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Virtual treatment programs are revolutionizing mental health care by offering unmatched convenience, privacy, and accessibility. Learn how these programs are making therapy more accessible and effective for everyone.
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When you picture what rehab is like in your mind, what do you see?
Maybe an addict lying on a couch with a therapist listening and asking questions? Perhaps a group of people sitting in a small circle of chairs together and talking?
Pretty stereotypical scenes and also not far off.
Individual and group therapy for drug addiction are both hallmarks of the process for a reason. In a moment we’ll get into why group therapy, in particular, is so important.
But first, what does addiction look like?
A substance use disorder isn’t something that manifests and takes hold overnight. There are common signs and symptoms along the way that begin to paint the picture early.
Generally speaking, here’s what you should be looking out for:
Of course, different drugs have differing signs of addiction but the above can usually be seen across the board.
Now that you know what addiction can look like, what’s the added benefit of group therapy to your recovery journey.
Drug use and addiction are incredibly isolating. You might use in a group but once you stop, those people disappear and your addiction may have alienated your close family and friends. Loneliness and depression can set in. Group therapy shows you that you’re not alone and that others have gone through the same.
Because you’re in the company of people who’ve been there, you have a unique support system of people who really can support you from a place of genuine understanding. It’s easy for anyone to say “I get it” but those words mean a lot more when they come from someone who’s walked in your shoes.
In individual therapy, you work on several things en route to a sober life. One of those is coping mechanisms. In group therapy, you can talk those through and sharpen your understanding. Also, addiction isn’t known for working wonders on your communications skills, being in group setting forces you to hone those people skills.
Naturally, once you finish your rehab program, you shouldn’t go directly back to the same group of friends you hung out with before who continue to do drugs. You don’t want to let temptation get the best of you or find yourself in a triggering situation that leads to a relapse. In group therapy, you can build a new community of friends and acquaintances that you can stay connected with long after the therapy ends. Having those types of people in your life helps with accountability too.
Among the best aspects of group therapy is that you’ll likely find yourself in a group where people are at different points of their recovery. Those that are farther along than you can serve as an inspiration for you to strive towards. Likewise, you can be that for someone else.
There are plenty of other reasons why group therapy is often considered an integral part of the recovery process, we surely think so here at Inneractions. If you’d like to learn more about our group session, give us a shout.
Recovery from a substance use disorder (SUD) doesn’t stop when rehab ends.
Whether you’re coming from an inpatient setting or outpatient care, there’s going to come a point at which you’ll have to meld back into your daily life.
Understandably, an abrupt shift from the 24/7 care of inpatient rehab to the regular hustle and bustle of life outside can be incredibly difficult to manage.
In inpatient rehab, for example, you had a regimented schedule and very much had triggers and distractions removed so you could truly put all your energy into recovery.
Even with outpatient care, even though you didn’t live in a facility 24/7, you had regular touchpoints with addiction specialists in both group and individual therapy sessions. Something of a safe space to shelter from the difficulties you might’ve found in your regular days.
There has to be a way to transition, no?
That’s where sober living comes in.
A sober living home functions more or less as a bridge between your dedicated treatment program and the “real world”.
You’ll sometimes even see them referred to as “transitional housing” or “halfway homes” for that very reason.
The basics of taking up residence at a sober living home are that you’re in a place that’s free of drugs and alcohol where you’ll be able to put into practice and further develop the coping mechanisms you learned while in rehab.
You’ll also generally be required to participate in some type of support group.
Recovery is all about small wins that turn into larger ones over time. It’s about cementing positive habits and routines that make maintaining your hard-fought sobriety more manageable.
Look at it this way, it’s much more difficult to get used to a sudden change than it is to slowly adjust and then reinforce those adjustments through guidance and repetition. Sober living gives you a comfortable place to do that.
Some other key reasons sober living is an important part of the process are these:
Loneliness is part of addiction and it can linger after you’ve stopped using as well. Living in a home with others who have gone through the same thing allows you to build meaningful friendships and a whole sober network.
There’s tremendous value in being surrounded by people who understand you on a deep level and those relationships help immeasurably.
Being surrounded by sober people and those working towards the same overarching goal naturally creates a supportive environment. That’s further bolstered by the fact that you’ll be participating in some type of support group, often a 12-step program.
This introduces accountability and even more camaraderie with like-minded people.
