Why You Should Meditate in Addiction Recovery

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Overcoming addiction comes with its own challenges and can be particularly stressful if you are just beginning your journey to recovery. Dealing with the urge to use, cleaning up the messes you made while using, and rebuilding broken relationships is no walk in the park. Anchored Tides puts a big emphasis on developing skills to help you deal with real-life struggles at the beginning of recovery. One of the best coping mechanisms we’ve found so far is meditation and we make sure to include it in our treatment programs. 

What is Meditation?

This is a complementary and alternative approach to mainstream addiction recovery services like group counseling and psychotherapy. It is a general body and mind connection practice that focuses on inducing serenity and relaxation to improve both mental and physical health. Anyone can take part in meditation irrespective of your religious or spiritual life. There is no set of time for meditators but beginners can start with a few minutes and then advance to longer sessions.

 The practice focuses on the physical sensations, mindfulness, awareness of present feelings and surroundings. It also involves the mindfulness of accepting thoughts and feelings as they are. This is particularly effective in helping individuals fighting addiction to thinking about sobriety, prevent relapse, and ultimately lead to addiction recovery.

Benefits of Meditation

Aside from promoting inner peace, calmness, increase self-awareness and proper mental functioning, meditation also improves mindfulness which helps decrease cravings and aid recovery. Practicing mindfulness means that you are in control of your attention. You are taking the role and attitude of an observer of what you are doing and feeling.

Improves Resilience

Individuals dealing with addiction are among the most resilient people you will ever come across. Bouncing back to a healthy, quiet, drama free, sober life, and adapting to the new changes is not easy – even for the most dynamic individuals. It takes patience, persistence and strong will to recover fully. Meditation helps you cultivate massive levels of resilience. It helps you become more mindful of your fears, anxiety, and pain. Frequent practice helps reduce and manage stress levels.

Acceptance 

Too often we get down on ourselves and doubt our abilities to live a happy, sober life. The addiction recovery journey can be more difficult if you remain too hard on yourself. Since meditation focuses on attentiveness and observation to your own feelings and thoughts, it is much easier to learn, watch, and be patient with your emotions and self. The more you practice, the more you get to know yourself. You’ll also learn to treat yourself better and exercise some patience and acceptance as you would on other people who are in the same situation.

Improves your overall health

Meditation focuses on body and mind connection. That means it also focuses on your physical and mental health. When you discover self-awareness, you embrace sobriety and realize that you can actually cope with life challenges without alcohol or drugs. 

Your anxiety and stress levels lower through the practice of meditation which can prevent lifestyle-related illnesses such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart conditions. Aside from reducing anxiety and stress some health benefits gained from meditation include reducing your chance of depression, which is common in individuals battling addiction.

Improves your attention span

Meditation and being mindful means thinking about what and how it is right now and not worrying about the past or the future. You are concentrating on your present and the positive things in it. Practicing mindful meditation means taking time to enjoy the current moment as it is. We can’t fix the past and we can’t control the future, all we have is the present moment. Focusing on the present improves your attention span and allows you to enjoy the little things in life. Becoming more attentive will also help you strengthen or repair broken relationships.  

Start meditating

While meditation and addiction would never be used in the same sentences a few decades ago, research has now proved that it is the new recovery agent to addiction. If you have cravings, feel depressed, or are stressed, practice meditation. It’s free and you can do it anywhere!

Anchored Tides Recovery Wants to Help

We want to help you get sober and stay sober. Reach out to us today with any questions you may have regarding our program. We’re happy to talk about all of the resources we provide women seeking sobriety. You can do it! 

Women’s Addiction Treatment: Why It’s Necessary

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Dealing with treatment and recovery from substance abuse is a hardship for all involved, and that can be compounded by generic programs that don’t take into account the needs of different clients. The fact is, women have a very different path more often than not when trying to pick up again after addiction. Unlike men, women are more frequently in the role of needing to be a direct care provider for children or elders at the same time that they need to address their own mental, physical, emotional and personal needs. As a result, a women-only rehabilitation program is oftentimes a far better approach than a mixed audience option.

Why Women’s Specific Treatment Is Important

Finding addiction treatment specifically geared for women, however, can be challenging. Many programs are geared for all-gender therapeutic treatment and don’t cater to a women-only environment request. And that can leave a patient uneasy or exposed and vulnerable to male clients in the same residential setting. Granted, many programs provide a very high level of security and treatment care for clients and don’t intend to create an unsafe environment. That said, the mixing of vulnerable clients has sometimes been a negative factor in treatment conditions versus an improvement.

