Eating For Your Chakras?

Eating For Your Chakras?

The chakras are seven spiritual portals or centers in the body which interact with different emotions and functions. Aligning the chakras in a healthy and balanced way is said to help the body optimize energy flow, bringing someone fully into the present, as well as to enlightenment. Spiritual work, therapeutic work, yoga, meditation and diet, can all help support the chakras.

Root Chakra

Location: Base of spine

Connected to: Security, feeling grounded, feeling safe

Eating for the Root Chakra: Collective Evolution explains that the root chakra’s symbolic color is red. Red foods or foods with a  strong red pigment will help recharge and balance your root chakra. Avoid red dyes and artificially colored foods. Instead, opt for whole foods like red fruits (think strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate, and cherry) and red vegetables (red bell pepper, beets). Red meat is a powerful protein that can help with healing in this area.

Sacral Chakra

Location: Below the naval

Connected to: Creativity, Passion, Commitment, Lower Back

Eating for the Sacral Chakra: The color for the sacral chakra is orange. Deeply orange fruits like oranges, tangerines, and most citrus as well as mangoes will be good for bringing balance to the sacral chakra. Vegetables like carrot, squashes, yams, and pumpkins will help as well.

Solar Plexus Chakra

Location: Above the naval

Connected to: Self-Esteem

Eating for the Solar Plexus Chakra: The solar plexus embodies your personal power and sense of self. Eating for this chakra helps you feel strong and connected to who you are. Yellow is the color for this chakra. Look for bananas, pineapple, yellow bell peppers, lemons, yellow lentils, and even oats.

Heart Chakra

Location: Center of the chest

Connected to: Love, Gratitude, Joy, Compassion

Eating for the Heart Chakra: A balanced heart chakra is the difference between jealousy and contentment, codependency, and healthy boundaries. To balance and heal the heart chakra, opt for green foods, the color of the chakra. All of your leafy greens, green vegetables, and green fruits like apples and kiwis will help.

Throat Chakra

Location: Center of the throat

Connected to: Speaking, Expression, Voice

Eating for the Throat Chakra: Ever get a lump in your throat? When you can’t express yourself or speak your truth, you lose your voice- literally! Supporting the throat chakra with food can help open that channel and help you express yourself. The color for this chakra is light blue. Blueberries are a powerful antioxidant and great food for this chakra. Try the ancient fig as well.

Third Eye Chakra

Location: Between your eyes, above your brow line

Connected to: Critical thinking, Clarity, Seeing the Truth

Eating for the Third Eye Chakra: Being disillusioned by lies can block the third eye. In recovery, you are gaining wisdom each day by learning to discern between what is real and what is not real, what can be controlled or changed and what cannot. To support your third eye chakra, eat darker blue foods that are almost purple like purple versions of normally other color vegetables (broccoli, kale, carrots, green beans), eggplant, plums, and grapes.

Crown Chakra

Location: Top of the head

Connected to: Enlightenment

Eating for the Crown Chakra: Having a balanced crown chakra is a culmination of personal recovery. You are able to recognize your true inner self and view the world in an enlightened way. Collective Evolution suggests light fruits and vegetables that are connected to roots for the crown. To truly nourish your crown chakra, spend time outside, drink lots of water, and get plenty of sunshine.

Enlightened Solutions believes that holistic healing therapies can be a key to success in healing mental health and addiction disorders. Our program combines spiritual healing modalities with clinical therapy and twelve step philosophy to provide total transformation. For more information, call 844-234-LIVE.

Sounds Are Healing For Recovery

Sounds and noises influence us from the moment we start developing in the womb. There is a reason mothers put headphones over their stomach bumps for the baby to hear. Parents start talking to their baby months before birth is due because the growing child will hear what is happening outside. Inside the womb there are all kinds of noises- the beating heart, the swoosh and gush of fluids, the movement in organs. Outside the womb there are all the noises of life, voices, music, and more.

Certain vibrations and collections of notes or sounds are calming while others induce anxiety. Metal rock, for example, has been proven to actually relax people, as has classical music and other forms of music. Our bodies react naturally to vibrations and sounds. Naturally, then, music or sound therapy makes sense as a healing modality.

What is Sound Therapy?

According to MNN, the Mother Nature Network, sound therapy is a form of holistic healing which “...can benefit the well-being of our bodies and minds, helping the body heal from mental stress and even physical pain.” The article explains that sound therapy is helpful for mind, spirit, and body. “Various studies have shown that the use of low-frequency sounds can lessen the pain and anxiety associated with fibromyalgia…”

How Is Sound Therapy Conducted?

All sound therapy needs to happen is sound. Sound therapy could include the use of specific instruments like acoustic guitar, violin, or Tibetan singing bowls, as well as the soundtrack to various natural sounds like birds, gurgling creeks, or the wind. “White noise” apps have a soundboard available to mixx all kinds of sounds to create the most perfect combination. Sound therapy is about helping clients get lost into a relaxing sensation of sound. Sometimes, clients can participate in creating that sound. Bringing treatment into the process can look like a sound therapy practitioner asking the clients about how they feel before and after the sound therapy, what kinds of feelings the sound therapy produces, and more. Sound can help balance the brain and the mind-body connection, bringing someone more into the present with themselves.

Why Is Relaxation Important For Addiction Treatment?

Cravings are high during the treatment phase of addiction recovery. Nerves and anxiety are usually coupled with cravings, as can depression. Relaxation is helpful for detaching the association between relief and one’s substance of choice. The more one relaxes, the more they can go with the flow of their feelings and experiences in treatment, without returning to old coping behaviors like substance abuse.

