Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines.
Treatment mainly consists of counseling by experts, medication for depression and helping to make the patient aware of the causes of their addiction so they don’t repeat them. Drug rehabilitation centers offer programs which include residential treatment, local support groups, recovery houses, and out-patient treatment. Effective drug rehabilitation treatment doesn’t rely on a single treatment as appropriate for all but takes into account all options and attends to the multiple needs of the individual to help them recover. In addition to these approaches, medicationassisted treatment options available can play a crucial role in the recovery process. These options can help stabilize individuals and make it easier for them to engage in counseling and support programs. By combining various methods tailored to each person's needs, the likelihood of sustained recovery increases significantly.
Some treatment centers provide specialized therapy sessions. These could be tailored for anger management, stress management or grief counseling, offering coping techniques to help improve your ability to handle issues in a controlled manner rather than feeling the need to use drugs or alcohol.
At Bella Monte Recovery Center, located in Palm Desert, California, not far from Los Angeles, we offer a host of treatment services designed to help those struggling with addictions get the help they need. Our program offers continued support for a healthy lifestyle long after a person completes their stay. Been to other treatment programs and still struggle with you addiction? Look no further. Find treatment success at Bella Monte.
There are significant gender differences when it comes to substance use and addiction. Both men and women face unique issues that influence the underlying causes of their substance use, what substances they use, and in what quantities. This article discusses the varying elements that influence addiction differently for men and women and how those elements affect their overall treatment and recovery.
It used to be thought that substance use disorders (SUDs) were only a problem among men. This is because early research often didn’t include women, perhaps because women were thought to be “too busy” as they carried out multiple responsibilities of raising children and taking care of the house. Recently, there has been much more research that includes women and their unique experiences with substance use and addiction. This research sheds a light on the fact that substance use has never been merely a men’s-only issue.
Men are as equally likely to use substances as women; however, women respond to substances differently. Women tend to develop SUDs more quickly from smaller quantities of substance use compared to men. Sex hormones, like estrogen, can make women more sensitive to substances, and they can develop an addiction in a shorter amount of time. Women are also more likely to go to the hospital or die of an overdose from drug use. Similarly, they are more likely to experience harsher drug cravings after stopping their substance use.
Substance use also affects women’s bodies differently than men’s. Women who use drugs can experience issues with hormones, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, menopause, and breastfeeding.
Another thing to note is that women and men both have different motivations for partaking in substance use. It’s common for women to use substances to relieve stress, cope with chronic pain, deal with the pain of divorce, the death of a loved one, or the loss of custody of a child. As a consequence of substance use, women are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.
While women are less likely to smoke cannabis than men, those who do are more prone to panic attacks and anxiety as a result of marijuana use. Cannabis also affects women’s spatial memory more than men’s. Teenage girls are more likely to experience brain abnormalities than teenage boys if they smoke cannabis before their brain reaches full development.
Women are especially sensitive to the rewarding aspects of stimulants due to sex hormones like estrogen. Women are more likely to take larger amounts of cocaine than men; however, both men and women experience the same level of effects on learning and concentration despite how much they take. Women tend to take stimulants to have more energy to balance work, childcare, and home care. Women are also more likely to take methamphetamines for weight loss and tend to take these substances earlier in life compared to men.
Women are more likely to experience chronic pain than men, and, as a result, are more likely to take opiate drugs without a prescription. Women who are between the ages of 45 and 54 are more likely to die of an opioid overdose than any other age group. Women are also more likely to die of an overdose from medications for mental health conditions, such as antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
Compared to boys of the same age, girls between the ages of 12 and 20 are more likely to misuse alcohol or binge drink. Long-term drinking can cause more damage to the health of women than men, even if they drink for a shorter duration of time. Women also have higher alcohol-related death rates compared to men, nearly 50 to 100% higher. These are deaths from alcohol-related accidents, suicides, heart and liver disease, and stroke.
There are more men who are seeking treatment than women; however, women are more likely to seek treatment for sedative drugs. Men are more likely to seek heroin treatment, but that number has been increasing for women. Pregnant women and women with young children are often reluctant to seek treatment for substance use due to fear of legal repercussions, such as losing custody of their child. Women also are more like to leave treatment early to take care of their child. In turn, women are less likely to seek treatment due to obligations at work, at home, and in child care.