The other factor that a mixed audience treatment program can’t directly provide is that women going through similar scenarios may often build bonds in their commonality and strong friends who reinforce each other far better through treatment than any external person could provide them, including medically-trained staff. Those kinds of personal synergies can help a client stay on track, even well after the addiction treatment has ended because the close friendship connection has not.

Is A Women’s Only Rehabilitation Right For You?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to substance abuse treatment. Regardless of the fact that people are frequently categorized by the type of addiction, demographics and even economic background, people’s situations are fundamentally different from each other when one gets into the details. One situation may very well be a cascading problem of job loss, divorce and family strife contributing to addiction for distraction and trying to get away from the problems. Another situation may be rooted in one’s family history from decades before. Another may be triggered by abusive relationships that act as a catalyst for substance abuse. If a treatment program applied a generic approach to every case coming in the door, a good portion of clients would fail, which is a big problem with many generic treatment providers.

With a women-only rehabilitation center, a patient could very well be a good fit for the gender-specific treatment approach if there is a history of relationship problems with men that act as a catalyst for addictive behavior. In other cases, female patients may be very apprehensive in mixed crowds but in a women-only environment, it becomes easier to open up, which contributes to adjustment and learning versus being defensive. Still, other female clients may want to stay close to their children during treatment and can’t do so in a mixed-gender addiction treatment program. Female clients who find strength in common experience will frequently find benefits in recovering with other women who’ve lived similar lives too.

Women Need Enhanced Rehab Treatment

Many generic programs again only provide the same approach for all patients that come through the door. However, because of the physical toll substance abuse can take, withdrawal effects can be far stronger on women than men. As a result, a second particular aspect female clients or their families need to consider is that the program can address the additional help a female client will likely want or need in the recovery process. These issues often include mental and psychological conflicts of personal worth, sensitivity to groups and societal norms, or fear of the legal system being aggressive towards women in general. Childcare, as mentioned before, is also a big concern for many female patients afraid they might lose their children committing to an addiction treatment program. So, treatment approaches that accommodate mothers are essential to alleviate this fear and reason for not seeking help.

Getting Help That Works

Anchored Tides Recovery is a comprehensive dual-diagnosis enhanced program designed specifically for women, by women. We offer various levels of outpatient services including a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), an outpatient program (OP), and long-term recovery monitoring with aftercare. If you’re a woman finding treatment for yourself, another female friend, or a loved one, it can be challenging. Call us today. We can help you get the support your need.

The Top Five Most Influential Women in Recovery

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For those who struggle with addiction, substance abuse, and other mental health disorders, it is easy to feel isolated. After all, many people who see others going through addiction believe that this can never happen to them. For young women who battle these issues, the situation can be that much more difficult. Often, substance abuse in women develops as a side effect of prior traumas or bad relationships that drove someone into the arms of addiction in the first place.

It is critical for women to know that they are not alone. There are countless others who have been there and many of them end up recovering. There are even powerful, successful, and influential women who have gone through recovery and succeeded on the other side. There are several stories that women can turn to for inspiration.

Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith is an incredibly successful actress from Baltimore; however, she did not always star in movies. She lived in a terrible part of the city with a single mother who was addicted to drugs in the midst of an epidemic. At 11 years old, she was very much on her own, as her mother was under the influence and unable to help her.

Jada Pinkett Smith ended up as a drug dealer in the 1980s; however, she also suffered from alcoholism. She never learned to say no to alcohol and drugs and began to drink on a nightly basis. She says that she did this to try to numb the pains of her childhood.

Eventually, Jada Pinkett Smith sought help for substance abuse. It was a long road to recovery, but she has now been sober for more than 20 years. She reminds us all that sobriety is not a destination but a journey.

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato is one of the most recognizable stars from the Disney Channel. She starred in Camp Rock, which came out in 2008. She became immersed in a successful music career and has served as an inspiration to many; however, it is not her entertainment skills that are the focus. It is her journey back to sobriety.