Enlightened Solutions has created a holistic healing program of treatment which utilizes spiritual modalities with proven clinical treatment. Start your recovery with us. 844-234-LIVE.

Women Are More At Risk For Addiction Than They Have Been In Decades

The Washington Post reports that new studies are emphasizing the problematic relationship of women and alcohol. One study the article cites compiled 68 varying alcohol-use studies from around the world in which researchers from Australia discovered a “gender convergence”. Data revealed that the gender gap between males, females, and their relationship with drinking is closing. In the early 20th century, men who were born were “more than twice as likely as women to drink and three times as likely to have an alcohol problem.” By the end of the century, that difference was practically non-existent.

Women in Culture

What is causing this closure? George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, explains that women are living in a different culture than they were 100 years ago. “Instead of being at home,” Koob describes, “they’re in society, and drinking is part of business and social gatherings.” Another problem is that underage drinking in men has declined. Women are continuing to drink underage at a steady pace. Additionally, Koob expresses, women report experiencing depression and anxiety twice as often as men. Depression and anxiety are two of the most highly co-occurring or “comorbid” problems with addiction. Often, women, and men alike, will turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental health disorders. Koob points out a final fact which is emphasized in The Big Book Of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The primary text for the free recovery support group and founding group for the world wide twelve step program, was written for men, by men. A singular chapter addresses women, and that is only to the wives of alcoholic men. Quite quickly, the founders discovered that women were equally perilous alcoholics as their male counterparts. The authors write that there are no specifics like length of time drinking alcoholically or just how much one drinks to determine the effect of alcoholism. “To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long time nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of women.” The authors then dedicate two more important sentences to female alcoholism, not daring to call it any more or any less than what males experience. “Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are gone beyond recall in a few years. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop.”


Enlightened Solutions understands the shame and guilt which can come from developing alcoholism. We have a solution. Our partial care programs fuse together clinical treatment, alternative and holistic healing modalities, and 12 step philosophy to create a dual diagnosis curriculum for mind, body, and spirit. For more information, call 844-234-LIVE.

Changing Your Approach To Body Image

Body image is important for recovery. Anyone can struggle with poor body image. Having a low sense of self and self-perception can damage the way you have relationships and engage in intimacy throughout your life. Here are a few suggestions for changing your approach to your body image.

Make Sure Your Beliefs Are Consistent

You think you might see some kind of flaw in the mirror. Oh no, you think to yourself, I cannot have this! This makes me unattractive. Yet, you see it in a friend and think they’re so beautiful it doesn’t matter. Or, even more problematically you might think they aren’t very beautiful anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Your beliefs about yourself and about others have to be consistent. Most importantly, they consistently need to look something like this:

Everyone is beautiful.

All bodies are beautiful.

It’s okay to be okay with yourself and how  you look

Take A Healthy Look At Your Eating Behaviors

Paying attention to eating behaviors might sound like the opposite thing you need to do to shift body image from negative to positive. Food shouldn’t be assigned labels or emotions. There shouldn’t be “bad” foods and “good” foods which you either feel okay about or completely guilty about. Identifying the way you label and judge your food, as well as yourself when you eat, is important. What you eat directly influences how you feel. You either have to change the food you’re eating in a healthy and balanced way or change the way you feel about the food you’re eating.

Embrace the “All Food” and “All Exercise” Philosophy

What if there was a world where you didn’t have to do a certain workout for a certain number of time followed by a certain protein shake with certain ingredients? Imagine a life where you just ate, in a healthy and balanced way, and got at least 20 minutes of exercise, in a healthy and balanced way. That world is possible and you can create it. Obsessing over doing everything right in regards to diet and exercise can drive you crazy, cause you to be sick, and thwart your positive body image. Let the reins loose a little bit and enjoy the way you live your life, not punish yourself for it.

Give Yourself The Same Love You Give Others

When you compliment and admire someone for the way they look, turn those sentiments back toward yourself. Positive affirmations are a powerful tool for helping you build a more positive self-image and higher sense of self-esteem.

Enlightened Solutions offers holistic partial care programs designed to treat issues of body image and eating disorders in addition to any dual diagnosis issues with substance abuse. We have a solution. It starts with you. Start by calling us today for more information at 844-234-LIVE.

Recovering From A Crystal Meth Addiction

Crystal meth is a highly addictive synthetic substance. A central nervous system drug, once methamphetamine hits the bloodstream by any method it accesses the brain and all systems throughout the body more quickly than other substances. Meth’s synthetic nature makes it a volatile and unpredictable drug. An ever changing set of formulae make meth unpredictable in what kind of high it will produce. Under the influence of meth, an individual can experience paranoia, psychosis, hyperarousal, and insomnia. People who have been long time meth addicts report staying awake for undefined periods of time, experiencing black outs, and waking up in places they don’t remember traveling to.

Effects of Meth

Meth is detrimental to mental and physical health. Smoking crystal meth can deteriorate the teeth and gums, while wreaking havoc on lungs, throat, and the body. Injecting crystal meth into the veins can cause infections, abscesses, and when mixed with other drugs like heroin, fatal overdose. Spiritually, meth takes over someone’s life. A bad meth addiction can lead someone resorting to any kind of length to get another hit of the drug.

Recovering from a crystal meth addiction is a long journey. It takes many months to normalize from the severity of using crystal meth. Due to the way meth interacts with the central nervous system, detoxing from meth can feel like a painful extraction. Psychologically, it is common to suffer from severe cravings. The cravings for meth can be so intense that one might decide using the drug again would be a better alternative or solution to the problem of cravings.