Both men and women who use substances are equally likely to have an underlying mental health disorder. Women who have addictions are more likely to be struggling with underlying depression, anxiety, PTSD, and eating disorders.
Men and women experience different gender-specific factors that contribute to substance use and addiction. For example, women are more likely to develop a substance use disorder more quickly compared to men, as women’s bodies respond to substance use differently. This is due to sex hormones, which can make women more sensitive to drug effects. Similarly, women are less likely to seek treatment as they tend to experience greater pressures related to work and childcare. Bella Monte strives to include every identity in our narrative. We want to make sure that every person is taken care of despite their identity and background. This is why it’s important to us that women know the realities of addiction and substance use and how it affects them uniquely. To learn more about how our treatment center can help you, call us today at (800) 974-1938.
Technology has become a daily staple in life. We use it to communicate, socialize, and work. However, as the impulse to spend more time with technology grows, it can create unhealthy habits that can lead to addiction disorders. Some examples of technology addictions are shopping and gambling. Trying to break the patterns of over-using technology can be challenging and can even perpetuate the impulse to turn to substances in order to cope.
As you may already know, the amount of technology we have access to is innumerable. As a result, many people become addicted to technology. There are various technology addictions, including:
The most common technology addiction is an addiction to online gaming. Online games have become more and more popular with access to computers, tablets, and smartphones versus just gaming consoles alone. It is incredibly easy to access games no matter where you are, making this addiction so common. In addition, socially interactive games can give a false sense of social interaction, getting in the way of individuals’ interpersonal relationships. Gaming can also lead to online gambling addiction, another type of technology addiction.
Another common technology addiction that can provide individuals with a false sense of social interaction is social media addiction. Social media addiction can therefore lead to isolation. In addition to the instant gratification that social media brings, it also enables a fear of missing out, which can become addicting.
Social media can set unrealistic standards when it comes to body image and can lead to poor mental health symptoms. Individuals become easily addicted to the good neurotransmitters their brain releases every time they receive a “like” or a “follow.” They also use scrolling as an outlet for when they are bored, similar to drug and alcohol addiction.
A third common form of technology addiction is shopping addiction, which involves impulsive buying of goods online. Online shopping is used to avoid boredom and as a distraction from negative feelings, but it is only a temporary fix. It’s not only about receiving new and exciting goods but the process of scrolling through the items as well.
Similar to the way substances restructure the award systems in our brain, too much technology can also restructure the brain. Studies on technology addiction and drug addiction completely mirror each other in terms of their effects on the brain. They are also similar in their causes, both being driven by mental health issues like boredom and trying to avoid negative emotions.
Addiction is not just a disease that involves drugs and alcohol; it can come in many forms. The basis of all types of addiction is a loss of control, changes in mood, and continued use despite negative consequences. Just like substance use disorders (SUDs) can destroy a person’s life, so can technology addictions. They are similar because all forms of addiction are used as temporary fixes for negative emotions. Like drug and alcohol addiction, technology addiction can become the main priority in people’s lives, getting in the way of their relationships, work, and even hobbies.
Technology addiction can present as disrupted sleep, heightened attention-deficit symptoms, impaired emotional and social intelligence, and increased social isolation. These symptoms can lead to mental health issues and drug and alcohol addictions. In addition, it’s important to note that technology addictions all have one thing in common: they lead to social isolation. Social isolation can also be a substantial contributing factor in developing SUD.
Just like anything else in the world, there should be a balance established when it comes to technology use. Too much exposure to any one thing can lead to social isolation, mental health issues, and even a reliance on substance use. However, technology use can be more complex to monitor than drug or alcohol use because it is at the forefront of our everyday lives.
Some alternate uses of time rather than scrolling, gaming, or shopping may be going for a walk in nature. This separates you from technology but won’t lead you to a place where you will use substances. Another option is to spend time with family and friends and seek gratification from healthy circumstances. This is easier said than done, and recovery from any addiction is a challenging process. Knowing when to get help is the first step to finding a successful recovery path that ends in a well-balanced and well-rounded lifestyle.
If you are struggling with technology and drug or alcohol addiction, treatment is available. Finding a facility that can treat both disorders and get to the root cause of your addiction can help you find lasting healing.