A critical component of sober living is getting your independence back.
While there are rules at sober living homes, you’re largely free to do as you please. You can go to and from work and do all the things that come with day-to-day life while having the safety net of a supportive home which helps in re-establishing your independence.
Taken together, all these things are meant to lower the risk of a return to drugs and/or alcohol. If you’re surrounded by people who care about their sobriety journey, it’ll help you with yours, and the support you give one another coupled with group work means the risk of relapse diminishes greatly.
Sober living in Encino at Inneractions in the San Fernando Valley offers all of the above and more in a luxurious Southern California setting.
To learn more about The ISLE, or the Inneractions Sober Living Environment, you can read here.
The common denominator for those living in recovery is a need for support. No matter the nature of your addiction, what you were addicted to, for how long, etc. building a support system you can rely on is critical to maintaining the sobriety you worked so hard to achieve.
To be honest, it’s right near the top of the post-rehab checklist.
Support groups help with everything from dealing with triggers to accountability to just being a place where folks truly understand you, where they just get it.
In that sense, it’s less SMART recovery vs. AA in the competitive sense and more about how each is more uniquely suited, or better suited, to the needs of various people.
The first thing you’ll notice is the all caps and that’s because SMART, like AA, is an acronym; it means Self-Management and Recovery Training.
The fast facts are that SMART was founded back in 1994 and is currently headquartered in Ohio. Their approach focuses on science and self-empowerment in the battle to overcome addiction and meetings can be found across the whole of the United States as well as a number of countries around the world.
You can find their handbook in at least 10 languages.
Their reliance on scientifically validated methods to empower change is a key differentiator from the distinctly more spiritual approach of AA, noting in their purpose and methods statement that their “efforts are based on scientific knowledge and evolve as scientific knowledge evolves”.
Rather than a 12 step program, which AA relies on, SMART is defined by their 4 point program which is:
Arguably the most well-known support group on earth is AA or Alcoholics Anonymous.
AA dates back to 1935 and also has an Ohio link, having been started there. You may sometimes see AA meetings referred to as “Friends of Bill W.” in places like cruise ships with the Bill W. in question being the founder of AA.
They define themselves as “an international fellowship of men and women who have had a drinking problem. It is nonprofessional, self-supporting, multiracial, apolitical, and available almost everywhere. There are no age or education requirements. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about his or her drinking problem”.
AA is where the concept of the 12 step program originated and it’s these very steps that form the core of the program itself.
A clear difference between the two programs is AA’s emphasis on spirituality in the pursuit of sustained sobriety. It’s not expressly required that you believe in God to join an AA meeting but the spiritual basis of AA is something to keep in mind. For some, it’s a wonderful thing. For others, they may prefer a different approach.
NA, or Narcotics Anonymous, was founded in 1953 and operates with the same 12-step program.
As for the meetings themselves, both SMART and AA are non-profits and their meetings are free of charge. Generally, only a small donation is recommended to cover the costs of putting on the meetings.
Conquering your addiction to drugs and/or alcohol is doable and among the best ways to go about it is through a professional treatment program that’s customized to your needs.
At Inneractions, that’s exactly what we do.
Moreover, once you complete rehab, we can help you transition back to your day-to-day life at our San Fernando sober living facility.
To learn more about support groups or aftercare, reach out to us today.
Recovery is a process.
Or, recovery is a journey, not a destination.
You may have come across lines like these when looking into rehab options for yourself or a loved one. Perhaps you even scoffed at them, feeling like you were reading trite cliches or platitudes.
Thing is though, recovery is a journey. Why? Well, let’s look to a definition of drug addiction from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to add some color here:
“Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences. It is considered a brain disorder because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control. Those changes may last a long time after a person has stopped taking drugs”
Because addiction is thought of as a brain disorder and not as a purely physical concept, it’s something you constantly work on and nurture. Moreover, if you stop working on it, a relapse is possible at any point.
Learning coping skills for drug addiction, therefore, becomes imperative to staying on the path of sobriety.
Addiction to drugs manifests itself in several ways that tend to compound the longer a substance use disorder lasts.
These are just some of the signs you may encounter and if you see any of them, it’s important to take note and monitor. Ignoring symptoms only makes things worse and harder in the future.
Coping skills are what help you stay the course, they’re the little “tricks” that help overcome those cravings and inevitable tough times on the journey of sobriety.