After Detox

After detox, it is important to support recovery from meth addiction through various levels of treatment. Someone is in critical need of residential treatment if they cannot stay sober or have the threat to hurt themselves or someone else. Lower levels of care like partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs which come with sober housing might be more appropriate if the condition is under relative control. Through treatment, therapists can help uncover underlying issues which might have contributed to experimentation with and abuse of crystal meth.

Cravings for meth will start to disappear as more tools for emotional regulation and coping are developed. Creating new meaning in life and building a life of recovery quickly replaces the need for the harmful substance. It may take some time for every nook and cranny of meth addiction to smooth out, resulting in lasting hyper behaviors and impulsivity.

Lifelong recovery from meth addiction is possible. Many times meth addiction is co-occurring with a mental health disorder like anxiety or depression. If you or a loved one are struggling and are in need of help, call Enlightened Recovery Solutions today. Recovery starts with you. Start your recovery with us. We have a solution. 844-234-LIVE.

Bringing Arts, Crafts, And Self-Care Together: The Self-Care Box

Designing a regimen for self-care could be too much. Trying to pick from all the many different options which help you to feel nourished, relaxed, and rejuvenated can be overwhelming. Self-care isn’t meant to be overwhelming. Quite the opposite, self-care is a time to drop out of the world outside and drop into the world inside. Tending to your needs, helping yourself feel taken care of, this is the point of self-care. If only you could just pull self-care off a shelf and put it on like a fuzzy robe. Psychotherapist Jennifer Rollin suggests creating a self-care box as a compact way to create a go-to source for all your self-care needs. Rollins points out that a self-care box can be relatively inconspicuous, meaning you can have one at home or at work. Storing a few quick self-care items in a small caddy for the car isn’t a terrible idea either.

Here are some of the things Rollins suggests, mixed in with some of our favorites:

• Essential Oils Room Spray: you can store this at home, at work, and in your car. Look for a soothing blend using lavender and bergamot or chamomile to create a sense of purifying calm immediately in your space. You can even buy an oil diffuser which attaches to your air vents.

• A small bottle of thick hand lotion: don’t over-lotion your hands, because they will dry out. In a moment of self-care, giving yourself a little reflexology massage that is also moisturizing can be quite the treat. Get in between your fingers, rub around your wrists, and release some tension

• Inspirational Books: You can buy cute little versions of book sin additions to regular size books. Keep your favorite self-help, spiritual, or inspirational book in your kit for a moment of encouragement when you need it.

• A Busy Toy: silly putty, play dough, kinetic sand, or this fidget cube is a good way to keep your hand busy and your brain focused during self-care. Self-care isn’t always all “ooo's” and “aahh's”. Sometimes it can be really hard to let go and relax.

• Calming Music: on your phone, your computer, or a playlist on Spotify, load up on all that yoga studio, massage room, spa music that gets you feeling zen and relaxed.

Enlightened Recovery Solutions wants to help you learn how to take care of yourself in a healthy, holistic way for the rest of your life. Lifetime recovery is possible. We have the solution. Call us today for more information, at 844-234-LIVE.

Laughing Yoga? Using The Breath And Humor For A Good (Healing) Time

Laughter yoga has a simple goal: to make you laugh. Laughter is good for the soul. According to research, it’s also good for the heart, the body, and the mind. Voluntary laughter is a practice of getting yourself to laugh for an extended period of time. For laughter yoga sessions, the goal is usually about an hour. Laughter requires a lot of air intake, either in short spurts or long breaths. In between hysterics there are usually pauses of taking a deep breath, to replenish the lungs. This is the hidden benefit of laughter yoga: oxygen.

One certified laughter yoga practitioner explains that “laughter leads to deep breathing, which sends ample oxygen to the brain When the brain has obtained proper oxygen levels, it functions at peak capacity.” The breath is critically important. Basic physiological science teaches us that breath is a matter of life or death. Once we stop breathing, oxygen stops flowing to the brain. The brain needs oxygen to survive. The brain needs to survive so that it can tell other organs to keep working- like the heart. When we are sad, depressed, or not focused, we breathe in a very shallow manner. Short, shallow breaths cut off oxygen to the brain. It’s because of the amount of oxygen we take in during laughter that makes us feel so good. After a good laugh we might as well say “I need all that oxygen!” rather than say “I needed a good laugh”. A healthy brain is an oxygenated brain. An oxygenated brain is one that feels more positivity and releases higher levels of dopamine, serotonin, and influences production of endorphins.

The Spiritual Undertones Of Laughter Yoga

Forced or voluntary laughter is a way to create more authentic laughter. Laughter can be uncomfortable when we are taking life very seriously. Breaking through the ice is what laughter yoga does. Through a series of exercises, the laughter yoga coach creates forced laughter. Soon, everyone bursts out into real laughter and can’t stop laughing. The philosophy behind this exercise is about letting go, surrendering, and realizing that sometimes you have to laugh. There is a famous saying in recovery “don’t take yourself too seriously”.

Recovery starts with you. Start your recovery with Enlightened Solutions. We know that addiction is no laughing matter. Recovery will bring a smile to your face again. If you are ready to heal, call us today for more information on our partial care programs at 844-234-LIVE.

3 Important Things You Need To Understand About Body Image

Body image issues are not gender specific. Both men and women can struggle with the way they perceive themselves and what they believe that means. You are worth more than how you look, no matter how you look. Your body is the only one you get. Learning to make peace with your physical form is an important part of spiritual healing.
 