No matter what it may be that is controlling us, being controlled by an external force can be terrifying. If you or a loved one is struggling with a technology addiction that may lead to drug or alcohol addiction, it may be time to seek help before it gets too out of hand. Treating a technology addiction can be an intervention to relying on substances for a temporary fix. At Bella Monte Recovery Center in Desert Hot Springs, California, we do whatever it takes to treat the underlying trauma and mental health issues that cause addiction. We tailor each client’s treatment plan to fit their individual needs. We are committed to a whole-person approach and giving each client a strong chance at a lasting recovery. Don’t wait to start your journey to recovery. To learn more about what we offer at Bella Monte Recovery Center, call us today at (800) 974-1938.
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
TAYA GRAY/THE DESERT SUN
When you experience a traumatic event, the body is responsible for storing emotional pain. There are all kinds of physical stress reactions – such as muscle tension, heavy breathing, or chest tightness – commonly experienced in the wake of trauma. The mind, while certainly a powerful tool in understanding trauma, cannot control these reactions. For this reason, there are limits in trying to treat trauma rationally, logically, and through mere conversation. Trauma treatment requires a deeper approach.
During a traumatic experience, the speech and language centers of your brain shut down. This is because the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for rational thought, cannot process what is happening. Yet, the limbic system, the part responsible for feelings and sensations, becomes activated. That’s why no one can “control” the effects of trauma.
When you feel threatened, your body discharges two chemicals called adrenaline and cortisol. When a situation reminds you of that threat, your body keeps releasing these chemicals automatically.
Talk therapy uses the thinking side of the brain to work through trauma. Yet, as we’ve seen, speech and language cannot access your stress reactions to trauma. As a result, talk therapy makes you more susceptible to false interpretations of what happened. You may think your emotions tell you one thing when they’re really telling you something else.
Thankfully, an approach like psychodrama allows you to connect with your emotions authentically. By creatively acting out situations where you might feel stressed, you can safely “feel” your way through trauma and understand how it affects you on a deeper level.
Psychodrama uses role-play to help you deepen your self-awareness and work through your challenges. You might think of it like theater for mental health – except that there is no audience but your therapist, and it doesn’t matter if the acting is “good” or “bad.”
The important thing is what you feel when you act out different situations, not how well you can act or how accurately you can portray certain people. In this way, psychodrama avoids being a breeding ground for social anxiety since there is no need to judge or assess the acting skills of the clients involved.
The goal of psychodrama is to help you understand how trauma impacts your life today. For instance, suppose that you dread family reunions because every time you go, your parents always get into arguments. In that case, your therapist may have you (and any other family members present) creatively imagine yourself at a family reunion. During this enactment, perhaps you realize that you feel stressed and exasperated even before your parents begin fighting. Simply being at the reunion evokes an unconscious stress response.
You may also realize that this stress response is connected to more than present-day reunions. Perhaps your parents fought a lot when you were a child, and their fights would make you sad, scared, and unable to sleep at night. In this way, you discover that you dread going to reunions because it is connected to unresolved trauma from your childhood.
Trauma is like scar tissue – it blocks an emotional wound from healing. Psychodrama peels back the layers of hurt in your life and lets you access those emotional wounds. It helps you bring to light the ways that adverse childhood experiences impact you today. By healing your inner child, you can heal the wounds affecting your adult life. As the great psychologist Carl Jung said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate.”
The beauty of psychodrama is that it can make you aware of unconscious trauma patterns in your life. This newfound awareness can help you change the way you react to these patterns, resulting in healthier thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Although psychodrama is generally used in group therapy, it is possible to use it in individual counseling. The approach is customizable based on who is involved. It is a very straightforward process and follows a basic three-step protocol.
#1. The warm-up phase: During this phase, your therapist will work to establish safety and trust with you (and any other clients involved) before launching into actual psychodrama.
#2. The action phase: This is where you will act out different scenarios in your life, sometimes playing yourself and sometimes playing other people.
#3. The sharing phase: This is the processing stage of psychodrama, where you and your therapist will talk about what you learned and what you can do differently in the future.
If you or a loved one is wrestling with trauma, it’s essential to seek help. On your own, it’s tempting to turn to coping habits like drug use or drinking to deal with the pain of the past, but these behaviors usually only add to the burden of trauma. Psychodrama can help you get to the root of your emotional pain and identify how past hurt impacts you today.
