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Effective Treatments for Various Addictions

People of all ages, backgrounds, and races can become addicted to a variety of substances and experiences. From drugs and alcohol to porn and gambling, addiction is a real problem for a significant portion of the population.

Just as their personal stories are unique, so, too, should be the treatment programs available to addicts seeking help. The following are some of the most common and effective addiction treatments available today:

Detox

Many drug addicts are advised to begin their treatment program with a medically-assisted detox that allows their body to rid itself of the addictive substances. This can help diminish the withdrawal symptoms that often cause an addict to begin abusing again.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a very effective tool that can be used to treat a variety of addictions from alcohol addiction to drugs to food addiction and more. CBT helps a person identify her unhealthy behavior patterns and also her triggers. She can then learn coping skills that will help her navigate life and its challenges moving forward. CBT can be combined with other therapies as well.

Medication

When combined with other therapies, medication can play an integral role in an addict’s recovery. Certain medications can help to reduce cravings, improve mood, and decrease addictive behaviors.

Contingency Management (CM)

CM has been found to be very effective in treating several types of addictions including alcohol, opioids, and stimulants. This treatment protocol relies on providing material rewards as motivation for installing desirable behaviors, such as maintaining sobriety. CM has been found to help beat relapse.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

MI is a form of addiction therapy that helps an individual to resolve any ambivalence they may have. This allows them to embrace their treatment and see it as a positive thing instead of as a punishment.

12-Step Facilitation

A 12-step program has been shown over decades now to be wildly successful in helping addicts stay sober. Weekly meetings are typically hosted by varying 12-step fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

The best treatment plan is one that is created with YOU in mind. If you would like to work with a counselor who will create a treatment plan based on your history and goals, please reach out to me.

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Knowing When to End a Relationship

Relationships can enrich our lives, but they can also cause damage. Whether it’s a friend, family member, or significant other, any relationship comes with its share of challenges. And more often than not, putting in the effort to resolve relational issues can and does result in a healthier bond.

But there are those relationships that, no matter the amount of work and goodwill put into them, will never bring a return on your time or heart investment. These relationships are toxic, and they need to be ended in order for you to heal and move on.

3 Signs the Relationship Needs to End

There are More Negative Interactions Than Positive Ones

Every relationship has its good interactions and its not-so-good ones. But there are those relationships that seem like every interaction is tense and filled with negative emotions. When communication becomes difficult or impossible, the relationship is beyond fixing.

Vastly Different Needs

In the beginning of a new friendship or romance, it’s easy to try and compromise with one another, making certain both person’s needs are being met. Over time, some friends or couples realize their needs are too different.

For instance, in a romantic couple, someone may need more sex than the other. Someone may need to always be in control or have a need to lie. These kinds of clashing needs are a red flag for any relationship.

A Blatant Lack of Respect

Respect is essential in relationships. But sometimes there are those individuals that seem incapable of respecting the other person, their needs, their boundaries, their wishes, etc. These people tend to be on the narcissistic spectrum and are incapable of having empathy or respect for others’ needs.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of signs, but these three are some of the most common and problematic signs.

Letting Go and Moving On

Once you know it is time to end the relationship, you may find that your head and heart waffle back and forth, wondering if you are making the right decision. This is why it’s always a good idea to have someone in your corner you can rely on to give you honest feedback, sound advice, and clarity.

Sometimes you can find this champion in your network of friends and family, but other times it might be best to find a totally neutral third party. Someone you never have to wonder whether they are “just saying that” because they love and care about me.

A therapist can help you navigate your intense emotions and make the best decision for your happiness and peace of mind.

If you are currently struggling in a relationship and would like some help navigating it, please reach out to me. I would be more than happy to discuss how I may be able to help.

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Creating a Parenting Plan

In a perfect world, marriages would never dissolve. But divorce is a reality and one that impacts everyone involved, including the children. To help children feel safe and secure during the weeks and months that follow a divorce, it is important that both parties work together to come up with a co-parenting plan.

Keeping Your Children’s Best Interests in Mind

Simply put, a co-parenting plan is a comprehensive document that outlines how parents will continue to raise their children after a separation or divorce. This document will lay out things like how much time children will spend with each parent, how decisions – both major and minor – will be made moving forward, how the information will be shared and exchanged, and more.

While there are no hard and fast rules as to how a co-parenting plan should be formatted or what information should be included, it is vitally important to approach the plan’s development with your children’s best interests in mind. To create a helpful document, all issues, emotions, and pettiness should be put aside, and the focus should remain on what is best for your children.

Things to be Included

It’s important to mention that co-parenting plans may differ from state to state. Having said that, most will include the following five clauses:

1. A Brief General Statement

The plan will typically open with a general statement that the parents will be sharing responsibilities of parenting the child or children. This includes shared decision-making and shared daily routines.

2. Outline Parental Responsibilities

In this section, parents agree to communicate on all important aspects of the children’s welfare. This can include making decisions regarding health, education, and religious upbringing.

3. Specifics

This section can cover how you will actually arrange to time-share. This includes routine time, activity time, overnight stays, etc.

4. Holidays

Outline how you and your ex will handle holidays and other special observances.

5. Time Period and Amendments

All co-parenting plans should mention the length of the agreement and that the plan will need to be re-examined and possibly adjusted from time to time moving forward.

Again, these are very general guidelines. Your plan can be more explicit and specific to your situation.

Getting Help with Your Co-Parenting Plan

To create the right plan for your family, it’s recommended that you get some guidance. While a lawyer can help you with specific legalities, a family counselor can help you with communication. After all, you will need to navigate your emotions and be able to hear and be heard for the best interests of your children. A therapist can facilitate healthy and clear communication.

If you’d like to work with a family counselor to create a co-parenting plan that will help you both raise happy and successful children, please reach out to me.

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4 Powerful Immunity Boosters

As we continue to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us are wondering how we can boost our immune systems. You most likely know you should take more vitamin C, but here are some other ways you can give your immunity a powerful boost:

Tackle That Stress

When we’re stressed, our bodies produce stress hormones like cortisol, which weaken our immune system. This means when we are under chronic stress, our immune system is under constant attack.

It’s important to find healthy ways to tackle stress. Try exercise, meditation, and psychotherapy to help relieve the burden.

Eat Right

When you eat a typical Standard American Diet (SAD), full of refined grains and sugars and unhealthy fats, you change your gut’s microbiome (the beneficial bacteria that). And guess where 80% of your immune system is? In your gut!

Eat a healthy diet of grass-fed meats, dairy, and organic produce to give your body the nutrients it needs to be healthy and to keep your gut microbiome nice and strong.

Exercise

Exercise is important to keep our hearts, muscles, and bones strong. But in addition, exercise helps us burn through those stress hormones I talked about a little while ago. And, research has found that even a little bit of exercise can have improved microbiome diversity, which leads to a stronger immune system.

Get More Sleep

You most likely know that when you don’t get enough sleep, you feel cranky and in a fog the next day. But what you may not know is that too little sleep night after night decreases our immune function. Most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night. Do your best to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on weekends. Also, put those electrical devices away at night. The blue light those devices emit interferes with your body’s natural sleep cycle.

These 4 things may seem like common sense, but are you actually doing them? Making some lifestyle changes to ensure you are tackling stress, eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep will keep your immune system strong so it can keep you healthy.

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