1. The Media Is Lying To You: That includes social media, as well. Pictures can be digitally altered from a smartphone now, to create what others will see as “perfect”. Currently, there are no regulations for American media when it comes to model BMI, digital alterations, or anything having to do with beauty. Largely that is because beauty companies, cosmetic companies, and fashion companies have a lot of money to spend on lobbying. Ex-executives and lawyers make up federal boards which continue to allow the media to sell the ideals of “perfect” “beautiful” and attractive. For men and women, what you see in print and on screen is often fake. Bodies which seem to be perfectly sculpted have a very particular life. They are paid to spend hours in the gym, training, exercising, and using sponsored nutritional supplements to support them. Most people don’t have that kind of time and certainly aren’t paid to have it.

2. You’ll Never Be Perfect: Perfect doesn’t exist. If you’re trying to live up to fake images and ideals, you’ll never reach them. Most problematically, if you develop an eating disorder or body dysmorphic disorder along the way you won’t be able to see (or accept) your body for what it is. Thin will never be thin enough, sculpted will never be sculpted enough, and so forth.

3. Diet And Exercise Are Parts Of A Whole, Not The Whole Part: You are not defined by what you eat, how you eat it, or how you exercise or how often. You are defined by the unique things about you which come from within: your character, your personality, your integrity, your spirit. Diet and exercise are not really lifestyle trends. They can be part of your lifestyle. An unhealthy obsession with either one is not a sign of a healthy lifestyle but an unhealthy one. There should always be room for indulgence, laziness, relaxation, and enjoying your life without rigid routine and restriction.

Enlightened Solutions is an integrative treatment program, providing partial care programs to men and women who are seeking recovery. Combining clinical therapy with holistic healing and 12 step philosophy, we provide a well balanced program for mind, body, and spirit. For more information, call us today at 844-234-LIVE.

What To Do (And Not To Do) When You Have Cravings

Cravings are a natural part of recovery because they are such an intrinsic part of addiction. From day two to year twenty five, cravings can come on at any moment. It’s important to understand what your cravings are, where they are coming from, and how to handle them when they occur.

Don’t Panic

Cravings are normal. As recovery goes along and you earn more and more time sober, there will be a greater distance between episodes of cravings. It’s easy to fall into the false belief that experiencing cravings means you are somehow failing in recovery. Unfortunately, most people run with this fear and believe that cravings will never go away and mean they are going to relapse. Then, many people do. Cravings can come on subtly, happen like a flash of lightning, or appear through a using dream. When cravings come on, don’t panic. Remember that addiction is a disease that lives in the brain causing strange and irregular chemical reactions. Despite your hard work in recovery and the monumental changes you are making to your behaviors, the amount of time your brain has been sober compared to the amount of time it spent intoxicated is small. It’s like worrying a baby will never walk if they fall down once in awhile. Cravings are sometimes nothing more than the brain working out some kinks as you train it to live a recovery lifestyle.

To Investigate

Try not to hyper analyze the meaning of your cravings- leave that to your therapy sessions. In the moment your cravings hit, try to take a minute of mindfulness. Settle yourself down and connect yourself with a few deep breaths. After quickly doing a body scan to notice any tension, turn your attention inward. Is there anything happening in this moment, in the last few hours, or maybe the last few days that was particularly triggering? Remember, that your addictive behaviors were usually a response to challenging situations and painful emotions. Though you are learning to handle things differently the chemical responses in your brain are still catching up. Your cravings might be the result of enduring something you haven’t had to in a while.

Recovery is possible. It starts with you! Enlightened Solutions is here to provide an integrative approach to treatment which fuses clinically proven treatments with holistic healing modalities grounded in a spiritual 12 step philosophy. For more information, call us today at 844-234-LIVE

Beating Flu And Allergy Season With Essential Oils

Getting sick during treatment for recovery from an addiction and dual diagnosis issues is common. Not only are there seasonal illnesses to which everyone falls vulnerable, but there are ongoing exchanges of colds and viruses within the program. During the treatment phase for addiction, the body is still fresh from the last interaction with drugs and alcohol. Typically, the last moments of using for someone seeking treatment were not light. Years of abuse leaves the body weakened in its immune system and natural ability to heal. Specific areas of the brain which are chemically compromised due to addiction can contribute to sickness as well. For example, the production of dopamine, serotonin, melatonin, and vitamin D. Living in tight quarters, sharing bathrooms, and sitting in the same room for group therapy can cause a cold or a virus to spread quite quickly from one weakened immune system to the next. Eating a healthy and organic diet, getting enough sleep, maintaining hydration, and using holistic remedies can help stave off symptoms and improve immunity function.

How Essential Oils Work

The oils are absorbed through the skin or breathed in through the nose. Taking medications requires digestion and metabolizing the chemical compounds and waiting for them to work through the bloodstream. Oils administer their properties quickly, creating instant effects. You can use a roll on oil stick, put oil into a diffuser, or just open the cap to a bottle of oil and breathe it in for immediate healing.

3 Essential Oils For Cold Symptoms

• Peppermint: Peppermint oil naturally contains menthol which provides the cool, tingling sensation that peppermint gives off. You can use peppermint oil to soothe aching muscles, relieve tension from  tight neck, and help release blockages in the chest.

• Eucalyptus: Most menthol based remedies like Vick’s Vaporub have a bit of eucalyptus. Going straight to the source is healthier and easier. Use eucalyptus oil as a roll on around the sinus area. Both the skin absorption and breathing it in will clear a stuffy nose and provide relief for a crackling chest.

• Lavender: The worst colds come along with sleepless nights due to fevers, aches, pains, and stuffiness. Lavender is a calming agent which helps the entire body relax. Spray lavender oil on a pillow, use a lavender infused eye pillow, put it in a diffuser, or just breathe it in after rubbing it on your hands for instant relaxation.

