Trust Your Gut: Signs Your Loved One May Have an Addiction

This is something you wish you were wrong about, but also something that you need to be right on if its true. Does that make sense? In other words, no one wants to believe a friend or family member has an addiction. At the same time, you also do not want to see your loved one succumb to an addiction. It’s very important that if you start to see signs a friend or family member may be experiencing issues with addiction, it is your duty (as well as ours) to help them enter treatment.

A Shift in Moods and Motivations

Sounds vague, right? Of course any sudden mood shift is not indicative of addiction. However, when that behavior is accompanied by lying and dishonesty—it’s clear that something must be going on. This is often the first sign that arouses suspicion but it is too often the case we ignore that sense of something being off for a long time. That is why you should trust your instincts and keep an eye out for more unusual behavior and circumstances.

A shift in mood can be more pronounced such as volatility in behaviors, angry outbursts, disproportionate sadness, anxiety. Remember, many Substance Use Disorders are often comorbid with a mental health condition such depression, an anxiety or personality disorder.

Sudden Weight Loss or Gain

This is the next sign that can be passed off as almost normal, the truth is people don’t just randomly gain a large amount of weight or lose it. Your body strives to achieve homeostasis—or stability, in medical terms sudden gain or loss in weight is grounds for further medical inquiry and testing. This may seem like a minor point, but many statements from those who have realized their loved one had an addiction have reflected on the past and realized just how many behaviors they recognized but brushed aside as irrelevant.

Having Enlarged Pupils and Bloodshot Eyes

Certain drugs can cause your pupils to become dilated—these are typically psychotropic drugs or stimulants such as cocaine. Be aware of bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils as they are dead giveaways that your loved one is misusing drugs. Dilated pupils are not so easily explained away, there are many charts online that can show you what normal pupil dilation in response to factors such as light look like in comparison to drug use.

Poor Work or School Performance/Financial Difficulties

If your friend or family member is suddenly flunking their classes or experiencing troubles at work—even have been let go, this is yet another sign that they are failing to maintain their daily obligations for a reason that is unclear. If they were financially stable and are now having financial difficulties, this is another red flag. This one can be difficult to determine with friends as opposed to family members as we are typically not privy to their finances.

Drug use is incredibly expensive in that the substances themselves are costly, but also the user’s increasing tolerance to those drugs requires more and more. As the addiction takes hold, the desire to use more frequently also occurs in tandem, creating a vicious cycle of abuse that wrecks the person’s health, finances, and takes control of their life.

Pre-treatment Addiction Consultation in Virginia

Do you suspect your loved one is struggling with addiction? There are many more signs and symptoms we at Recovery Care Partner can recognize. We have dealt with many cases of addiction and intimately understand what to look out for. We offer guidance and support to those who believe they may have a friend or family member dealing with addiction.

Contact us today to tell us your story so that we can help your loved one enter treatment, whether that is through coaching and consulting with you, or offering our intervention services so that a more direct approach can be taken.

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3 Tips For a Successful Intervention

An intervention is sometimes necessary to help the ones we love come to grips with their addiction. Think of how many times you’ve swept something under the rug or neglected a fact only to realize it later. Even something as trivial as making an expensive purchase and justifying it to yourself, only to admit several months later it was not a good purchase. Addiction is not trivial, but the point of the analogy is to say that it’s common for people to have trouble admitting things to themselves.

This is why interventions are necessary, what is a glaringly obvious problem to others may be something incredibly difficult to come to terms with for the person suffering from a substance use disorder. That being said, here are 3 tips to help an intervention succeed.

1 – Carefully Pick Who is Involved

An intervention is not a courtroom drama, no one should be here to make sweeping accusations and control the narrative through force. An intervention is at it’s heart, a compassionate engagement with another person. It requires the addict to be incredibly vulnerable with their feelings, and so you should only involve people whom the addict trusts not to judge them or mishandle their feelings.

