
Emotional distress
Environmental cues that result in cravings
People who are still using drugs or drinking
Relationship troubles
Job or financial problems

Learn New Skills

Perhaps one of the best ways to have sober activities fun is by learning a new skill or picking up a hobby. Taking a course on something you like can be a start. You might find something online or offered in your neighborhood. If you want to try a class online, visit the website lynda.com, which offers thousands of courses for a small fee. Also, there are many courses you can take to improve your writing, regardless of whether it’s poetry, lyrics, or prose, including fiction or memoir. You might find an online course or a community college near you offering classes on songwriting.

You can learn to play a musical instrument. Most people have always wanted to learn how to play an instrument, such as the guitar or the piano. However, they never end up doing it. If you’re looking for fun that’s sober and free, search for YouTube videos on playing the instrument you like.

Some other options include learning a new language. Almost every library has language learning CD’s that you can borrow for free. Also, you can pick up a sport you’ve always wanted to play. Does windsurfing look interesting to you? What about kayaking or soccer or scuba diving? There is a long list of sports to try.

Volunteer Your Time

There are hundreds of opportunities for sober activities when it comes to volunteering your time to other. Homeless shelters (some for women and children), hospitals, homes for the elderly, these need help in most towns. Some areas need help removing plants that don’t belong there, parks may need help building trails or maintaining playgrounds. Beach areas are sometimes the focus of cleanup parties. If you have a talent for working with kids, there may be tutoring opportunities or you may be able to help the autistic.

If you attend church, the staff are sure to know of people or organizations who need volunteers. Suggestion: If you’re volunteering for the first time, keep your commitment very short so you are free to try different types of volunteering. Then, if you fall in love with one particular method of helping, you can engage in this one more fully.

Sober Activities Instead Of The Bar

Go to the library and read something new. If your local branches don’t stay open into the evenings, snag a book you’ve been meaning to read and head to a café. Or camp out at your local bookstore or even Barnes & Noble, if you still have one.
Go to a late night yoga or fitness class. Ugh, I know it can be a pain. But I guarantee you’ll wake up the next day feeling amazing.
Take in some art. Spend a few hours wandering the halls of the closest art museum—many museums are open into the evenings to accommodate their visitors availability, and some even have free entry for locals.
Journal or create a vision board. How often does a social night out get in the way of your grounding routines? If you’re an introvert like me, a couple hours in on a weekend evening can really help recharge you and reset you on the path towards your goals.
Go. To. Bed. Early. This is one huge benefit of low-to-no alcohol nights. You don’t feel the need to keep riding the high, so you can tuck yourself in before 11 and wake up feeling fresh and being fully rested at 8. No more 11 AM rolling out of bed and shuffling to the kitchen for an Advil.

Practice Healthy Living

Chronically misusing drugs and/or alcohol can take a major toll on your physical and emotional health, and now that you’re in recovery, you’ll want to prioritize self-care and ensure you have the fortitude to remain sober. Consider these ways to practive healthy living while finding sober activities.

Exercise regularly
Make time for recreational activities and hobbies
Eat regular, well-balanced meals
Get ample, quality sleep
Practice relaxation strategies, like mindfulness meditation and yoga

Celebrate Milestones

If you’re involved in a 12-step program, you likely already know the importance of milestones. In these programs, it’s customary to award plastic chips as you progress to the year-mark at which time you receive a bronze coin.

Acknowledging and celebrating the hard work of recovery is helpful for keeping you motivated and reminding you why you took this brave step toward sobriety in the first place. Just be sure that your rewards don’t involved drugs or alcohol. Instead, focus on things, experiences, and activities that will support your new, healthy lifestyle.

More Ideas for Sober Activities Fun

Ideas for Sober Fun

Read. Go to the library and create a list of all the books you’d like to read in the areas you find interesting.
Start a new hobby. Visit a hobby or craft shop in your neighborhood and look for something interesting. You might choose something that you can do continuously. At first, you might have to simply choose any hobby until you find one that you really enjoy.
Join a gym. Find a gym with people you think you’d like to meet one day. If you’re going to spend more than 3 times per week at the gym, then you’re likely to see familiar faces and form friendships. Obviously, you’ll want these friendships to support your sobriety and not threaten it.
Join a fan club or a sports league. Depending upon whether you like to play sports or watch them, you might choose to join a fan club and attend local basketball, football, or soccer games. Or you might like to play and in which case, joining a sports league could be fun. No matter where you live, there are often many other men and women who enjoy doing the same thing.

