Recovery Begins With Treatment

As May winds down hopefully all of our readers found some time to take part in some of the events involving mental illness. May is Mental Health Month after all, and even in the 21st Century millions of people are reticent to seek help for addiction, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The good news is that mental illness campaigns empower people to take action in service to well-being.

Addiction and co-occurring disorder recovery are vital; the lives of those unable or unwilling to seek treatment are at significant risk. Over time, the symptoms of mental health disorders only get worse; those using drugs and alcohol are also at risk of severe physical health problems, i.e., overdose and liver disease. Raising awareness about the efficacy of mental health treatments is of the utmost importance, people suffering need to understand that treatment is available, and recovery is possible.

Mental illness is paradoxical in many ways, most notably concerning some individuals' resistance to seeking help. Those who are in the deepest depths of despair often have the most challenging time mustering the strength to reach out for assistance. While a person needs just one reason (life) to seek treatment, those living with mental health afflictions adduce scores of reasons (i.e., work, school, and the risk of others finding out) for not utilizing the available clinical services. And yet, paradoxically, without treatment life is in jeopardy; if life is at risk, or ceases to continue, all the explanations for not seeking help are moot.

 

Recovery Begins With Treatment

At Celebrate Hope, we understand the difficulty in asking for help; the members of our team of skilled professionals know how hard it is to rebel against their condition and disregard the social stigma of addiction and accompanying co-occurring mental health disorders. Those who have a long history of battling psychological illness convince themselves that they are doomed to suffer, some even convince themselves that they deserve what they are experiencing. An objective look at the points above reveals that neither is correct; no one deserves the mental distress, and it is always still possible to turn one’s life around provided one takes action.

If you are living with addiction, there is an exceedingly high likelihood that you meet the criteria for three conditions: major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, or bipolar disorder. Such illnesses, like addiction, are treatable and recovery from each is possible for anyone who commits their self to working a program of long-term maintenance. We must stress that successful treatment outcomes rely heavily on treating both the addiction and dual diagnosis at the same time. Addressing one, and not the other, sabotages making headway with either condition.

Mental illness is not something to feel shame about; hundreds of millions of people around the globe have any one of many conditions. Putting it simply, individuals living with mental illness are not alone, and together all can experience the miracles of recovery. Please use Mental Health Month to say no to stigma and take advantage of the help that is available. Let treatment be the catalyst for progress and lasting change.

 

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Celebrate Hope at Hope By The Sea can help anyone struggling with an addiction and dual diagnoses, or co-occurring disorders. We can help you end the cycle of addiction and help you manage several co-existing conditions, including but not limited to, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, PSTD, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Please contact us today!

Opioid Overdose Deaths Among Latinos

"I'm a serious addict," Julio Cesar Santiago (44), tells NPR. "I still have dreams where I'm about to use drugs, and I have to wake up and get on my knees and pray, 'let God take this away from me,' because I don't want to go back. I know that if I go back out there, I'm done."

The above quote is likely to resonate with anyone who lives with alcohol or substance use disorder and finds addiction recovery. In early recovery, most people kneel and pray regularly throughout the day; the gravitational pull of drugs and alcohol is a force to be reckoned with requiring eternal vigilance to prevent relapse. While all mind-altering substances carry inherent risks of injury and premature death, one could argue that opioids exist in a separate class with exponentially higher stakes.

The American opioid addiction epidemic remains as one of the chief public health concerns. Many of you are aware that roughly a hundred people perish from an overdose each day usually stemming from prescription opioids, heroin, or fentanyl (a synthetic opioid approximately a hundred times stronger than morphine). Almost 3 million American battle opioid use disorder, an estimate that some experts feel is probably conservative. One of the ways researchers develop stats on how many people are struggling with a condition is by the number of individuals that receive treatment. Given that the vast majority of people living with addiction never access care, it is hard to develop an accurate picture of the problem. Even still, we can confidently assert that more than 2 million people are bound to OUD in this country.