When a person enters treatment, they might be focused entirely on the end goal: addiction recovery. However, this mindset ignores the entire process of getting to that point. Treatment itself is a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. The journey itself is the most important part. It’s essential to recognize how to make the most of that journey by staying present and active through the treatment process.
Entering a treatment program can be both exciting and nerve-racking. You might either want to get treatment over with, or you can’t help but fantasize about how amazing everything will be once you get better. It’s normal to think about how your future will play out. Thinking about the future helps you plan things out, set goals, and envision what you want things to look like for you. Spending too much time focusing on the future can take away from experiencing the present. Instead of spending time focusing on where you’re going, it’s better to focus on how you to get there.
While it’s understandable that you may want to focus on your life in recovery, it’s important to stay present in your treatment and the many things to be gained during the experience. There are several reasons why focusing only on the future can derail your success in treatment.
When you fantasize about the destination, you might be disappointed by the outcome. People tend to have enormous expectations for the futures they think about. You might imagine the end of treatment to be this exciting moment where everything clicks together and is easy. However, this fantasy can’t be further from the truth. How difficult or easy life is after treatment depends on the individual, how well they adjust after treatment, and whether or not they’ve mastered the skills they learned. It’s more likely for recovery to be just as difficult as treatment, but for different reasons. Instead, it’s better to focus on the process of addiction treatment, and experience recovery when the time comes.
If you spend too much time focusing on the destination, you aren’t accepting that the future that you’re imagining might not be reality. Things change, and a lot can happen between now and the end of treatment. The biggest changes will most likely happen internally. The things you wanted at the beginning of treatment might not be the same once you’ve finished treatment.
Before, you might have thought about returning to your job after treatment, but during treatment, you find that you didn’t like your job, or that the workload was contributing to the stress that fueled your addiction. You might have thought about continuing friendships you had before treatment, but now you’ve realized that some of those friendships were toxic or enabled your addiction. Focusing on the present allows you to adapt to those changes instead of resisting them.
Focusing on the destination might make you feel as if you’re not moving through treatment fast enough. You might dislike where you’re at or believe you aren’t hitting the milestones quickly enough. There isn’t a set time that it takes to complete steps or master skills in treatment. There isn’t a standard for progress. It depends on your individual needs. You can’t rush through this process and be successful. You need to take it one day at a time.
There are many benefits to staying present in the treatment phase. Below are a few suggestions on how to commit to staying present so you can get the most out of it.
Mindfulness is a common skill taught to clients in addiction treatment. Mindfulness is the act of staying present and intentional with everything that you do. Mindfulness allows you to slow down and experience everything without getting lost in thoughts about the past or the future. In treatment, mindfulness allows you to really take in your experience and the skills you learn. It gives each action meaning. You can practice mindfulness while eating, doing chores, or talking with other people. It isn’t a skill that you’ll learn overnight, but with some practice, it can become second nature.
During treatment, direct your attention to the how and why, instead of the when and later. Think about how you’re doing things, and why you are doing them. If you’re cooking meals with other people in treatment, focus on the meal that you’re cooking and why you’re cooking it. This helps you recognize the purpose of your actions and how they contribute to getting better.
For example, while you’re eating nutritious food, you might think, “I’m eating this food because it’s good for my body.” While you’re cleaning, you might think, “I’m cleaning because a clean home improves my mental health and makes me feel better.”
While you’re in treatment, you will continue learning and mastering new coping skills as well as life skills. Focusing your energy on the treatment phase and committing to the process will ensure that you set yourself up for the best results in recovery.
It’s normal to feel excited about the future, but where you end up isn’t as important as how you got there. You won’t experience this same journey again, so you might as well make the most of it. Stay present during your addiction treatment experience and feel it fully. Don’t worry so much about the outcome, but rather the process. The outcome of your treatment experience might not fit your original expectations. Taking it in day by day and moment by moment is much better than focusing solely on where you think you’ll end up. At Bella Monte, we believe that the journey is more important than the destination. What you’re doing here and now is more important than what might be. If you would like to learn more about what to expect in treatment, or what Bella Monte has to offer, contact us today at (800) 974-1938.