More Healthy Habits for Sober Activities

You can always improve how you fare in sobriety by looking at where you can improve your quality of life and where you can incorporate sober activities.

If you immediately think of something that you know you “should” be doing but haven’t yet done, that is a great place to start. If you can’t think of anything, here are a few options:

Quit smoking.
Drink eight glasses of water a day.
Replace fried foods with vegetables.
Go to bed early.
Get up early.
Walk, run, swim, dance, or otherwise engage in physical activity regularly.

Anything you can do to improve your overall health and wellness will serve double duty and improve your ability to stay sober.

When you feel better, your mood is elevated, you’re more likely to ignore the little annoyances, and you’re less likely to feel like a relapse is your only way out of any uncomfortable situations that may arise.

Sober Activities and After Care with Harmony Ridge

Addiction recovery is a long-term process that will continue for many years after treatment. Find sober activities early can help you stay on track. Aftercare programs for substance abuse are any ongoing care once a person leaves treatment. The most common forms of aftercare include 12-step programs, outpatient treatment, therapy, and sober living.

Developing an aftercare plan allows individuals to prepare for any future challenges and risks to their sobriety. Involving friends and family members in the aftercare process can increase the chances of continued sobriety. When friends and family are involved, they learn how to support sobriety, celebrate successes, and encourage healthy behaviors.

The aftercare program for substance abuse at Harmony Ridge Recovery Center offers continued comprehensive care to promote a sober lifestyle and prevent relapse. If you or a loved one is battling substance abuse, our professional staff can help you get on the right track. We look forward to encouraging you down the path to sobriety. Contact us today and let our staff answer all your addiction and aftercare questions.

Mindfulness in Recovery

You may be wondering how mindfulness can help therapeutically. You are not alone — the reaction of many people, when introduced to mindfulness, is “Is that it? How is that going to help me quit or make me feel better?” How does mindfulness in recovery help? Is mindfulness necessary for a successful recovery? Mindfulness is a state of mental awareness and focus that has been traditionally used in meditation practices, and has recently become popular as an element of certain types of cognitive-behavioral therapy, such as the therapy found during and after drug and alcohol addiction treatment.

Although mindfulness is not difficult in itself, it requires a certain amount of self-discipline to focus only on the present moment, and not to get caught up in thoughts about the past and the future. For this reason, exercises in mindfulness can be helpful in giving a focus to mindfulness.

Examples of mindfulness exercises are the raisin exercise, in which you take your time looking at, smelling, listening to, and eventually eating a raisin, and the body scan, in which you work through your entire body, just feeling the sensations of each body part. Read on to learn some helpful steps to achieve mindfulness in recovery.

“My mind is full. Does this mean I’m mindful?”

We all have a lot going on inside our minds at any given moment. Thoughts about money, family, work, traffic, what to make for dinner. The list is never ending. But this isn’t ‘mindfulness’ In understanding what mindfulness is, it helps to practice mindfulness yourself. When you are mindful, you are aware of both your external surroundings and your inner experience, including your own responses to what is going on around you, in the present moment. The goal of mindfulness is to become aware without becoming attached to anything you are experiencing. Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. During a mindfulness practice, the goal isn’t to remove all unwanted thoughts. Rather the goal is to acknowledge the thoughts for what they are, and allow them to come and go freely.

How Mindfulness in Recovery Helps With Addiction

One of the most basic ways it makes people feel better is by slowing things down, so you aren’t rushing from one activity to another, or even one thought to another. By quieting the mental chatter, you can achieve a sense of tranquility that is often the reason people choose to use drugs such as alcohol, marijuana, and opiates.

Another way that mindfulness in recovery can make you feel better is by allowing you to start to notice many wonderful sensory experiences that occur in everyday life that we often don’t notice. When you allow the beauty of the world around you to fill your consciousness, the world doesn’t seem like such a bad place to be.

1. Be Present

“Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life.” The Buddha

Is it possible to be somewhere without actually being there? Of course it is. It’s the way most of us live every day. We’re talking to our kids or watching TV or sitting in a meeting, but our mind’s a million miles away. Usually, we’re feeling stressed about something that happened in the past or feeling anxiety about what might happen in the future. Or we’re distracted by our phones, our attention splintered by the relentless urge to type, tap, or swipe.