This is also one of the major reasons why a skilled interventionist should be contacted. It can be easy to get lost in family or friendship drama due to the emotional atmosphere. The addict may attempt to draw others into arguments that deflect from the issue at hand—their addiction. Having a qualified interventionist present can make sure the intervention stays on track.

2 – Practice What You Want to Say

Rehearsing your most salient points is incredibly important. While you are not here to give a speech, it is crucial that you understand the point you want to get across. This requires some finesse with words because you want to avoid anything that smacks of blaming or judgment. You also want to avoid making it seem like the person’s addiction is a burden to you and that is your motivation for the intervention.

We know that if you are here, reading this, those things are certainly not what you mean. However, language can be tricky. Certain phrasing and language can appear to be more self-interested than others. This is another reason why an interventionist will be useful for the intervention. They can coach you on things to avoid saying or how to present your feelings in a way that will help the person see that you truly want to just see them get better.

3 – Keep a Contingency Plan

Things do not always go as they should during an intervention, and people respond wildly different to being confronted with their addiction. Some people break down and cry, others calmly listen to what you have to say, some people become irrationally angry and storm out of the room. Whatever the case, understand that just because you have rehearsed your end, doesn’t mean you can predict how they will act.

Addiction Intervention Service Virginia

A skilled interventionist can assist you in helping your loved one enter treatment. Interventions can be a very tricky ordeal, having someone who has done dozens, if not hundreds of them, can boost your success rate dramatically. Contact Recovery Care Partner and inquire about our intervention services.

We are deeply passionate about getting people to enter treatment, as such we always coach and prepare you on tactics that will increase the success rate of the intervention. We will also recommend a type and level of care that is suitable for your loved one’s circumstances.

Make the call today, (240)-206-6324.

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Your Cravings Will Never Go Away and That’s Okay

Addict, now that’s a loaded word, isn’t it? Addict, addiction, substance abuse, those are words addicts have heard for all of their lives, even before they knew they were one. The word has a negative connotation, why do we still use it in recovery facilities? Because for lack of a better word, it’s short and to the point. If you have had difficulties quitting something like cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, or even something such as video games, you are an addict and should seek addiction counseling if you can’t stop.

The Life of an Addict is No Different Than Ordinary Folk

Truly, why do we call a person addicted to drugs an addict, but a person who is addicted to work a go-getter? Do we call Steve Jobs an addict for working tireless hours building up one of the top technology companies in the world? Jobs gave his all to Apple, and it paid off. The iPhone will go down in the annals of history as inciting a huge technological revolution. He was also reportedly a terrible father, and an insufferable boss at times.

We praise Jobs for being addicted to work, but we don’t praise addicts for being addicted to substances. I don’t want to belabor the point, both are instances of addictive behavior/tendencies, and both involve an addictive compulsion towards an activity that comes at the cost of every other aspect of the person’s life

While there are many genetic and biological reasons that make addicts much more susceptible to the effects of substances than others, at the end of the day it’s the use of such things as a coping mechanism that creates the vast majority of addictions.

The premise is simple, everyone has addictive tendencies, and no one is free from the human condition that drives us to seek out refuge in habits. In other words, the mental desire to be addicted to something is prevalent in everyone, it’s just most unfortunate when that is attached to a highly unhealthy habit as opposed to a good one. A good addiction is physical exercise, but even that becomes a problem when your body needs rest but you’ve become compulsive about working out—which is often tied to poor self-image and a desire to constantly punish oneself to remedy that.

Your Cravings Are Here to Stay

It’s not something people want to hear, but as addiction counselors and addiction recovery specialists, it would be irresponsible to not say so. Many former addicts who have been clean for years still attend meetings and programs because they foster a sense of community and family, as well as solidarity in addiction-related troubles.

Just like how someone who has struggled with losing weight their entire life will always have that temptation to binge-eat in response to emotional stressors, so too will a former alcoholic momentarily have the temptation to kill a whole bottle of liquor even 10 years into sobriety. With time, experience, perspective–and the right training, someone who has been in recovery for a lengthy period can learn to simply observe those tremendous urges and understand their irrationality. In other words, they can detach from them and view them as apart from themselves.