Enlightened Solutions provides an integrative treatment program to help clients learn healthy holistic ways to care for themselves and sustain their recovery after treatment. Our unique approach to treatment provides the solution to the problem of addiction. For more information on our dual diagnosis programs of treatment, call 844-234-LIVE today.

3 Crystals You Need For Recovery

Crystal healing is an ancient spiritual practice. Beautiful crystals, gemstones, and minerals live within the depths of our planet. Beneath the surface of the ground, hidden within caves and stones, are stunning, energy harnessing crystals. Using crystals for healing in recovery is a holistic treatment method which relies on energy. Eastern philosophies of the body believe that we store energy in specific areas of the body, which creates stress. Within our bodies are natural channels and pathways for the energy to flow. Emotions, pain, grief, trauma, stress, and other negative factors can block these meridians causing both psychological and physical side effects. Crystals, along with other holistic treatments like acupuncture and chiropractic, help move or release that energy. Crystals can also provide pain relief, enhance creativity, sharpen focus, or bring good social connections.

For Goop, certified shamanic energy medicine practitioner Colleen McCann shares some of her essential crystals and some of their properties for healing. We’ll include why they’re helpful during the recovery treatment process.

Black Obsidian

Good for: grounding

Chakra: first (root)

Recovery: Anxiety is a highly occurring dual diagnosis with substance use disorders and can commonly be a side effect of withdrawals, as well as coping with difficult emotional work. Anxiety sets off the fight or flight mode, causing us to feel disconnected. Grounding is an important practice for being rooted in the present moment.

Rose Quartz

Good for: positivity and love

Chakra: fourth (heart)

Recovery: McCann writes that rose quartz “enhances all types of love: self-love, love for others, and unconditional love.” Love and compassion are essential for recovery. Helping with self esteem, confidence, emotional regulation and more, rose quartz gives extra support in recovery.

Lapis Lazuli

Good for: communication

Chakra: fifth (throat)

Recovery: The first step in recovery is admitting we have a problem. Speaking our truth starts us on the path to recovery and carries us through as we learn to live by the suggestions of a program which “demands rigorous honesty” as The Big Book emphasizes. Maintaining honesty through open, healthy communication is an essential part of growth within recovery.

Enlightened Solutions offers a holistic treatment program which utilizes alternative eastern treatment methods in addition to evidence based proven western clinical modalities. For information on our partial care programs of treatment call 844-234-LIVE.

Understanding The Important Role Of Toxic Shame In Addictive Behaviors

Toxic: poisonous

Shame: a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior

Toxic Shame: painful feelings of humiliation or distress which can feel like a poison

Toxic shame is venomous. Getting caught in a spell of toxic shame can feel like getting stung by a stingray or a bee. The pain is timid at first, then rapidly spreads and intensifies until it feels like it’s taken over everything. We can’t see past the pain. Such is the same with toxic shame.

Role of Toxic Shame

Understanding toxic shame as playing an important role in addictive behaviors is important. Shame and guilt, both of which can be toxic, are driving factors in addiction. Addiction is in many ways a symptom of obsession and compulsion. We obsess over the painful feelings of humiliation and distress which were given to us somewhere in the past. Eventually, that obsessive thinking becomes too painful to bear, compelling us to take part in a familiar behavior. Addictive behaviors of any kind, from substance abuse to eating disorders, are often coping mechanisms to deal with uncomfortable feelings. Even if they don’t start that way, they usually end up that way. Substances, along with non-substance reliant behaviors, produce a feeling of euphoric relief. Surging levels of dopamine help calm the anxiety, panic, pain, and negativity produced by toxic shame.

According to Shannon Bradley-Colleary, an online 12 step coach who often works with individuals in codependent relationships, “toxic shame is always learned in childhood.” The “consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior” which comes with shame has to be learned. When we are young, we learn best from our parents. Shannon writes that “one or both of our parents either neglected us, or abused us, or made us feel we were somehow wrong or that we should never express or even have negative emotions.” In such homes, difficult feelings like anger, sadness, or fear are often shamed, rejected, and ridiculed. This isn’t because there was anything wrong with our feelings or why we were feeling them. Unfortunately, that is the message we receive. Truly, we had people in our lives who were insufficiently prepared to handle such feelings coming from a child. Most likely, they were ill-equipped to handle those feelings themselves.

Healing shame and codependency or other manifestations of shame is important for recovering from addiction and other addictive behaviors. Enlightened Solutions uses a range of clinical, 12 step, and holistic healing treatments to aid the grief process, create new coping mechanisms, and heal the pain of toxic shame while supporting recovery. For information on our partial care programs of treatment, call 844-234-LIVE.

The Importance Of Honesty In Recovery

Recovery begins with honesty. The Big Book Of Alcoholics Anonymous describes the first step this way: “We learned that we had to fully conceded to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.” To concede means to “admit something that is true or valid after first denying or resisting it.” It also means to “surrender or yield”. Honesty is part of the first step of recovery because we have to admit that we are struggling with addiction and/or alcoholism. Often, we have been back and forth with ourselves about this part of our lives. We denied it in many ways, sometimes for many years. We resisted coming to the truth because we knew once we did, we would have to stop drinking and using, being forced to reckon with ourselves. Yet, we learned that we had to make a concession to our efforts. Honesty regarding our addiction is not something that just comes naturally. If we were suddenly enlightened with the idea that all we had to do was tell the truth about our struggles, recovery would look much different. The truth is, we were probably given the lesson over and over again. To learn doesn’t mean to just know. Learning is a process of gaining information. Overtime, we learned that there was going to be no other way to go about it. We had to get honest. We had to face the consequences.