Only rarely do we focus on the present moment. Yet when our attention is continually somewhere else, we go through life on auto-pilot, never really seeing the richness of life or fully realizing our own potential. It’s like living with blinders on.

Mindfulness in recovery is about being present, increasing our awareness, and opening our eyes to the reality of now. This moment.

2. Recognize Your Thoughts as Thoughts

“Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that—thoughts.” Allan Lokos

Most of us give little attention to the thoughts that fill our head. They’re just sort of there, like background noise we’ve learned to tune out. But whether we notice them or not, our thoughts are the driving force behind our feelings and actions. What we think about ourselves and others determines how we carry ourselves in the world, how we interact with people around us, and how effective we are at managing our life.

It’s easy to confuse our thoughts with reality—to believe that what we think is always true. In fact, we’re all prone to false assumptions, misconceptions, and unfounded beliefs.

Mindfulness in recovery teaches us to become aware of our thoughts, empowering us to let go of harmful ideas that work against us.

3. Focus on your breath.

This is the easiest, and one of the most effective ways to practice mindfulness. Your breath is ever-present, and ALWAYS available to you. You can choose to focus on your breath each time you feel yourself getting upset, or you can choose to take a moment each day (typically morning) to set a time for a few minutes, close your eyes, and count your breath. Notice the sensation of the air entering your lungs, and leaving your lungs. Notice how your body starts to ease and soften as you take each breath in and out. Focusing on our breath allows us to return to the present moment and recognize everything is okay right here and now.

4. Practice gratitude.

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.” Melody Beattie

Gratitude has been known to completely shift the lives of those in long term recovery. Oftentimes, when first getting sober, mentors will suggest writing a daily gratitude list, and for good reason. Gratitude is one of the most overlooked tools we have in long term recovery, but its a key component for mindfulness in recovery. It doesn’t cost any money to be grateful and the benefits of practicing gratitude are exponential. According to studies, writing a daily gratitude list not only helps with physical health, but dramatically improves our emotional and spiritual health as well, which are key factors in living a well-rounded, full life clean and sober. Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., a leading gratitude researcher, has conducted multiple studies on the link between gratitude and overall well being.

Gratitude effectively increases happiness and reduces depression. In order to practice gratitude, simply write a list each day of 5-10 things you are truly grateful for. This list could start out with simple things like “health, family, recovery”.

5. Forgiveness of self and others for mindfulness in recovery.

“Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.” Maya Angelou

Let’s face it, every single person has been presented with difficult life challenges that cause us to hold on to resentment towards ourselves and others. In recovery, forgiveness is not an option. We inevitably find that if we cannot find a way to forgive, we will face a moment where we will want to pick up that first drink or drug to ease our pain of the past. Letting go of hard feelings is one of the most important mindfulness skills we can learn in recovery. If we want to sustain long term recovery and our relationships we built, we must learn to let go of the past hurts. Forgiveness allows us to reframe our experience to find the gift in any situation.

Forgiveness is a process where we choose, in each moment, to let go of the past. It is not an overnight process, but one that can take weeks, months or even years to fully let go of hurt. To conquer mindfulness in recovery, you can practice forgiveness by writing a letter to the person you feel harmed you and choosing to read it to a third party, preferably a therapist or licensed substance abuse counselor. We do not advocate writing a forgiveness letter and sending it to the person who you feel harmed you but instead process your emotion safely with someone who is emotionally unattached to the situation.

Mindfulness in Recovery with Harmony Ridge Recovery Center

The more you practice being mindful, the more beneficial it will be for your mental health, and it does take time to see the full benefits. Science has proven that our brains can habitually implement any behavior that we practice frequently for eight consecutive weeks. So what may take concerted effort to start with can soon become a natural part of your daily routine. To learn more about mindfulness in recovery, or any step of the addiction and recovery process contact our team at Harmony Ridge Recovery Center.