Addiction Counselors in Virginia

Don’t let this article dishearten you, friends. Despite the fact that cravings never go away, that does not mean they do not lessen in severity or frequency. Most people who have been in recovery for many years report that it’s often the opposite which is true. Cravings will seemingly disappear and then startle you in unexpected moments. They remind you that the addict in you is always dormant, but that’s nothing to fear. We’re all addicts, really. There’s no shame in it, and those are the beliefs that Recovery Care Partner was built upon. We believe that love and compassion are what free us from the bonds of mental and physiological slavery in the form of addiction. That’s why we still use the word addict because we don’t judge it, it simply is.

If you are seeking help substance use help or require a skilled interventionist, contact Recovery Care Partner here!

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Social Media Is a Risk Factor In Addiction and Relapse

Much of the focus on addiction and relapse is centered around topics like acknowledging addiction and seeking out treatment to begin with, how to handle relapses, tips to stay in recovery and identifying your triggers. One factor that is not discussed as often is the impact that social media has on the underage/younger demographics and the development of addictions.

Social Media and Substance Use

While you’d be hardpressed to know an exact percentage, it’s fairly well studied that addiction has a tremendous genetic component. It is greater for some and lesser for others, but let’s say for the sake of a hypothetical scenario, addiction is 50% genetic and 50% maladaptive coping strategies. Additionally, the children of addicts—current or former, have a much higher susceptibility to spiraling into addiction themselves. This gives great credibility to the notion that addiction is highly genetic since someone who may not have even met their alcoholic grandfather or grandmother could have just as much of an issue with it. Addiction also unsurprisingly runs in families.

I digress, the example is this: picture an adolescent or teen from age 12-18 that goes on social media. It’s highly likely that this teenager uses social media quite frequently. Social media usage among teenagers is quite high and the activity levels in terms of posting and sharing is much higher in this age group if not the highest. While teens may post about anything or everything, there is certainly going to be posting about alcohol and drug use.

The true issue with social media is that it’s a simulacrum of what people think is a good life or cool for their age. In the case of teens, many of them opt to post pictures of parties, drinking and sometimes drugs. In other words, these behaviors are glorified on social media. They’re made out to be cool, popular, and things that you can post about to make yourself out to be that way as well. It’s a surely overcooked topic, but teens are in a phase in life where appearances and acceptance matter the most.

Ask any addict, most of them started young. Social media coincides with a greater likelihood of drinking, smoking, and doing drugs according to a back to school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia).

Social Media: A Boon or a Setback?

Thus far, we’ve painted social media as a place that can present temptation to younger people who may be primed for addiction due to genetic reasons or because they are susceptible to falling into poor coping patterns. Like most things, there’s a flipside. While social media can be bad because of the exposure factor to drinking and drugs and the glorification of those things, it can also be a powerful tool for recovery.

Consider how many people can share their stories about addiction and post motivational/inspirational things online and impact God only knows how many people? Not only that, but social media is a place where addiction outreach can take place. Additionally, people are more easily able to find local events or addiction therapy groups in their local area. Being able to scope these things out online can take some of the certainty and fear out of visiting an addiction treatment center or group therapy session if you’re able to see a picture of the place, the room, the people, etc.

Addiction Counseling Specialists in Virginia

As always with anything, you’re the one in charge, whether you realize it or not. You’re the most powerful person you know. This is important to remember when you feel like your addiction runs your life and temptation and fear are abound. Social media can be a place of great temptation or great connection and community. It depends on who you choose to surround yourself with—take it from us, we’re surrounded by the best addiction treatment specialists that we know.

Our professional and compassionate staff have helped many people on the road to recovery. If you or a loved one are in need of assistance in managing their substance abuse issues, Recovery Care Partner is here for you. We firmly believe that the foundation of recovery is built on a platform of dignity and respect. Every day we treat people who have enormous potential to do well for themselves and for their community. Give us a call today at (240)-224-3509 to get started in exploring treatment options for any addiction issues you or a loved one may have!