Demi Lovato started using drugs during her Disney days. She was partying, drinking, and doing drugs in an effort to self-medicate and deal with the emotional stresses of her job. She was using cocaine hourly. Eventually, Demi Lovato went on to seek help. She navigated her way through recovery and was able to return to her career. She has now been sober for five years and performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis is one of the most recognizable actresses in history. She underwent a surgical procedure decades ago. Sadly, after this procedure, she became addicted to painkillers. When she went a while without opioids, she started to develop cravings and knew she was going to end up in withdrawal. Therefore, she knew she needed to get help. Addiction ran in her family and she lost a brother to heroin abuse.

Eventually, Jamie Lee Curtis got the help she needed. She was able to achieve sobriety once again and returned to her acting career and now works with anti-drug organizations in an effort to raise awareness of the epidemic.

Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige is one of the top R&B artists of all time. Many have even called her the queen of hip hop and soul. Mary J. Blige had her own issues with both mental health and substance abuse. She says that her addiction problems came from a traumatic childhood. She was sexually abused and had numerous dark moments. This led to the development of drug addiction. She was high on cocaine and drinking heavily during the early days of her career. She was able to seek help from trained professionals and learned from Whitney Houston’s journey. Today, she is sober. She carries on in the memory of Whitney Houston, one of her great idols.

Kristin Davis

The star of Sex and the City has also had a long battle with substance abuse. In 2008, she revealed that she is a recovering alcoholic. She started drinking as a teenager in an effort to medicate her social insecurities and get through her parents’ divorce. She drank to fit in, but it grew into an addiction. Now, she shares her journey with everyone. She encourages people to recognize the signs of addiction early on. The sooner people get help from the professionals, the faster they can recover.

Call Anchored Tides Recovery Today

At Anchored Tides Recovery, we are a drug abuse and addiction treatment program designed specifically for women. We work hard to provide the latest treatment resources to every woman who comes to see us for help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.

How Domestic Abuse Can Cause Substance Abuse For Women

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There are many issues in society that people simply aren’t comfortable discussing. Sadly, many of these issues tend to go hand in hand. This is exactly the case when it comes to domestic violence and substance abuse. These are almost always found together. When someone abuses drugs or alcohol, they tend to lose control of themselves. Substance abuse has the potential to destroy relationships with loved ones. When someone surrenders control of themselves to the cycle of addiction, they tend to lash out at loved ones. This can lead to domestic violence.

At the same time, the inverse is also true. When someone is the victim of domestic violence, this can drive someone to the bonds of addiction as well. For this reason, many women who end up in the world of substance abuse are also victims of domestic violence. It is critical for everyone to know how the two are related. That way, they can get help if they need it.

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is any pattern of behavior in a relationship that is exercised to gain or maintain power over someone else. Domestic violence is a major problem in society and many people feel that the exact figures are under-reported. Domestic violence can take many forms. While many people feel that domestic violence is limited to physical abuse, this is not the case. This type of behavior can also include verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and even sexual abuse.

Domestic violence, like addiction, has the potential to cause collateral damage as well. In households where there are children involved, they can end up getting caught in the middle. This can lead to severe trauma for children, tearing a family apart. Finally, women who are victims of domestic violence are far more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol down the road.

Addiction and Domestic Violence are Related

What many people don’t realize is that addiction and domestic violence are related. The actions of domestic violence come out of someone’s desire to control someone else. When someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they are going to lose control of their own inhibitions. When someone is under the influence, they are far more likely to engage in abusive behavior. Furthermore, research has shown that the vast majority of domestic violence crimes are related to the use of drugs.

Drugs have the ability to change how the neurotransmitters in the brain flow back and forth. The brain develops a need for these drugs and will do anything to force the person to find them. As a result, significant others who get in the way of this addiction will cause someone to lash out. This will lead to domestic violence. There are a few major characteristics that addiction and domestic violence share. Both activities can cause someone to lose control over the actions, engage in dangerous behaviors despite the negative consequences, will get worse over time, and can lead to both denial and shame. In many cases of domestic violence, both the abuser and the victim have a substance abuse disorder. This only complicates things further. If there are children involved, the situation only becomes even direr.

The Effects of Addiction and Domestic Violence

The effects of these two dangerous activities can lead to serious issues. When someone is the victim of domestic violence, they are far more likely to experience other mental health disorders. While substance abuse is a mental health disorder unto itself, there are numerous other complications that might result as well. Some of the problems that might arise following addiction and domestic violence include:

  • The development of other dependencies including designer drugs and alcohol
  • The development of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia
  • Depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder can also start to manifest
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is becoming more common

These are only a few of the many mental health issues that might result when someone is the victim of domestic violence. Addiction is bad enough; however, when it is coupled with domestic violence, the consequences can be particularly severe. That is why it is important for everyone to rely on trained professionals to help address addiction and substance abuse. Nobody should have to face these problems alone.