Honesty is an integral part of recovery. We have to be honest about how we feel every day in treatment, or we lose an opportunity to heal. We have to be honest about our cravings and obsessive thoughts about using or else we risk relapse. We have to be honest about our fears and insecurities or we might fall into false pride and become delusional once again.

Addiction, in and of itself, is a lie. Addiction tells us that another hit, another pill, another dose, another drink, will make everything better. Addiction never bothers to be honest, letting us know that the next one will never be enough, that there is always going to be a next one. Honesty puts an end to the madness. It creates sanity where sanity has been lost. Recovery is your opportunity to find yourself and be found.

Start with honesty.

If you or a loved one are struggling with alcoholism and addiction and are ready for help, Enlightened Solutions has an answer. Call us today for information on our integrative treatment programs for men and women, 844-234-LIVE.

There’s A Healthy Way To Process Your Anger

Anger gets a bad reputation. Much of how we identify with, understand, and process anger has to do with what we were taught about anger when we were younger. Watching our parents handle their own anger gave us some ideas about what anger means. For example, some people have parents who got angry about everything, including the weather. Other people had parents who never got angry and shunned the child for ever displaying anger. ANger is widely misunderstood, which is unfortunate because it is an essential reaction. Anger is born out of stress, rooted in two primary emotional experiences: fear and sadness. We developed anger as a reaction. Anger is survival. When we get angry, our adrenaline starts pumping and we release other stress hormones in order to get through what we are going through. Unfortunately, we can’t get through it unless we have a way of releasing our anger.

Anger can be released in healthy ways and anger can be released in unhealthy ways. Most often, anger comes out in a toxic, violent manner because that is what we have been shown about anger. However, anger can be processed in a more calm and rational way which acknowledges and validates the anger without letting it completely take over.

First, You Need To Reduce The Stress

Once those stress hormones start flowing, you cannot objectively assess your emotions until they have calmed down. Calming down during anger is not contradicting or condoning whatever it is you are angry about. Instead, it is giving you the space and opportunity to process your anger. Try a breathing technique, take a shower, or go for a walk.

Second, Understand Your Anger

You Have a right to be angry about whatever you are angry about, because you have a right to all of your emotional experiences. It’s important to identify what exactly it is you are angry about. Often, what seems like the perfect victim of your anger on the surface is not what is really going on underneath. Furthermore, you might be more angry about the fact that you've been caused to feel afraid or sad than what has actually happened.

Create Mindful Reality

Taking the time to identify the true source of your anger helps you separate rage from reality. We want anger to punish someone for our own pain. We often here that anger is the poison we drink, intending to hurt someone else. Being mindful of your emotions helps you to identify what is real from what is not real. From there you can move forward and heal.
 

Anger management is an important part of the recovery process. Enlightened Solutions has created a program that helps clients become integrated with their emotional, physical, and spiritual selves. For more information on our treatment programs for addiction and dual diagnosis issues, call 844-234-LIVE.

Essential Oils To Aid Brain Health During Recovery

Addiction and alcoholism are matters of the mind. Quite literally, the neuroscience model of addiction shows that mind altering substances take over the brain in such a way that all of the essential functions change, becoming focused on drugs and alcohol. Recovery and treatment for addiction includes varying practices which help the brain heal, learn, and grow. Approaching thoughts, behaviors, habits, are all scientific processes as much as they are emotional ones. Emotions are chemical responses in the brain. Using therapeutic methods from psychotherapy to alternative holistic therapies are all ways to reset the flow of the brain and help with holistic healing.

Healing the brain means working to replenish various neurotransmitters and important brain chemicals which contribute to daily functions as well as the functions critical to relapse prevention. Serotonin is a brain chemical which helps regulate emotion. Cortisol is a hormone which is produced in reaction to stress. GABA is a focus of addiction research as it is being found to regulate anxiety and reduce cravings. Various endorphins stimulate feelings of happiness and wellbeing.

According to Belief Net, “Scientific research has revealed that essential oils possesses myriad beneficial phytochemical properties such as anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, anti-stress, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and analgesic…” Certain essential oils can be used in aromatherapy to stimulate the production of brain chemicals and help the mind heal during recovery and treatment. The article lists these essential oils as helpful to the specific brain chemicals:

Serotonin: lavender, lemon, rosemary

Cortisol: lavender, ylang ylang, bergamot

GABA: citronella, lemongrass, white verbena

Endorphins: clary sage, clove, lemon

What Are Essential Oils?

Belief Net writes that “Essential oils are volatile molecules obtained from the seeds, leaves, bark, resins, and other materials of nature’s most generous botanicals.” Blended into a purified oil, there are many uses for the substance. Diffusers help put the aromatic essences into the air of a room. Many essential oils can be applied directly to the skin or scalp. Add essential oils to a bath, or pour a dilution into a spray bottle for your pillow. Essential oils can even be added into food or tea for flavor and holistic healing properties.

Enlightened Solutions believes in the healing power of alternative treatment methods when used in conjunction with traditional clinical and twelve step treatment. We have found a solution for addiction that works with clients to develop their own sense of recovery and self. For more information on our treatment programs, call 844-234-LIVE today.

5 Things You’re Doing Wrong With Your Sleep

5 Things You’re Doing Wrong With Your Sleep

Sleep is essential to healing. When you are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, it is critical to get a deep sleep every night for at least 6-8 hours. Some doctors believe that 8-10 hours is better for recovery. During sleep your body and your mind are healing. Sleep is a time for the body to rejuvenate and mend itself back together. In the brain, all of the information from the day is being sorted out and organized. Addiction and alcoholism are disease of the mind, the body, and the spirit. Sleep has a great influence on spirit as well. Without a good night sleep during treatment, you will be less focused, less aware, less present, and likely very cranky. Enduring ongoing symptoms of withdrawal requires you to have energy and endurance, a great deal of which can be sourced from sleep.