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What is Enabling Behavior?

What is Enabling Behavior?

What is enabling behavior? Enabling occurs when friends or family of an addict are actively enmeshed with the addict’s substance use disorder and attempt to micromanage the condition. While enablers are often seen as people with malicious intent who want to bring others down with them, the truth is that most enablers—and most enabling behaviors come from people who genuinely care about the addict.

Examples of Enabling Behavior: Denial

There are many causes for enabling behaviors to surface, but the most common reason for enabling behavior is denial. For many people, it’s not entirely clear when a proclivity becomes an addiction. What’s the difference between someone who really likes to drink and someone who is addicted to alcohol? While many people would agree that it’s when it becomes an uncontrollable urge that causes self-destructive behavior, that’s where you draw the line. The issue is that there is a significant lag time between those behaviors manifesting and those close to the addict coming to grips with them. This is why addiction is often seen as the elephant in the room. Many people can recognize the signs of addiction, it’s just difficult to accept that your friend or family member is an addict.

Caring More About Reputation Than Recovery

As much as we’d like to say it isn’t so, there are many families who attempt to cover up a family member’s addiction because they do not want to tarnish their family image within their circle of friends and other families. This is one of the worst types of enabling because it is socially reinforced by many people and often combines many aspects of other enabling behaviors such as denial.

Not only does reputation management greatly delay any kind of recovery for the addict, but it also creates a highly toxic environment that often does lead to overdosing and/or death. This is a tragic situation that happens to many people, as they are addicted and require help, and the people around them impart nothing but further shame and guilt which reinforces using behaviors in the addict. This leads many addicts to be pushed into even greater levels of danger with their substance abuse than they likely would have alone.

Misguided Compassion

Misguided compassion manifests itself as friends and family members of the addict attempting to help the addicted person with day to day tasks which they should be able to do by themselves. The person helping mistakenly believes that they’re alleviating some stress or burden from the addict’s life which will help them get on their feet. It almost never works out this way though, in most cases, the addict is made less accountable and experiences fewer consequences for their addiction because other people pick up the pieces of their life that would ordinarily serve as indicators that things are going south for them.

Addiction Consulting in Virginia

Addiction is not just something affects the person addicted. It affects their friends and family as well. If you or someone you know has a substance use disorder, get in touch with our addiction counseling specialists at Recovery Care Partner. Our team of highly experienced specialists has helped hundreds of people get on the path to sobriety. We also offer consulting for family members and subsequently, intervention services for a loved one. Give us a call at (240)-206-6324 or get in touch with us on our contact page so you or a friend/family member can be on their way to a healthier lifestyle!

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Tips for Early Recovery

Many people in early recovery feel out of their comfort zone; drugs and alcohol feel like a warm, comfortable blanket. Once you remove the solution to your issues, the problems you’ve been avoiding can feel like a very chilly wind, to say the least. The first few months of early sobriety can be a real roller-coaster. It is a bumpy enough ride that the majority of persons in early recovery do not make it past the first year; while relapse is sometimes a part of the process, it isn’t a necessary step in long-term recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Many people pick up a white chip and never look back. Here are a few helpful tips for early recovery.

Exercise

Alcoholism and drug addiction will wreck your body. If you were addicted for a number of years, the body probably isn’t functioning at its highest capability. Exercise is a fantastic tool for self-growth and empowerment. Improvement at the gym will invariably seep into other aspects of your life; hitting a new lift number, a new weight goal, or a new 5-K time will bring you joy due to the sense of achievement. From those achievements, a new sense of pride will develop within yourself. Be kind to you and get your workout on!

Be Optimistic

People get sober after they have hit a bottom. If your bottom was particularly bad, take comfort in the fact that it can only get better (as long as you stay sober). If you’ve wronged somebody in the past, take the time to reflect on your past misdeeds and try and make the situation right when you are ready.