Opioid Use Disorder, Overdose, and Latinos

Most of the news about the epidemic focuses on the disproportionate number of non-Hispanic whites suffering from opioid use disorder and dying of an overdose. As a result, the media and many experts overlook specific demographics struggling with opioids, especially Latinos. In fact, research shows that opioid overdose deaths among Latinos is on the rise nationwide, and in Massachusetts, ODs are increasing at twice the rate of whites and blacks, according to NPR. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) reports that Latino overdose deaths rose 52.5 percent between 2014 and 2016, as compared to 45.8 percent for whites.

"What we thought initially, that this was a problem among non-Hispanic whites, is not quite accurate," says Robert Anderson, mortality statistics branch chief at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. "If you go back into the data, you can see the increases over time in all of these groups, but we tended to focus on the non-Hispanic whites because the rates were so much higher."

It is challenging to extrapolate what's behind the surge in opioid overdose deaths among Blacks and Hispanics. After conducting scores of interviews with addicts, physicians, and treatment providers a more precise picture emerged; a lack of bilingual treatment options, cultural barriers, and possible deportation fears likely have a hand in the growing death toll. What’s more, NPR points out that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website is only available in English; however, they do offer a toll free number "for free and confidential information in English and Spanish for individuals and family members facing substance abuse and mental health issues." Mind you, that it's SAMHSA's responsibility to improve the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services.

Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

If you are suffering from addiction and a co-occurring mental health disorder, please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope by The Sea. We can help you end the cycle of addiction and provide you with the tools and skills necessary for achieving lasting recovery.

Seizing the Day In Recovery

Each of us has hopes for the future, looking forward often seems to be a part of our DNA. However, when a person is in the grips of active addiction it is challenging to have dreams for the days ahead; about the only thing one can think about is maintaining the disease and avoiding withdrawal. Managing an addiction is a 24 hour-a-day job which does not afford most people many opportunities for dream quests that have a basis in reality.

Most active addicts and alcoholics think about recovery on a regular basis; and, what it would be like to lead a life free from dependence. Although, without help, the vast majority of such individuals are unable to bring about lasting changes.

Those who resolve to seek assistance and begin a journey of recovery quickly discover a whole world of opportunity. After recovery commences, slowly the mind starts to clear up, and one can start thinking about their future. It is reasonable and healthy to set realistic short-term goals in early recovery. With each benchmark a person checks off the list, they are one step closer to achieving long-term dreams. In each case, each person has their path, and there isn’t a standard time that it takes to see one’s hopes come to fruition; the point: patience is key to survival in recovery. Reminding oneself that good things will happen as long as one continues to do the work can make a huge difference.

Seizing the Day In Recovery

Working a program of addiction recovery is a tremendous endeavor, the pull of the disease is substantial; keeping one’s focus is key to staying on track in recovery. Each day, people in the program must recommit themselves to the cause of sobriety; some days, redoubling one’s efforts is necessary. Individuals who have been in the rooms for several months often allow their program to become stagnant; they stop making a daily commitment to progress, toward working for something more significant.

When a program becomes sedentary, it is easy to revert to living in the past or spending too much time focusing on what is next in life. When this occurs, people lose sight of the precious present and what they have to do Today for bringing about their dreams for tomorrow. Goals are dependent upon doing the work; just refraining from drugs and alcohol is not going to help one meet their objectives.

It’s OK to think about what the future holds, but fixating on it is a sure path to problems, i.e., relapse. Conversely, those who pay little mind to the future and keep their “mind’s eye” on the present, position themselves for success. At times it helps to remind yourself that the way life in this instant, is precisely the way it should be; see in your daily actions some higher plan, even if you can’t see it clearly. Take the opportunity each day affords you to become the best version of yourself there ever was; and, with each passing week, you’ll find that you are one step closer to fulfilling dreams.

"Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality." —Malala Yousafzai

 

Addiction Treatment

If you are suffering from addiction and/or a co-occurring mental health disorder, please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope by The Sea. We can help you end the cycle of addiction and provide you with the tools and skills necessary for achieving lasting recovery.