1. Your room is chronically messy: Most treatment centers with residential living, or sober livings where you stay while attending a partial care program, will ask you to keep your room clean and make your bed. This is for a few reasons. First, they are likely to conduct tours for other clients. Second, it is a good practice in discipline to keep your room clean and make your bed every day. Third, having an organized room helps maintain a calm energy in your room. If you go to sleep with a messy room, you’ll likely sleep without the deepness you need to be fully rested.

2. Your sleeping environment has too much light: Some people like to sleep with the lights on. Others feel that they need total darkness. Certain kinds of light can be stimulating to the brain. Though you might sleep, you won’t be getting the deep states of sleep that you need.

3. You eat a lot of sweets before bed: Sugar is a stimulant that not only keeps the brain awake, but causes cravings and dehydration. Though you might fall asleep after a bowl of ice cream, you’ll wake up in the night to drink some water, or you might have restless sleep. Try to drink a calming herbal tea before bed or have some sugar free dark chocolate, which will help your body digest and detoxify through the night.

4. You are using your phone while in bed before going to sleep: Social media, email checking, and engaging with various apps on your phone all stimulate the brain in different ways. What is most problematic about using your phone during the time you are trying to fall asleep is the blue light. Ideally, you should put down your phone at least an hour before your bedtime to help your brain destimulate and prepare for rest.

5. You don’t help yourself sleep: There are many luxuries for sleep which are actually helpful. Ear plugs, eye masks, weighted blankets, aromatherapy, sound machines- all of these small luxuries can greatly enhance your night’s sleep. Try investing in some of these items and your payoff will be ten times the reward.

Enlightened Solutions takes a holistic approach to addiction treatment by bringing together various disciplines to create an effective program for mind, body, and spirit. For more information on our partial care programs, call 844-234-LIVE today.

6 Ways To Bring Spirituality Into Springtime

Springtime is a great opportunity to be reminded of our spiritual practices in recovery. Here are six ways to bring spirituality and springtime together to create a special time of meaning and growth in your recovery.

1. Stop To Smell The Roses: April showers bring May flowers, as the old saying goes. Springtime is the earth’s best showcase as it awakens from the dormant, rainy weather, to sunny skies, green grass, and beautiful flowers everywhere. It can be easy to miss the details of the beauty around us when we don’t pay attention. Stopping to smell the roses is a practice in mindfulness and awareness, bringing yourself to the majesty of the present moment.

2. Treat Everyone Like A Cute Baby Animal: If there’s one good thing about the springtime, it’s all the baby animals! After spending a long winter hibernation (and mating) the springtime is usually filled with adorable baby animals. The little ducklings, lambs, and bunnies reminds us of the miracle of life, the freshness of renewal, and the magic of being able to start over. Your life in recovery is a daily reminder of that as well! With the same tenderness, adoration, and love you would treat a baby chick, put that kindness towards others- and yourself.

3. Make Peace With The Weather: Before the May flowers come the April showers. Winter can still rear its head during the springtime months. As the earth makes its adjustments into the total seasonal shift, it has a few kinks and bumps to work out. Making peace with the weather is a practice in acceptance. There are things we can change and things we cannot change. It might be obvious that you cannot change the weather. There are plenty of “obvious” things in your life you cannot change, but that you spend a great deal of time and energy trying to change.

4. Get Into Nature: Springtime is a great time to go hiking, go exploring, and immerse yourself in nature. The harsh weather conditions of winter are tapering off, giving you more opportunities. Find local nature reserves to see the new growths of spring.

5. Contemplate Changing Seasons: Spring, too, shall pass. Once again there will be summer, which will turn into fall, and then into winter, and back to spring again. All things in life are temporary and passing. This reminds us to make the most of the good times and learn from the bad times, realizing that all of them occur in passing.

6. Do Some Spring Cleaning: Spring cleaning is a great way to take time to freshen up your life in more areas than your closet. Now that the winter has commenced and a new year has begun, its an opportunity to take a look at what you want, what you need, and what you don’t. Apply Spring cleaning to areas of your life like habits, thoughts, friends, or relationships.

If you are having a problem with drug and alcohol addiction or a co-occurring disorder, we have the solution. Enlightened Solutions is an integrative treatment facility providing unique partial care programs which bring together traditional eastern, western, and modern methods of treatment. For more information, call us today at 844-234-LIVE.

Three Key Ways Social Media Can Lower Self-Esteem, Cause Depression

Social media use is not always healthy. During the early months of recovery and addiction treatment, it is best to leave social media to itself while you focus on healing.

Comparing Your Insides To Others Outsides

It’s always newsworthy and deemed revolutionary when someone posts something real to social media. Something about the bad day they are having, the amount of hours it takes to create the perfect shot, the “reality” of their lives behind their carefully curated social media profiles. What we often see on our newsfeeds are just small chosen moments to depict the best of the best rather than the realest of the real. Spiritually, we are reminded to consider what is behind every person’s smile. It isn’t always happiness. We aren’t aware of what happens beyond a photo, in real life. When we start to make assumptions and judgments, we set ourselves up into a trap of false beliefs- not just about someone else’s life, but about our own. Comparing what we see in other people’s “outside” to what we see within ourselves and how we feel about our own lives can lower our sense of self-esteem and cause feelings of depression.