Among the best places to learn these new skills is in treatment for addiction.
In rehab, you’re in a place where all your attention is focused squarely on healing and developing the tools necessary to cope with triggers back in the real world.
As the physical addiction to drugs dissipates after detox, working on the mental side is what rehab programs are all about. You’ll work with professional addiction specialists in both individual and group settings to dig deeper into the root causes of addiction.
This is also the time you’ll be introduced to a host of coping skills ranging from practicing mindfulness, breathing exercises as well as general exercise, journaling, the importance of keeping busy, building a support system, 12-step programs and more.
As mentioned at the top, the journey of recovery doesn’t end when your time in rehab does, it’s something you actively work on but shouldn’t feel like work. Your post-addiction life is meant to be more fulfilling and enjoyable than the days of addiction and developing a routine that you love is crucial to that.
That’s where aftercare planning and sober living come into play, these are important parts of cementing a sober life. Sober living homes are particularly beneficial because you live in a supportive setting with a community that’s going through the same thing and building bonds with them. It also allows you to transition slowly back into your day-to-day life in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming.
To learn more about the coping skills you’ll develop or what sober living is like, reach out to us at Inneractions today.
There are certain warning signs that are easy to decipher when diagnosing a person with depression. But others are much more subtle and can be overlooked. In fact a close person in your life may be struggling with severe mental health issues, yet present themselves in a happy or positive way. We feel it is important to bring topics like “smiling depression” to the forefront because it is these cases that can leave people unprepared for severe consequences (such as a surprise suicide, perhaps).
The Fix recently covered this topic on their blog page, highlighting just how common it is for a depressed person to put on the facade of happiness. In fact, their research shows that up to 40 percent of people who suffer from depression may not exhibit outward symptoms (such as crying, sadness and the inability to get out of bed).
“It can be very hard to spot people suffering from smiling depression,” Science Alert researcher Olivia Remes told the site. “They may seem like they don’t have a reason to be sad—they have a job, an apartment and maybe even children or a partner. They smile when you greet them and can carry pleasant conversations. In short, they put on a mask to the outside world while leading seemingly normal and active lives.”
Remes went on to say that there can be other visible symptoms of smiling depression beyond outward unhappiness. Call outs included sudden weight gain, a change in appetite, constant sleepiness and increased withdrawals from social events. So people suffering from this could be quite jovial when they see you, but still change certain behavioral patterns.
University of Michigan professor Dr.Michelle B. Riba was also quoted on the site. She actually felt that people who fall under the smiling depression category may not even realize that they themselves have a problem.
“Many people will come to their doctor complaining about sleep problems, or headaches, not realizing that it’s a mood disorder because they don’t have low mood,” she explained. “Not all symptoms of depression always occur at once.”
Eventually though, the dark feelings do catch up to you and that’s where a condition like this could really get serious. How many times have we heard about seemingly “happy” people taking their own lives? If you ask us, it is always important to check in with those close to you and lend support if you suspect that smiling depression may be lurking underneath an upbeat smile.
On the surface, aligning rage and depression seems a bit counterintuitive. Someone who is angry is perceived to behave differently than someone who is clinically depressed. But look a little deeper and you may start to see an interesting connection. This happens to be a point that was recently brought up by NPR and one that we think merits further investigation.
Writer Nell Greenfield Boyce pretty much summed up the same statement in the beginning of her article.
“Many people — including physicians — associate depression with feelings of hopelessness, sadness and a lack of motivation or concentration, but not anger,” she writes. “And even if you pick up what is often called the ‘bible of psychiatry,’ the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, you’ll find that the list of core symptoms for major depression doesn’t include anger. But irritability — a reduced control over one’s temper that results in angry outbursts — is listed as a core symptom of depression.”
Noted Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Maurizio Fava also contributed to the piece and shed some light into why there has been such a disconnect all these years. He explained that when he was trained in the subject, the common thought was that anger is projected inward during depression. In essence, depressed people are angry at themselves and not others.
But more recent case studies examined by Dr. Fava have educated him otherwise. In fact, he found that people prone to outbursts share many of the same traits as “depressed” or “anxious” people going through a panic attack. He aligned anger attacks in the same vein and actually saw some success when people prone to rage were treated with antidepressants.
And on the flip side, more recent studies have shown that those diagnosed with depression do experience angry emotions on a regular basis.
