The Role Of Digital Devices In The Recovery Process

When technology and addiction are discussed together, the former is usually understood as a driver for the latter.

Digital technologies can promote alcoholism and drug addiction as these substances can easily be acquired online or via text messages. Technology can also be used to fuel addictions to gambling, shopping, pornography, and other forms of addiction or compulsion. Even addiction to technology itself is a possibility.

Image source: topten.ph

Traditional addiction centers ban mobile devices while patients are undergoing treatment because there is fear that this can cause distraction from the recovery process. Contrastingly, there are recovery centers that have been using mobile devices to facilitate rehabilitation or recovery from addiction. Some of the ways that these technologies have been helpful in recovery processes are the following:

Recovery essentials: There is a variety of mobile apps that can help patients develop healthy habits, track treatment goals, write down their experiences during the recovery process, and receive other recovery essentials.

Meditation and affirmation: Helpful in recovery or rehabilitation are self-awareness, reducing stress, a healthy lifestyle, and recovery communities. There are also apps that can provide meditation, affirmation, and means to receive support from other people.

Image source: krollontrack.com

Multimedia: In some cases, books, movies, or music can create a healthy environment for recovering patients. For this reason, smartphones or other digital devices play an important role in the recovery process.

For 13 years, Morningside Recovery has been helping people from all over the world achieve lasting sobriety, health, and renewed passion for life. For more information about its programs, visit its official website.

Beating Addiction With The Help Of a Support System

The condition of a drug user is a very serious one. It is a rarity when a drug user successfully removes himself from the situation on his own, without the concern and support of family and friends. In the life of a drug abuser, there is no better ally than an active support system that helps to keep him on track on the road to recovery.

Image source: huffingtonpost.com

A support system is any group of individuals who are available to show concern and encouragement to a drug user who wishes to reform, which makes this a very noble task.

The biggest support that a drug user can get is from the immediate family. There are no other people more interested in the success of reformation than the members of a unit whose survival purely thrives on the love and affection that its members have for each other.

Image source: ccbhc.org

However, drug use is a rather complicated thing, and this has even left family members with strained relationships. Where the efforts of family members fall short, the support of friends can come in. Concerned friends often do not express their judgment as heavily as parents tend to do, which is why the role of friends is crucial. There is comfort in the presence of friends who reserve their judgments more than family members who tend to wield this more liberally.

Another source of support comes from that of like-minded individuals who can relate most with each other. There are a lot of anonymous groups out there whose members are going through the same pains of reformation from drug abuse, and this becomes a very powerful support system for each member.

Morningside Recovery is a place where drug and alcohol abusers have found a new hope. For more information, visit this website.

Respect Builds Recovery for LGBTQ Clients

 

Irvine, California-based Morningside Recovery offers a wide range of outpatient services to clients working to overcome drug and alcohol addiction and accompanying mental health conditions. The facility operates from a philosophy of respect for individual needs. Among its programs, Morningside Recovery includes one focused on recovery through Christian faith and another designed specifically to address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning people.

Some researchers have found that members of the gay and transgender communities, who can experience intense degrees of societal prejudice, also exhibit substance abuse at rates two, three, or many times higher than their non-LGBTQ counterparts. Many experts find a one-to-one correlation, in that the sometimes extreme forms of bigotry directed toward LGBTQ individuals can lead them to substance abuse as a coping mechanism.

Studies have also demonstrated that people learn positive coping behaviors more quickly and easily when they are part of a respectful, supportive, and nonjudgmental community. Morningside Recovery's clinical staff come from professional backgrounds that have enabled them to meet the needs of diverse populations. Their high regard for the value of diversity, and for the worth of each individual they work with, can make the experience of therapy for substance abuse one of personal exploration and acceptance.

How Pets Make a Difference In Addiction Recovery

Image source: addiction.com

Pets are not only lovable companions at home. Research shows that pets also offer irreplaceable therapeutic benefits for people recovering from addiction. Bringing a cat or dog with you during recovery is scientifically proven to reduce anxiety, stress, and sadness.

In a study by Washington State University about shelter dogs and mood-boosting therapy programs for teens with drug and alcohol problems, researchers observed an increase in joviality, positive affect, attentiveness, and serenity in recovering teen addicts who spend time with dogs. The researchers hypothesized that spending time with pets releases the feel-good chemical dopamine and stimulates opioid release, a chemical known for calming and anti-depressive effects. The study noted that such finding is important because many of those recovering from addiction are also likely suffering from ADHD, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Pets also offer the gifts of acceptance, unconditional love, and non-judgment. Spending time with their pet can help those recovering from addiction to see the lighter side of life. Pets encourage owners to be playful, and their naturally exuberant characters can surely make anyone smile. In addition, having pets make it easier to relate and socialize with other people. Animals are great topics of conversation and having them around creates a relaxed and healing environment for recovery.

Image source: catdailynews.com

While pets cannot make the entire journey easy, they surely make great companions on the road to recovery for people struggling with addiction and mental health issues.

Morningside Recovery is a pet-friendly addiction and mental health treatment facility located in South Orange County in Irvine, California. Visit its official website to learn more about its programs and services.