Rely on the Professionals at Anchored Tides Recovery

At Anchored Tides Recovery, we are drug abuse and addiction treatment program designed by women because we believe that women deserve to have a dedicated cadre of professionals who know and understand them. We know that drug abuse and domestic violence go hand in hand. That is why we tailor our addiction treatment plans to meet your individual needs. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, please contact us today.

The Power of Gender Specific Needs

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Substance abuse, along with mental health disorders, will affect each gender differently. There are studies that show treatment has a better success rate when programs are tailored to gender-specific needs. These programs can remove some of the barriers and distractions that can arise from being around members of the opposite sex. It allows clients to feel more focused and comfortable and recover around peers of the same gender, allowing them to relate over experiences that are specific to gender.

Barriers to seeking addiction treatment are usually gender-specific. Women and men can have different feelings when it comes to treatment, how the disorder affects the body and the stigma that is associated with treatment and substance abuse. Women are more likely to feel guilty for seeking addiction help and those feelings can create a bigger barrier to treatment. Women are also more likely to have experienced trauma leading to substance abuse or mental health disorders. Due to this, women need to undergo trauma-informed care. By choosing a gender-specific treatment, it gives a setting that is supportive, sensitive, and non-discriminatory. Women may be more unlikely to develop drug and alcohol problems but when they do, the process is usually quicker. Women tend to enter treatment programs with more severe medical, social, behavioral, and psychological problems. This has implications on the needs of treatment.

There is a difference when it comes to gender and sex in regard to substance abuse. For example, men have an enzyme that breaks down alcohol in the liver and stomach and due to this, men don’t absorb as much alcohol in the bloodstream. This means a man’s alcohol concentration will likely be lower than a woman’s.

It Removes Expectations

Addiction recovery requires that you be vulnerable. Many women find it easier to be vulnerable and speak more candidly about the issue they are facing while in the presence of members of the same sex. There is no need to put up a façade to cover up feelings when you are with other women.

Fosters Honest and Open Discussions

An honest discussion about life’s highs and lows will help women understand they aren’t alone in the experience. Gender-specific addiction treatment reduces the shame and judgment and leads to more understanding and compassion. Many people will feel uncomfortable discussing traumatic and painful life experiences in a mixed group. It’s easier to feel comfortable around people that are similar to you. Feeling safe and comfortable in addiction recovery is important since true healing will only happen if you make yourself vulnerable and share your experiences.

It Reduces Distractions

The main benefit of addiction treatment is that it allows people to focus solely on getting better. When there are other genders then there are distractions, such as romantic ones. Although a romantic relationship can serve as a welcome distraction from what you are going through, it can actually be a distraction that takes the focus off of what you really there for. When women are with women, it reduces the need to keep up with appearances and feel the need to impress the opposite sex. For many, the gender-specific addiction treatment gives one less distraction so the focus is on just healing.

Focus on Gender-Specific Issues

Both women and men face pressures related to work, family, self-esteem, and relationships but those pressures can be different. With gender-specific addiction treatment, clients are surrounded by others who know from personal experience and what it is like to experience addiction as a woman, along with dealing with cultural and societal pressures. Clients are able to focus on a woman’s experience instead of having to split focus. For example, in women’s specific treatment, topics can include pregnancy, motherhood battles, and past trauma.

Creates a Safe Environment

Without a safe environment, treatment won’t be as successful. If a woman has suffered trauma caused by a man then they will not feel comfortable sharing in groups with men. Mothers who have an addiction will benefit from sharing expenses with other mothers since women are usually the caretakers of the family and home. It can be hard to be away from children but with the support of others like them, women are able to share in these experiences.

It Helps with Bonding

With gender-specific treatment, women can bond over shared experiences. There is also the opportunity to bond over new ones. Having a strong peer network is important for maintaining sobriety and preventing relapse after treatment. Gender-Specific treatment can incorporate activities that strengthen necessary connections outside of traditional group therapy.

Importance of Women’s Treatment Programs

Since women in addiction treatment are more likely to have experienced physical or sexual abuse, there is power in women recovering together. Women in treatment are less likely to have a high school diploma or employment. Women are also more likely to have to deal with childcare and the complications of drug or alcohol use during pregnancy.