Scrolling And Posting For Dopamine

Dopamine is that tricky neurotransmitter which communicates pleasure to key areas of the brain like the reward center. Numerous brain imaging studies have found that various components of interacting with social media cause a spike in the production of dopamine. For example, scrolling through the news feed of any social media platform can cause dopamine production which mimics stimulation from cocaine. Getting a “like” or a “comment” on something we post gives us another big boost of dopamine, as well as a boost of ego. There is more to the psychology of social media than meets the eye. Some studies have even suggested that the impulsive need to check social media devices is causing dopamine production as well. Before you even start to scroll, your brain is happier. Thus, once you put it down and have to go another set of hours without social media, your brain lacks in dopamine production, which can simulate feelings of depression.

Other Negative Influences

Social media is a breeding ground for lies, judgments, bullying, and false realities. Fake news, political arguments, and offensive comments can be common. Social media is a public landscape meaning very little is private. Instead of having healthy, regulated conversations in real life with people, everyone has the opportunity to hide behind their keyboards. Losing out on human interaction, people can begin to feel isolated and alone.

Recovery is an opportunity to redefine every area of your life from mental health to substance abuse. Enlightened solutions wants to show you how. Our unique program blends proven areas of treatment together to create a meaningful, holistic partial care program. Recovery starts with you. Start your recovery with us. Call 844-234-LIVE for more information.

Spiritual Practices To Enhance Your Recovery Every Day

Spirituality is an important part of recovery. Religion and spirituality do not have to be the same. Instead, recovery offers you the opportunity to create your own spirituality and connection to yourself as well as the greater existence.

Immerse Yourself In Inspirational Words

Spirituality is best learned and practiced. You can choose a religious text, a self-help book, spiritual poetry, or whatever else inspires you. Try starting and ending your day with a few minutes of inspirational text. Having the messages, chewing over the meaning, and creating the energy the text provides will help you walk along a spiritual path for the day.

Put Your Thoughts To Action

Prayer, intentions, meditations, hopes, wishes, goals- whatever the term is you want to use to describe the power of positivity, use that throughout the day. The universe is full of fascinating energy between humans, their minds, and their thoughts. What we think creates energy and our energy has a great effect on the world around us. Spend some time each day putting your thoughts to action through prayer, meditation, journaling, or whatever method feels the most spiritually aligning to you.

Integrate More Mindfulness

You can call it walking with the Holy Spirit. You can call it being mindful. You can call it being enlightened. There is a spirituality to the practice of mindfulness when it specifically focuses on noticing the mystery and magnificence of life around you. Pay attention to the way the sun hits the grass, the air moves the flowers, and how the earth smells after it rains. It doesn’t have to be a “God” or any other kind of force that creates such detail. The act of noticing these things means taking the time to connect to the wonderment of being alive.

Be Kind

Kindness is not a character trait, it’s an intrinsic human condition. Great spiritual leaders define themselves by their dedication to kindness. Kindness moves in two directions: inward and outward. In order to be truly kind to others, you must also learn to be kind to yourself. Self-kindness, along with self-compassion is essential to recognizing the humility in being human, just like everyone else.

Share Your Experience, Strength, And Hope

Everyone needs a little extra hope when they are in treatment to recover from an addiction and a co-occurring disorder. When you start to integrate spiritual activities into your daily life, you have a lot to offer other people. You don’t have to preach, but you can humbly offer someone your experiences, encourage them with the strength you are finding, and offer them the hope which helps get you through the day.

Recovery starts with you, so start your recovery with us at Enlightened Solutions. Our partial care programs are rooted in twelve step philosophy, holistic healing, and proven clinical therapy methods. We have the solution. Call 844-234-LIVE today for more information.

Taking Yoga From Treatment To Life

Yoga is a scientifically proven treatment method for addiction and mental health recovery. Physical, spiritual, and psychological benefits can come from just 5-20 minutes of yoga a day.

Remove Judgment

Remember that you aren’t a yoga professional and your practice is in its youth. When you go do to your practices at home, don’t expect to be perfect! Approach yourself with the same non-judgment your teachers in treatment would have encouraged you to use. You’re doing yoga to help your body and your mind- not to impress anyone, including yourself.

Use Intention Setting For Each Practice

Routine is good and healthy which is why you’re bringing yoga home. Doing the same thing every day can get repetitive and boring, inspiring you to leave the mat behind instead of stick to your practice. Make each practice unique by setting a different intention. Intentions are the energy you put into your practice so you can focus.

Allow Yourself To Be Guided

Until you get your sequences down it will be helpful to have a guide. Thankfully, the internet is full of yoga teachers, gurus, and lovers who are happy to show you their favorite yoga sequences. Have a neck ache or a back problem? You can look up yoga sequences for almost every kind of benefit you need.

Modify, Modify, Modify

The simplest mistake people make in their at home yoga poses is trying to force themselves into positions their body is not prepared to be in. Modifying a pose helps your body ease into the position rather than crash into it. Modification isn’t about success or failure but about protection. Yoga is meant to help the body heal, not hurt itself.

Don’t Skip Savasana

Savasana, also called corpse pose, is the resting pose at the end of the yoga practice where you can finally rest and let the energy of the practice flow through your body. Savasana is a time for meditation and reflection as well as rest. Doing yoga at home can inspire you to skip this critical resting period and carry on with your day. Complete your practice in its entirety and don’t skip your chance to breathe deeply and rest.

Enlightened Solutions fuses the proven healing power of holistic and alternative treatments with evidence based clinical treatments to provide a transformative program for mind, body, and spirit. If you are in need of treatment for a mental health or substance use disorder, call us today at 844-234-LIVE.