Get Proper Sleep and Nutrition 

Most people in early recovery do not boast the healthiest lifestyle or health markers. “Recovery” doesn’t just mean a recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, it also means recovering the health and wealth of your body, mind, and spirit. A Ferrari needs premium gas, so make sure you are getting 8 hours of sleep a night (at least!) and eating the proper foods. That means ditching the soda and sugary snacks, and eating lots of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, legumes, and whole grains. Feeling great and looking great go hand in hand (your body will thank you as well).

Stay Optimistic

Remind yourself of all the good things in your life. Life is something to be loved, not something to be hated or despised. Thank your legs for carrying your body, the sun for shining, the wind for blowing, and thank god for the pain as well. Pain is one of the greatest motivators in life and there is great beauty on the other side of your darkest moment.

Go to Meetings

We can’t stress this enough. People in early recovery who go to at least 5 meetings a week, have a sponsor, attend a home group, and work with a sponsor rarely – if ever – relapse. Working a spiritual program of recovery isn’t difficult in and of itself; the steps and solutions are laid out for you every step of the way. All you have to do is be honest and take suggestions.

Addiction Recovery Services

Recovery Care Partner proudly offers addiction recovery services in the following areas:

1. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2. South Jersey
3. Richmond, Virginia
4. Atlanta, Georgia
5. Greenwich, Connecticut
6. The Greater Washington, DC/ Baltimore region

Call us at (855) 727-2887 if you or a loved one is struggling with addiction.Visit our contact page for more information about our services.

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Benefits and Tips On Gratitude

Allowing yourself to experience a greater sense of gratitude in life makes day-to-day routines seem like a blessing, rather than a chore; for people in early recovery, gratitude can make a huge difference in the overall quality of their life and their recovery. Gratitude allows you to experience happiness, can open the door to new relationships and friendships, and will improve your physical and psychological health, while also enhancing empathy and reducing aggression. Let’s take a look at some research-backed evidence and helpful tips concerning this all-important trait.

Evidence-Based Research on Gratitude

First, let’s start off with a simple definition.

Gratitude: noun. “The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Gratitude is a key component of the 12-step way of thinking in Alcoholics Anonymous; many sponsors instruct their sponsees to write gratitude lists and practice gratefulness daily. Gratitude can ease the pain of disappointment and the stresses of life before they become an issue. Gratitude allows people to see things as they are, without the coloring of individual perception.

1. Gratitude Increases Mental Fortitude

A 2006 study published in Behavior Research and Therapy researched the levels of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) in Vietnam War veterans. Veterans with higher levels of self-reported gratitude experienced dramatically lower rates of PTSD and stress-related illnesses. Gratitude can transition your object of mental fixation from a negative event towards a more optimistic and bright outlook. It’s hard to be bogged down by negative past events when you are experiencing the beauty of the moment or the optimism of the future.

2. Gratitude Increases Sleep Quality

In 2011, a study was published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. The study found that subjects who spent 15 minutes journaling a few grateful sentiments before bed slept longer and deeper than the control subjects. The bottom line? Gratitude journaling can improve your overall quality of sleep.

3. More Gratitude = Improved Self-Esteem and Physical Health

Gratitude has been shown to reduce social and economic comparison amongst people; rather than resent themselves or others because someone may have more money or a better job, grateful individuals are able to appreciate other people for their accomplishments without wallowing in negative comparison. Gratitude has the ability to remove toxic emotions; jealousy, regret, envy, frustration, anger, and self-pity are all very difficult to experience when you are filled with gratitude. According to a leading gratitude researcher, Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., numerous studies show a direct link between the practice of gratitude and reduced rates of depression. Emmons’ research also confirms that gratitude is linked to increased levels of happiness and life/job satisfaction.

Another benefit? Gratitude was shown to increase athlete’s level of optimal performance, according to a study published in 2014 in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. Grateful people have been shown to take better care of their health, exercise more, and visit the doctor’s office more frequently. Grateful individuals also experience fewer injuries, aches, and pains, according to a 2012 study conducted in Personality and Individual Differences.

