Gratitude as a tool for recovery: Wisdom from the Rehab

Today, we often hear in recovery circles how we should develop an "attitude of gratitude". I wonder if many people know what that is, let alone putting it into practice on a daily basis to fight the spiritual ravages of addiction. Gratitude comes from the Latin grates, or habere, meaning to feel gratitude. When people think of gratitude, they think of thankfulness, or the response when you receive something of value from someone. However, it is much, much more.

Practicing gratitude is acknowledging that you are vulnerable and able to receive and be aware, intimately, of the person giving or exchanging with you. You may just have a thought of gratitude, while not receiving anything other than the overwhelming sense of gratitude for living, breathing, loving, etc. A person in this state most likely seeks what is good and right for themselves and others.

If you, or someone you love is struggling with an addiction. Please call our Call Center and speak with one of our recovery counselors at (866) 478-9898.

Primoris,
Dr. Bill Heran

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by the spark of another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. Albert Schweitzer

Drug Rehab: Trust vs. Mistrust

When seeking help for an addiction affecting your personal, love, work and social lives you are making an important step towards recovery and health. One of the fears is that you will not be able to function without the addiction. This is not true. A major component of this disease is "thinking errors". Often our thinking problems can become barriers to recovery. In actuality, we cannot live with the addiction.

Trust is difficult for most people, especially addicts. However, trust is necessary to build a therapeutic relationship with your providers at the rehab. Also, you need to trust the program you are engaged in -- that it helps millions of people to stay sober and sane! Most of all, you need to trust yourself. This may be the most difficult, since we don't trust ourselves. This becomes part of surrender...surrender to a process of transformation and change, which will bring you back to loved ones, co-workers and most of all...bring you back to yourself!

The more you trust, the process of recovery becomes clear and inviting. Eventually, you will think "How can I live without recovery!"

If you, or someone you love is in need of addiction treatment, please call our toll-free 24/7 HelpLine at (866) 478-9898 today!

"I know God wouldn't give me anything I can't handle, I just wish He didn't trust me so much" Mother Teresa

Recuperatio Primoris!(Recovery above all else)

Paradise Recovery: The Graduate School of Alcohol and Drug Rehabs

When choosing the right treatment center you need to determine what are your needs and what can a program offer you and more importantly, what are you prepared to offer yourself!

A Graduate Program in any University is an opportunity for a student to dedicate time and efforts to furthering their knowledge, experience and being able to articulate their learning with others. A typical Graduate program is not interested in "passive learners". They are seeking individuals who actively participate in their learning and are beginning to contribute to their chosen profession (e.g. nursing, social work, psychology, or computer science). Also, a good Graduate Program gives you more individual attention, more than your undergraduate program.

Our program was described as the "Graduate School of all Rehabs" by one of our former clients and after several re-admissions to a program in California, he came to Paradise! At Paradise Recovery, we expect a great deal from our clients and our clients hopefully expect a lot from us and themselves. Our program offers personalized care, which helps you to work on YOUR core issues that contributes to your disease of addiction.

If you, or someone you know is seriously considering recovery from addiction, please speak with one of our recovery counselors at (866)478-9898.

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed." Carl Jung

Recuperatio Primoris!

Dr. Bill Heran

"Physician, don't heal thyself" The impaired physician in treatment

In recent surveys, physicians are being asked about their colleagues and how they would respond if a physician they knew was addicted to alcohol or drugs and their judgment was impaired. Surprisingly, only 65% of the physicians responded said they would report a colleague to the state medical board or hospital administration.

No one wants to imagine that their physician's judgment may be impaired by drugs or alcohol. However, the disease of addiction cuts across all professions, ages, socio-economic classes, races, sexual identities and religious affiliations. Doctors have an advantage and a disadvantage, most people assume that their doctor is healthy and is not addicted to substances or processes. The socialization of physicians as "the elite" and their training experiences, do not lend itself to immediate acknowledgement of their disease and seeking help.

There are committees in each state medical boards that work with Doctors needing treatment and monitoring secondary to an addiction problem. A physician often is required by the board to seek treatment and begin a process of accountability. Their recovery is important not only for themselves, but for all the patients whose lives depend on their sound analytical skills and judgment. Of course, when you are in the throws of your addiction, most cognitive abilities are not performing well.

The physician needs to seek out a residential program that is both respectful to her or him and also provides the difficult challenge to get through the active phase of using and begin to practice recovery in a holistic and integrative manner. A physician should not be treated any differently than another addict, but their resistances and barriers may be different and may require certain therapeutic interventions to assist them in their early phase of recovery.