“A recent large study looked at more than 500 people who had been diagnosed with major depression,” Greenfield Boyce added. “It found that more than half showed overt irritability/anger, and that this anger and irritability appeared to be associated with more severe, chronic depression.”
Ultimately, these all fall under the category of mental health. Whether you’re consistently angry or sad (or possibly both), it is important to not just zero in on certain emotions. At Inneractions, we specialize in treating co-occurring disorders and believe that healing truly begins when you look at the bigger picture.
Truth be told, depression is much more than an “emotional issue.” There truly is a science behind all of this, as genetic links and research studies have shown. And proving that point even more, is a new article from the acclaimed online medical resource, WebMD. Doctors from that site now claim that even germs and microorganisms play a part in chronic sadness, as evidenced by a newly discovered gut bacteria.
The link can tie back to certain diets and a lack of probiotics. When surveying roughly 2,100 adults, WebMD’s researchers found that those with depression did have differences in specific groups of gut bacteria. Those with an imbalance of microbes suffered from issues with their immune system and a decrease in the production of chemicals that influence the brain.
This chemical deficiency (at least among the 2,100 surveyed) showed direct links to depression. The other notable stat to be revealed was the “vicious cycle” that occurs once this diagnosis has taken place. We know that many people with depression don’t eat well and often have a loss of appetite. According to the researchers, those symptoms only further the problem.
“It becomes almost like a chicken-and-egg question,” UCLA researchers Dr. Emeran Mayer told the site. “People with depression certainly have different diets, and different habits, than people without depression. And that would affect the gut microbiome.”
Continued studies are being done to determine the initial causes of this type of bacterial infection and how it can be combated. Dr. Mayer did admit that healthier eating and regular vitamin supplements would all be beneficial. But science has yet to prove if that alone will completely remove the issue.
Foods that have shown to have a positive effect thus far include vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains (all of which fall into a healthy regular diet). Dr. Mayer also emphasized the avoidance of processed foods if you think you’re suffering from depressive symptoms.
“I’d say eat a diet that’s largely plant-based and highly variable in the types of plant foods,” Mayer concluded. “If you’re just eating tomatoes, that’s not enough.”
Obviously, overcoming depression requires a lot more than changing what you eat. But we wholeheartedly agree that a healthy diet can make a significant difference in your emotional (and physical) well being. Nevertheless, we encourage anyone suffering from chronic sadness to reach out and add therapeutic support into your recovery toolkit.
Is it impossible to date and find love when you’re suffering from depression? Absolutely not. But it can be a challenge and does require more effort than someone who is not dealing with a mental health struggle. TheFix.com recently addressed this very relevant topic on their website and offered helpful tools for anyone who feels hopeless about their romantic life.
Taking quotes and inspiration from relationship therapists, the site first dug into some of the symptoms people with depression may experience when trying to make a love connection.
“Battling depression can be physically and emotionally taxing, so make sure you’re going at your own pace and being kind with yourself in the process,” expert Lindsey Pratt told the site. “If you struggle with this, you may notice that it prevents you from feeling excitement over special moments. You may also have trouble finding energy to spend time with a new person or that your ability to imagine a happy future with a certain partner feels limited.”
Pratt went on to emphasize that it is perfectly ok to experience these feelings and those who do are certainly not alone. She also added that there will undoubtedly be challenges; but by continuing to put in work, you can slowly overcome them.
“Patience” and “compassion with yourself” are two key points that Pratt mentioned. Patience comes with working at finding a suitable mate. It may take a while and you may encounter bad matches, but it is important to carry on. Compassion refers to pushing away self-doubt if a date or online connection goes bad. This, of course, is not easy to do, but with professional support and continued effort, you can learn not to personalize rejection.
There are also preliminary exercises to take which can help avoid an uncomfortable dating scenario. One suggestion was to schedule a meetup at a time of the day when you feel most positive. Also, choosing an activity and location that brings you joy can help set a relationship up for success.
The article also recommended openness and honesty when it comes to your depression diagnosis. Time it right and don’t be ashamed to mention that you are struggling with a mental health issue.
“You’ll need to determine the best time to discuss your depression with a date,” the site expert went on to say. “Often this conversation happens a month or two into dating. I really like to encourage people to say, ‘You know what? I suffer from a condition that’s pretty common in the population. I have this sadness sometimes about me.’ You don’t even have to use the word depression.”