Tips On Gratitude

Gratitude is a wonder-drug. Better sleep, more self-esteem, improved physical and mental health, and an increase in empathy? Sure sounds like a good deal. People in early recovery can use all the tools they can get their hands on; count gratitudes instead of resentments, and we can guarantee that your perception towards life will begin to change.

1. Live in the Moment

Are you missing the forest because you are focused on the trees? It is easy to lose mindfulness and go through the routine of life. Whatever you are experiencing in the moment, truly experience it. If you are washing the dishes, experience the suds on your hands. If you are having dinner with a friend, put your phone away and be absorbed in the other person and the conversation. If you are working out, then work out! Feel your muscles contract and your pores sweat.

2. Immerse Yourself in Motivational Quotes

Feelings of gratitude can manifest emotions and situations that you never thought possible. Appreciate more, live more, and be more content with your current situation, no matter what it is. Many influential individuals have found great solace in gratitude.

In Summation, two quotes from Captain Jack Sparrow:

• “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?”
• “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.”

3. Be Careful with Your Words

Do you find yourself saying negative things about yourself or other people in your own head? Words are incredibly powerful and they have the power to shape your entire reality. Saying things like “I’m so depressed, I can’t get over this”, “I’m too tired to do that…”, or “I can’t”, can shape your reality in ways you can’t imagine.

Control your thoughts! If you find yourself feeling more entitled, resentful, or you keep repeating negative self-talk…. Stop! Mindfulness meditation is a powerful tool when you begin to take accountability for your thoughts and actions. Any time you begin to experience negativity or rumination, think to yourself, “thought!” Stop the process of rumination and move on. What you feed, will grow.

4. Live in an Abundance Mindset

The world is full of opportunities. Life has just begun. There is so much out there to see, to do, to touch, to experience! The glass if always half-full. Be content with what you currently have! Anything else that you receive from this point onwards is a gift. Every day is a gift.

That sure sounds better than “I can’t”, doesn’t it?

5. Move on from the Past

Acknowledge your past failures but do not wallow in them. As the Big Book in Alcoholics Anonymous says: “We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it”. The past is simply a learning experience; previous failures, heart brakes, frustrations, mistakes, and misgivings are stepping stones. By learning who you are not, you will begin to learn who you are. Use the past as a road towards your own self-actualization.

Be grateful of the pain in your life. Be grateful of the pleasure in your life. Be grateful that you have the capacity to experience everything that life has to offer.

Closing Thoughts on Gratitude

Gratitude is one of the most effective tools for people, both in and out of recovery. You don’t need to be a recovering addict or alcoholic to experience the beauty that gratitude has to offer; you just need to be a willing person. Often times, humans will create their own problems when presented with the absence of real issues. Take it upon yourself to create joy.

“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured”. – Mark Twain

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Staying Healthy in Early Recovery

A healthier lifestyle should be a necessary component to anyone that is recovering from alcohol or drug addiction. Recovery is an ongoing process that needs to include multiple avenues of treatment. This may include 12-step meetings, working with a therapist, talking with sober supports and friends, hiring a sober escort or companion, staying active, and eating healthy. Support for your mental wellness should be just as important as support for your physical well-being. A strong mind and a strong body will help ease the transition from addiction to a sober lifestyle.

Post-Treatment Addiction Consulting

While Recovery Care Partner offers post-treatment support such as sober escorts, sober companions, and sober transport, a certain degree of personal responsibility needs to come from the addict themselves. Maintenance of a healthy lifestyle can be achieved through outdoor activities, group activities, exercise, proper nutrition, and mindfulness meditation and exercises. 12-step meetings don’t hurt either!

Exercise in Early Recovery

Exercise has been scientifically proven to boost the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine in the brain. These two “feel-good” hormones can contribute to better sleep, better mood, and an overall improved sense of well-being. It’s a smart idea to adopt a new exercise program or regime to help bolster yourself in early recovery.

Many people benefit from group fitness classes such as CrossFit, Yoga, Pilates, Spinning classes, and group weightlifting exercises. Finding other sober people that enjoy the same physical activities as you can not only motivate you to achieve better physical health; it can also help build new sober friendships and relationships.