If you, or someone you know is struggling with addiction. Please call our 24-Hour HelpLine at (866) 478-9898 and speak with one of our recovery specialists.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Author Unknown

Recuperatio Primoris,

Bill Heran, PhD

Fight or Flight: Common Responses to Addiction Recovery

When making a decision about seeking treatment for an alcohol or drug addiction, often there's a primal response to either confront the situation or flee and never stop running. We call this the fight-or-flight response. Animals clearly react to acute stress in one of two ways: they will attack (confront), or they will flee (flight) and take shelter in a safe place. This response is an automated response that goes back to pre-historic behavior to protect oneself against lions and tigers on the prowl!

As humans, we too, react in similar ways when we are confronted with stress. Even though this response is more physiological, it also has psychological and emotional consequences.

Often, the "tiger" we're either attacking or avoiding is inside our minds. Whether it be a childhood learned response, or supported by parents and loved ones, your response to stress is significant and requires attention. Especially, if your response is creating problems in your life!

Addiction is often a response to stress and chaos in our lives. Ironically, we may think that alcohol, drug, sex or gambling are ways to reduce stress, but you just have to ask millions of people in recovery...it isn't! The illusion is that when I am high and have adjusted my mood, then I'm in control and all is well in the world. Sorry to burst your bubble, but when you think you have control, while addicted to a substance or a process, then that is when you are precisely "out of control" and most likely "out of your mind!"

Turning to trusted friends, loved ones and letting them know of your stress and permitting them to support you and maybe even "lighten" the load, would be a MUCH better way to cope with stress.

If you or a loved one is seeking help for addiction treatment, please call our 24-Hour HelpLine at (866) 478-9898 today!

Recuperatio Primoris, (Recovery above all else!)
Dr. Bill

Learning to Stay: A Key skill learned in Rehab

When seeking an alcohol or drug rehab, you may be feeling hopeless/helpless, scary, anxious, demoralized, etc. All these emotions and more flood anyone poised to make great changes in their lives. Believe it or not, these emotions will assist you when making the changes necessary to get back on track and begin to thrive!

One of the trademark behaviors in addiction is "running from your problems". Addicts may physically re-locate many times, with the idea that if I move, then my problems will go away. Once an addict is confronted with their core issues, they run, run right into the cycle of addiction. It certainly feels better, briefly, while running. However, our problems get worse the longer we run!

In rehab, you'll learn how to "stay". We borrow from The Buddhist Tradition that teaches us how to stay when facing our demons and shadows in our lives. The work is designed to work through the pain and emptiness and to avoid "running away" and learning how to "stay" and possibly see the conflict as an opportunity for growth and patience with ourselves.

The practice of meditation, prayer, Qi Gong and other forms of calming the mind, often helps people who have a "track record" of running from their issues. The more you stay, the more solutions begin to surface and ways out of the addiction cycle become possible.

Recuperatio Primoris!

Executive Rehab: Where the Individual Counts

Many of the less private rehabs offer treatment that is almost solely group based. What this means is there is no consideration given to the individual. What about your individual core issues that are feeding your addiction? What about your family and their support or lack of support? What about your dual diagnosis, depression, anxiety, trauma history, etc, etc.

You see, private addiction treatment should not be undertaken in a cookie-cutter fashion. Sadly, though, most drug rehabs and alcohol rehabs do exactly that.... cookie cutter. The current research does not support ignoring all of the things about you and your addiction that make you unique. Therefore, your treatment needs to be unique. Of course, some aspects of addiction treatment are the same for everyone. Addiction is a disease that is not unique and many addicts carry on with their addiction in a very non-unique way. However, for everything that is non-unique about addiction, there is an equal number of things that are unique about you and your addiction! Therefore, addiction treatment must strike a balance between treating the unique individual and treating the non-unique disease.

To treat one without the other just does not make sense. That is just a part of any great holistic drug or alcohol treatment program.

Addiction Recovery: The Wounded Healer!

Many times when an addict or alcoholic has maintained significant time in recovery, they have strong desires to help others, particularly other alcoholics and addicts hurting. This is a very strong and often effective phenomenon that has touched the lives of many recovering addicts and alcoholics. In an executive drug treatment program or alcohol treatment program, you will find that many of the staff have been personally touched by addiction.

The wounded healer is someone who uses her or his painful life experiences as tools to assist people in need. Often the person in recovery can immediately relate to the suffering of another addict or alcoholic and provide strength and hope through their experiences. Most of the famous healers throughout history were men and women who suffered first, then transformed their suffering into strength to not only help themselves, but others as well.

The smart wounded healer knows when she or he needs to refer to a professional. We need to emphasize the "healing" that needs to take place. We cannot permit our woundedness to direct our actions, it is our experience of healing and strength that acts as support and guidance for the person in need.

Let us all work on our woundedness, so we can become better healers for those of us in need of help and recovery! Together we can make a better and healthier humanity!

Happy Easter from Paradise Recovery!

Recuperatio Primoris,
Dr. Bill Heran