Addiction Warning Signs

Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medication. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs. When you’re addicted, you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes. As time passes, you may need larger doses of the drug to get high. Soon you may need the drug just to feel good. As your drug use increases, you may find that it’s increasingly difficult to go without the drug. Attempts to stop drug use may cause intense cravings and make you feel physically ill (withdrawal symptoms). The key to fighting an addiction early is to notice the addiction warning signs as soon as they appear. Today we will take a look at these signs, note where to notice them most often, and discuss what to do if you suspect your addiction is out of control.

Signs and Symptoms

Recognizing the signs of addiction is the first step to getting help for yourself or guiding someone you care about to rehab. For this reason, it is critical to have an understanding of the signs of addiction. There are behavioral, physical, and psychological aspects of addiction. Symptoms can only be experienced by the person with the addiction, whereas signs can be observed by other people. You can never know what someone else is experiencing unless they tell you, so if you are concerned that someone else may have an addiction, look for signs as well as for symptoms. You might see some of these signs and symptoms but not others in an addicted person, but you can still be addicted even if you do not have all of them.

Addiction Warning Signs to Look For

Recognizing addiction warning signs in someone you know can be harder than it seems. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as a chronic disease that affects the brain’s reward, motivation, and memory functions. Someone with an addiction will crave a substance or other behavioral habits. They’ll often ignore other areas of life to fulfill or support their desires.

General signs of addiction are:

lack of control, or inability to stay away from a substance or behavior
decreased socialization, like abandoning commitments or ignoring relationships
ignoring risk factors, like sharing needles despite potential consequences
physical effects, like withdrawal symptoms or needing higher dosage for effect

These addiction warning signs are commonly linked. The degree of intensity for each sign may depend on how long the addiction has been going on.

A healthy person can usually identify a negative behavior and get rid of it. This is not the case with someone with an addiction. Rather than admit the problem exists, they’ll find ways to justify and continue the behavior.

Common Symptoms of addiction include:

Tolerance, which is the need to engage in the addictive behavior more and more to get the desired effect
Withdrawal happens when the person does not take the substance or engage in the activity, and they experience unpleasant symptoms, which are often the opposite of the effects of the addictive behavior
Difficulty cutting down or controlling the addictive behavior
Social, occupational or recreational activities becoming more focused on the addiction, and important social and occupational roles being jeopardized
The person becoming preoccupied with the addiction, spending a lot of time on planning, engaging in, and recovering from the addictive behavior
Extreme mood changes – happy, sad, excited, anxious, etc
Sleeping a lot more or less than usual, or at different times of the day or night
Changes in energy – unexpectedly and extremely tired or energetic
Weight loss or weight gain
Unexpected and persistent coughs or sniffles
Seeming unwell at certain times and better at other times
Pupils of the eyes seeming smaller or larger than usual

Red Flags

If someone in your house is having a problem with drugs or alcohol, watch for red flags and addiction warning signs. Frequent use of eye drops or air fresheners can be warning signs. Finding alcohol hidden around the house or in the garage is another. Be suspicious if money goes missing or a bank account starts to get low.

Locked doors and the need for lots of privacy also can be a warning. Also take note of any missing prescription drugs from your medicine cabinet, especially pain medicines. If you spot any of these warning signs in yourself or someone you know, don’t wait to take action. As difficult as it can be to discuss addiction and substance abuse, the disease will only get worse without treatment. Start by talking to your primary care doctor, who can provide guidance on steps you can take to seek treatment, either for yourself or a loved one.

Long-Term Life Consequences

In the middle or later stages of an addiction, the negative effects will be more permanent or have long-term consequences. Someone with a serious addiction problem may allow, ignore, or trivialize these outcomes in favor of continuing their habits.

Potential long-term consequences include:

Getting a communicable disease. People who are addicted to a drug are more likely to get an infectious disease, such as HIV, either through unsafe sex or by sharing needles.
Other health problems. Drug addiction can lead to a range of both short-term and long-term mental and physical health problems. These depend on what drug is taken.
Accidents. People who are addicted to drugs are more likely to drive or do other dangerous activities while under the influence.
Suicide. People who are addicted to drugs die by suicide more often than people who aren’t addicted.
Family problems. Behavioral changes may cause marital or family conflict and custody issues.
Work issues. Drug use can cause declining performance at work, absenteeism and eventual loss of employment.
Problems at school. Drug use can negatively affect academic performance and motivation to excel in school.
Legal issues. Legal problems are common for drug users and can stem from buying or possessing illegal drugs, stealing to support the drug addiction, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or disputes over child custody.
Financial problems. Spending money to support drug use takes away money from other needs, could lead to debt, and can lead to illegal or unethical behaviors.
Dropping out of school or getting poor grades
Damaged relationships with friends and family
Loss of good standing or tarnished reputation
Arrests or jail time
Eviction from the home or failed mortgage payments
Loss of job
Loss of parental rights

Similar events can occur in the lives of people without an addiction problem. But these can become more common when an addiction is present. Before approaching someone you think may have an addiction, determine if the problem is a result of a single incident or a growing problem with the addiction.