If you or a loved one you know are struggling with addiction, reach out to us at Anchored Tides Recovery.

The Silence Of A Client’s Death

By, Heather Black-Coyne

I have worked in addiction treatment for 10 years now. My journey working in the treatment industry began early in sobriety and like many, I wanted to help others find recovery just as I had.  A topic much talked about but not really talked about is the death of our clients. The news coverage speaks to the number of opioid overdoses and the stark increase of deaths over the years. The opioid epidemic is well underway, and tens of thousands die each year because of opioid use. Today’s reality is that someone is now more likely to die of an opioid overdose than a motor vehicle accident. The unfortunate news is methamphetamine use and alcohol use also take thousands of lives, but their toll is overshadowed by the opioid crisis; that’s a topic for another day.

Despite the staggering statistics, in all of my classes, clinical team meetings, and new employee orientations, the fact that one of my clients might die was never discussed. Sure, we covered self-care, hear of and grieve the third-party news that a former client has passed. Sure, I have learned that certain standards, regulations, risk management and compliance measures need to be in place to safeguard organizational liability in case of sentinel events. I have participated in the silence, and I am sad to say that over time, my cognitive sensitivity to death by overdose has decreased.

 

Today, I’m very aware of the cumulative effect these losses have had on my soul. I am sad. I am confused. I am preoccupied with images of my late client. My thoughts vacillate between my recent client’s death and the loss of past clients. I see past clients sitting in my office talking about their dreams. I hear their longing to be a part of. I imagine them at my doorway, smiling, telling me about their latest achievements. I replay moments where I had this keen sense of them flirting with the afterlife and their weighted connection with death. My process then flips to my recent loss. I feel guilt when I hear others express they thought ‘this one would make it.’ The guilt is rooted in retrospect. I knew a barrier existed between her and true joy. I knew she was just existing, despite the smile she flashed the world. The guilt is rooted in knowing, at times, I operated from a place of defense, “I am here for you AND I am protecting myself.” A sense of protecting myself from the overwhelming feeling of grief, even before you passed away. Though at the time, I truly didn’t know that would be the outcome.

I am grounded and rooted in emotional health. I don’t beat myself up, I don’t ruminate on what I did or did not do. I do not assign myself unnecessary blame. I have and my guess is, others have too. My guess is, that especially for newer counselors, there is some unshakable sense of responsibility. I want to validate that normal human process for anyone who has experienced the death of clients. I want to validate the enormous pull to help save someone’s live and the disappointment of that endeavor not being realized. I want to validate the disparity between seeing someone thrive and then learning of their passing. I want to talk about the fact that if you work in addiction treatment, for any length of time, losing a client is not only a possibility but a probability. When this happens, the loss is staggering. The world silences while your heart sinks. Our thoughts attempt to reconcile the feelings that can’t be explained.

 

We do this work because we are called to help others, and the need is clear. We do this work, because we believe in the gift of life. We keep doing this work despite the heartache for these reasons. The number of individuals I have seen achieve successful recovery far outweighs the number of individuals I have seen die from this disease. Every story holds a special place in my heart. Every story teaches me something I didn’t know I needed to know. If you are like me, if this subject wasn’t talked about with you, know you are not alone. I am with you, we are with you, let’s talk about it.

 

Anchored Tides Supports Rock to Recovery Benefit

Rock to Recovery Event in LA August 24th at 7pm

Rock to Recovery 4 – the fourth annual benefit concert with music featuring John Feldman and Sacred Sons, with the latter consisting of musicians whose credits include Korn, Sevendust, She Wants Revenge and Madonna. System of the Down’s Shavo Odadjian will also be sitting in with Sacred Sons for the night.

Feldmann, Goldfinger’s frontman and producer for such acts as Blink-182 and Andy Black, will be saluted with the Rock to Recovery Service Award, while the night’s other major honor, the Rock to Recovery ICON Award, will go to actress-singer Katey Sagal. Both honors salute those who have used their power of influence to help put a spotlight on addiction and recovery while giving hope to others.

The fundraiser helps grow the reach of Rock to Recovery’s innovational music therapy program.  All proceeds go towards funding the non-profit’s services which help those suffering from addiction, mental health, wounded warriors, and at-risk youth, to find hope, support, and recovery.

Click here to purchase Rock To Recovery 4 tickets.