Category: Mental Health

9 Tips for Building Self Esteem During Recovery

In recovery, many people have a wide range of feelings about the past, including guilt, shame, remorse, self-judgment, worry, and even fear. Depending on your experiences, you might struggle with self-confidence and self-esteem. In fact, commonly, substance use helps to mask those feelings of insecurity and self-doubt. But without the use of substances, those feelings [...]
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How Grief and Substance Abuse Are Connected

Grief is an emotion that occurs after loss, especially the loss of a loved one. Symptoms of grief may be denial, shock, guilt, or anger. The trauma experienced from a loss of this kind can be all-consuming and debilitating, causing some individuals to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope or develop other mental health […]

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Do You Need Residential Mental Health Treatment in Los Angeles?

Mental health disorders are common and can range from mild to severe. There is a strong link between mental health disorders and substance use disorders, but it cannot be definitively stated that one causes the other. In fact, the two often have a cyclical relationship that is difficult to break without the proper treatment of [...]
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How Celebrating Stress Awareness Month Can Benefit Your Mental Health

April has been observed as Stress Awareness Month since 1992. This nationwide, collaborative effort aims to increase public awareness about the causes and effects of stress, which is considered by most in the healthcare field to be an epidemic in the United States. Stress is generally defined as any factor that causes physical, emotional, or […]

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March Is Self-Harm Awareness Month

Throughout the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, March is recognized as Self-Harm Awareness Month, which calls attention to the nearly two million self-injury cases that occur each year. Much like addiction, self-harm occurs across all ages, races, religions, and socioeconomic and education levels. There is a strong connection between self-harm and substance addiction. At […]

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Understanding Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Substance abuse is a chemical dependency that is characterized by the uncontrollable use of addictive drugs or alcohol. A dependency on addictive substances impacts the mind and body and can have dangerous long-term consequences. Health problems like seizures, internal damage, difficulty breathing, tremors, and brain damage are just some of the harmful and life-threatening effects. [...]
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How To Respond to Financial Chaos After Addiction

Drug addiction can impact all aspects of your life. Your physical or mental health might have taken a toll as a result of substance abuse, or your relationships with loved ones might be strained. One area of your life that addiction can affect is your finances. If you are newly in recovery and are working […]

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How Substance Abuse Affects Your Sleep

If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, you should know that this is a common problem. There are countless people who simply do not get enough sleep on a nightly basis. You might wake up the next day feeling tired, irritable, and could even have trouble focusing at work or at school. You […]

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Can an Obsession Lead to An Addiction?

An obsession is different than an addiction. An obsession is an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind. However, an addiction is an illness that affects the brain, causing a person to engage in compulsory substance use or addictive behaviors, such as gambling.

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How to Cope with Being Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired (HALT)

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been a lifesaver for many people. AA not only provides a recovering addict with a community of sober people (or at least trying to stay sober) but there is also an entire philosophy behind life after addiction. AA provides a clear set of guidelines, a map that will direct you out [...]
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