Helping Someone In Need

If you’ve observed some of these addiction warning signs and symptoms of drug use in a friend or loved one, you might feel uncertain about addressing the issue. It can be difficult to communicate your concern, especially if you are worried it might result in a conflict. Still, it is crucial to reach out.

Here are a few steps you can take to create an intervention plan:

Work with a professional interventionist. Their entire purpose is to help you plan an intervention in the best and safest way possible.
Invite close friends and family.
Plan and practice what you’ll say.

Once you’ve taken action and hosted an intervention, you can discuss your options. In most cases, you’ll have three to choose from:

Outpatient detox, where your friend or loved one can detox at home with professional help.
Inpatient detox, where your friend or loved one gets the help they need under round-the-clock supervision at a medical facility.
Medical detox, which is a medically supervised withdrawal program that can be carried out under outpatient or inpatient supervision.

Addiction Warning Signs – Harmony Ridge Recovery is Here to Help

Recognizing addiction warning signs is the first step on the road to recovery, which often takes tremendous courage and strength. If you’re ready to face your addiction and are willing to seek help, you have the opportunity to build a satisfying, drug-free life for yourself. Harmony Ridge Recovery Center is here to help. Our substance abuse treatment center offers comprehensive programs tailored to your needs. Whether you need addiction treatment for alcohol or drugs, we can help you recognize your substance abuse problem and, ultimately, overcome it.

How Pets Help Recovery

Pets are forever faithful and grateful just to be in your presence. Knowing there’s someone at home waiting just to be loved makes a person feel needed like nothing else can. But being at home to love and adore a family isn’t the only place where these four-legged friends find purpose. Animals of every size are changing the face of addiction treatment for many who struggle with substance use. Are you wondering how pets help recovery? Pets help addiction recovery and can help keep you on course to a successful sobriety.

Addiction is isolating and for those who suffer with a co-occurring mental health disorder, such as PTSD or depression, the feelings of loneliness can be devastating. For the best success in recovery, it is recommended you stay away from old friends who use drugs or alcohol and make many lifestyle changes. But how do you spend your free time? Companion animals and pets can be beneficial and therapeutic in addiction recovery. Read on to learn how pets help recovery.

The Natural Anti-Stress Remedy

Most pet owners are clear about the immediate joys that come with sharing their lives with companion animals. However, many of us remain unaware of the physical and mental health benefits that can also accompany the pleasure of snuggling up to a furry friend. It’s only recently that studies have begun to scientifically explore the benefits of the human-animal bond.

Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure. Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood. But above all else, having a pet around can dramatically reduce our feelings of stress and anxiety.

An estimated 68% of U.S. households have a pet. But who benefits from an animal? And which type of pet brings health benefits? Scientists are looking at what the potential physical and mental health benefits are for different animals—from fish to guinea pigs to dogs and cats.

While people with pets often experience the greatest health benefits, a pet doesn’t necessarily have to be a dog or a cat. Even watching fish in an aquarium can help reduce muscle tension and lower pulse rate.

Pets Help Recovery – A Healthy Lifestyle Change

Adopting a pet while you’re in recovery for a substance use or mental health disorder can be advantageous, both to you and the animal. It can essentially improve your overall mood, slake your loneliness, and give you a sense of purpose while lowering the chances of drug and alcohol abuse. Adopting healthy lifestyle changes plays an important role in easing the burden of addiction and recovery, and this is how pets help recovery the best.

Increasing exercise. Who has recently told themself, ”I should go for more walks.”? Taking a dog for a walk, hike, or run are fun and rewarding ways to fit healthy daily exercise into your schedule. Studies have shown that dog owners are far more likely to meet their daily exercise requirements—and exercising every day is great for the animal as well. It will deepen the connection between you, eradicate most behavior problems in dogs, and keep your pet fit and healthy.