Having sober friends can make all the difference in early sobriety, as it gives you a chance to connect with people who have gone through similar things. Many people do not understand just how devastating and debilitating addiction can really be. This is why having people that can relate to your experiences can make all the difference; they are also people that you can attend meetings with. Many former addicts in recovery state that the friends they made in early recovery have been friends for years.

Try activities such as rock climbing, camping, hiking, martial arts, kayaking, paddle boarding, and going to the beach! Group sports such as volleyball, basketball, and flag football are also great ways to build friendships and comradery.

Nutrition for a Recovering Body

 Fueling your body with the right food is absolutely necessary! Early recovery is tough and many people choose to make it even more difficult by not giving their body the proper nutrition it requires. A body weakened by drug and alcohol addiction needs time to recover, so make sure you are eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and legumes. Try to avoid foods that can cause mood crashes, such as processed foods, sugary drinks, soda, and processed sugar. While pizza is fine once in a while, try not to make it a daily occurrence!

Drinking enough water will help keep you hydrated and feeling healthy, so make sure not to neglect drinking this vital substance. Here are just a few examples of healthy food to help get you started:

• Fruits: apples, bananas, berries, peaches, plums, mangos, and avocados.
• Lean Meats: turkey, sirloin steak, chicken, ham, and turkey.
• Fish: salmon, trout, halibut, swordfish, tuna, mackerel, herring, haddock, mahi mahi, and catfish.
• Vegetables: broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts, kale, onion, asparagus, beets, carrots, peas, corn, sweet potatoes, celery, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, chard, and red cabbage.
• Legumes: black beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, and navy beans.
• Whole grains: brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, pasta and crackers, millet, bulgur, and buckwheat.

 Mindfulness Exercises for a Calm Brain

Mindfulness meditation is a powerful tool, especially when used with other therapies. Mindfulness meditation means quieting your brain and becoming an observer to your thoughts; it means not emotionally reacting to negative feelings and deliberations. Zen can be thought of as the moment before a thought, and many people practice for a lifetime to try and reach this state. No one is perfect with their practice; trying your best is all that you should ask of yourself and others.

Mindfulness meditation groups can often be found within yoga groups and classes or through certain therapists. Ask around! You’ll never know what you may find through this powerful practice.

Addiction Counseling and Intervention Specialists

 You can only help a person as much as they want to help themselves; this is why it is so important for an addict to take personal responsibility and care for their mental and physical well-being.

Recovery Care Partner offers people that are currently facing addiction – as well as recovering addicts – the chance to help them land on their feet. Everyone, at some point in their lives, is going to need a little help from others.

This is where Recovery Care Partner shines. Our sober companions and sober transition coaching offers people in early recovery the tools to help succeed in life; life skills augmentation, proper nutrition, mindfulness exercises, exercise regiments, resume writing, and skill building are all facets that our sober companions and addiction coaches love to teach.

If your loved one is struggling with addiction, or you need some additional support yourself while going through early recovery, do not hesitate to call Recovery Care Partner at (855) 727-2887. You can also reach us via our contact page by clicking here.

Respect your body. It’s the only one you get.

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Fentanyl Named “Deadliest Drug” According to CDC

According to the DEA, “Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, applied in a patch on the skin.” This new opioid is wreaking havoc across areas of Canada and the U.S., resulting in thousands of overdoses per year. Fentanyl’s potency is unheard of and the epidemic is reaching critical proportions.

It acts quicker than heroin and is much more potent; the majority of fentanyl production takes place in clandestine labs in Mexico and overseas labs, so quality control is out of the question with non-pharmaceutical grade fentanyl. The problem arises from the lack of knowledge users have with the milligram dosage in unknown powders. It is also sometimes mixed with heroin – without the drug users’ knowledge – to give the illusion of very high-grade heroin.

The Opioid Epidemic

Fentanyl is being mixed into heroin, cocaine, and other drugs – either knowingly or unknowingly to customers – due to how cheap and powerful the synthetic drug is. For example, about 40% of people listed as dying of a cocaine overdose also had fentanyl in their system. In 2011, only 4% of overdoses were contributed to Fentanyl. By 2016, 29% of drug overdoses were caused by fentanyl, either by itself or mixed with other drugs.

A drug dealer isn’t someone you can trust, yet people of all ages and walks of life will put their lives in the hands of a plastic baggy. Even the dealers may not know that their heroin or cocaine has been adulterated with Fentanyl. There were 18,335 overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the USA in 2016, followed closely by heroin with a death count of 15,961. To put it in perspective, fentanyl deaths have risen from 1,300 in 2013 to 18,335 in 2016.

What to do About Fentanyl

There isn’t one easy answer or solution to the opioid epidemic, which has reached almost every corner of North America. The best thing that you can do for yourself – or a loved one suffering from addiction to other drugs – is to get clean immediately. There is another analog of fentanyl called ‘carfentanil’, which is a tranquilizer that is used to sedate or kill large animals, such as elephants. Carfentanil is 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine. 10mg can put an elephant to sleep or kill one, with the average elephant weighing 75 times that of a 200lb human male. The results of even 1mg in a human body can be deadly.

We urge anyone suffering from addiction to substances like cocaine or heroin to get help immediately. Dealers and users are not always aware of the substances they are buying and may unknowingly overdose because of it.

Your Recovery Resource for Fentanyl Addiction

Someone dies every day due to the accidental ingestion of fentanyl, as overdoses are being reported in casual and recreational users, not just people who are severely addicted. If you or a loved one is suffering from drug addiction, immediate intervention is necessary. Contact us at (855) 727-2887 for our services, which include intervention, post-treatment support, coaching, sober companions, and sober transport.

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When Does Someone Need an Intervention?

Intervention is the catalyst that can propel an individual to a new, happier life. Days become very dark in the life of an addicted person; consequently, they may not see – or care – that they have a problem. It’s one of those powerful tools that families can use to urge a person to seek help and enter treatment. Generally, an intervention is necessary when someone’s addiction begins to destroy their personal relationships, work obligations, hobbies, and the happiness of their family. When a loved one continues to abuse drugs, despite negative consequences, intervention and treatment may be the only option.

To Intervene or Not to Intervene?

There are a few warning signs and factors that may send a person into an addiction. Co-occurring mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear may exacerbate drug addiction. Social isolation, erratic behavior, financial issues, problems at work or school, and un-needed stress in personal relationships can be the result.

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of drug abuse is necessary if you wish to help your loved one. An intervention will force uncomfortable, emotional conversations; the individual in question may not be very responsive to the intervention at first. However, drug addiction tends to spiral out of control, with the National Institute on Drug Abuse considering addiction a progressive, chronic disease.

Signs that someone needs an intervention

• Drunk driving and other activities that endanger others
• Amnesia, or the inability to remember behaviors – especially negative ones – that affect family members and people close to them
• Legal issues or pending legal issues, especially those with drug charges
• Multiple failed attempts to reduce quantity and frequency of use
• Increased conflict with family, friends, and coworkers
• Shunning of basic responsibilities, such as house chores and going to work
• Intense mood swings
• Degradation of physical appearance, sleep cycles, and eating habits
• High levels of drug tolerance
• Large amounts of mysterious debt
• Worsening mental health problems
• Isolation

Stepping in before things get worse can help save your loved one’s life. This is especially important if your loved one is abusing hard drugs, as one bad batch can result in overdose.

Interventionist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

An intervention should be highly structured and controlled to decrease the chance of the intervention going off the rails. If your loved one has a history of suicidal ideations, violence, mental illness, and/or rationalization, professional help may be necessary to avoid a compromising situation.

Addiction is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Effective treatment requires a solution, which requires professional support. At Recovery Care Partner, we intervene in such as a way that the addict/alcoholic will likely be more receptive to the intervention and will be more likely to attend treatment.  If you are in need of an intervention in Atlanta, Richmond, Philadelphia or South Jersey, contact us today!

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