Providing companionship. Companionship can help prevent illness and even add years to your life, while isolation and loneliness can trigger symptoms of depression. Caring for a live animal can help make you feel needed and wanted, and take the focus away from your problems, especially if you live alone. Most dog and cat owners talk to their pets, some even use them to work through their troubles. And nothing beats loneliness like coming home to a wagging tail or purring cat.

Helping you meet new people. Pets can be a great social lubricant for their owners, helping you start and maintain new friendships. Dog owners frequently stop and talk to each other on walks, hikes, or in a dog park. Pet owners also meet new people in pet stores, clubs, and training classes.

Reducing anxiety. The companionship of an animal can offer comfort, help ease anxiety, and build self-confidence for people anxious about going out into the world. Because pets tend to live in the moment—they don’t worry about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow—they can help you become more mindful and appreciate the joy of the present. Pets help recovery by keeping you present and actively always reducing the anxiety felt.

Adding structure and routine to your day. Many pets, especially dogs, require a regular feeding and exercise schedule. Having a consistent routine keeps an animal balanced and calm—and it can work for you, too. No matter your mood—depressed, anxious, or stressed—one plaintive look from your pet and you’ll have to get out of bed to feed, exercise, and care for them.

Give you a sense of purpose. If you underwent treatment for a substance use or mental health disorder — or both — YOU were the focus of that treatment. Even if you were encouraged and motivated by loved ones to stick with the program, you ultimately had to shift your attention on yourself to get better. You had a goal to achieve, and a purpose to fulfill. Perhaps it was that purpose that fueled your journey to recovery. Adopting a pet can give you that same sense of purpose because you can give an animal a second chance at life, and even save their life (while letting one save yours).

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute reports that:

74 percent of pet owners said having a pet improved their mental health
75 percent of pet owners reported a friend’s or family member’s mental health has improved from pet ownership
83 percent of baby boomers and 82 percent of greatest (aka silent) generation individuals reported more personal experience with mental health improvements from pets than millennials (62 percent) and generation X (72 percent)

Which Pet to Choose?

Most people probably think of dogs first when the topic of therapy animals comes up. As for which animals usually participate in recovery for substance abuse (or any other mental health disorder), it’s true that dogs do take the lead. Canines have been bred to serve alongside humans, so their temperament and that they can be trained to be obedient make them ideal therapy animals. It should be noted that using dogs for addiction treatment — or any other animal, for that matter — isn’t likely to remedy the substance use disorder. Rather, animal-assisted therapy can be a fine complement to the treatment process.

The most common therapy animals are dogs and horses, but other animals such as cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and birds may also be beneficial in addiction treatment. There are even reports of people using ducks and llamas for animal-mediated addiction treatment. There is no specific research that compares the effectiveness of different animals in people with substance use disorders. Researchers believe most therapy animals are equally effective in how pets help recovery.

Other Ways Pets Help Recovery

By simply spending time with animals you can get some of the same benefits of pet ownership. One of the best ways to do this is volunteer at a local animal shelter. By volunteering, you not only get to reap the benefits of experiencing animals’ playfulness and unconditional acceptance, but you can also feel good about supporting an organisation in your community. You will meet new people and also learn how to manage the responsibility of being a volunteer — others will be relying on you to show up when you say you are going to. Helping others is great for your recovery and will give you a sense of purpose.

Volunteering at an animal shelter can also be a great way to transition to pet ownership when you are ready. Engaging with friends’ pets, or even seeking out specialised animal assisted therapy, such as equestrian therapy where you work with horses and their owners, are other ways you can bring animals and their love and healing into your life and addiction recovery.

The Help You Need for Addiction Recovery

Our team here at Harmony Ridge Recovery Center believes in empowering our patients living with addiction and providing each of them with the time needed to restore their confidence and trust. We strive to transform our patients into the positive, happy, and healthy people that they always were, but had got lost at some point. Our treatment specialist’s purpose is to help those who are struggling with addiction in getting back on the right track!
If you or a loved one could benefit from holistic addiction treatment along with other complementary forms of therapy, don’t hesitate any longer. Contact us today at Harmony Ridge Recovery Center and allow our team to get you the answers you need to make a life-changing choice!