by Kind Dev | Sep 25, 2024 | Addiction
The iconic American author and philosopher William James famously said, “Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” Acceptance is one of the first major steps of recovery. One must accept the situation for what it is (dire) and then move forward to overcome it. This includes individuals who have unfortunately become another casualty of the opioid crisis in America.
Better Understanding Opioids
So, what exactly are opioids? Many people are aware of them and the opioid crisis but unaware of the specific classifications and context.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “Opioids are a class of drugs that include synthetic opioids such as fentanyl; pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine; the illegal drug heroin; and many others. [The] use of opioids, either by themselves or in combination with other drugs, is a major driver of the drug overdose crisis in the United States. The vast majority of overdose deaths in recent years involved illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other potent, synthetic opioids, which may be added to other drugs and consumed unknowingly.”
That last classification of fentanyl and synthetic opioids is very significant because they are currently one of the major drivers of the opioid crisis and overdose deaths in the U.S. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “[S]ynthetic opioids (like fentanyl) are the primary driver of overdose deaths in the United States. [Here is a] comparison between 12 months-ending January 31, 2020, and the 12 months-ending January 31, 2021, during this period: Overdose deaths involving opioids rose 38.1 percent,” and “Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) rose 55.6 percent and appear to be the primary driver of the increase in total drug overdose deaths.”
Better Understanding the Opioid Crisis
The opioid crisis remains a serious issue in the U.S. According to the peer-reviewed journal Cureus, “Since opioids became broadly available in the 1990s and the tracking of associated deaths began in 1999, rates of opioid-related deaths have tripled. Though opioid-related deaths have regularly increased since they were first tracked in 1999, 2020 saw a 41% increase in opioid-related deaths, possibly related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic… Despite the rise of opioid-related deaths worldwide, the United States has the highest rate of opioid consumption per capita; the United States also experiences the highest number of opioid-related deaths.”
A big contributing factor to the opioid crisis was what is known as “pill farms,” which were “medical facilities” that loosely gave out prescription opioids to many people who did not require them. The good news is that the government cracked down on this issue, but the opioid crisis is still going strong. It is ruining individual lives and the lives of the loved ones around them. This is why being able to spot the signs and symptoms of opioid use disorder (OUD) can be so crucial in getting someone the help they need sooner rather than later.
The Opioid Crisis: The Signs and Symptoms of Opioid Use Disorder
While the signs and symptoms of OUD are often unique to the individual in which ones show up and their severity, there are some universal signs of the disease (and, yes, most addiction professionals agree that OUD is a disease). The following are just a few of those signs and symptoms:
- Losing interest in activities once enjoyed
- Isolating away from family and friends
- Experiencing otherwise unexplained physical symptoms, such as headaches and gastrointestinal problems
- Having cognitive struggles, such as issues with short-term and long-term memory
- Being overly anxious, nervous, and “stressed out”
- Feeling depressed
- “Nodding out,” meaning that someone has trouble staying conscious after using
- Issues with sleep patterns, including sleeping too much and not sleeping enough (insomnia)
- Changes in appetite
- Feeling extremely ill when opioids are not available
- Experiencing suicidal ideations
As one can see, these are significant symptoms. This is why getting help as soon as possible is highly recommended. This could mean the difference between short-term consequences and long-term side effects.
The Opioid Crisis: Getting a Loved One Help for Opioid Use Disorder
One of the most daunting and difficult tasks may be getting a loved one the help they need for OUD. Many people feel that the individual will hold their good intentions against them and potentially even retaliate. This is rarely the case.
In most situations, the individual is more than ready to get the help that they need and is honestly waiting for someone to reach out for help. This is one of the destructive natures of addiction; it keeps individuals away from those who wish to help them.
However, when an individual is ready to accept help, it is important to get them that help as soon as possible, as the window for them to accept the help can be very small. This is also why connecting with a reputable recovery center that utilizes a multi-angled approach is so crucial.
Taking a Multi-Angled Approach to Recovery
The multi-angled approach to recovery has to do with the way in which a treatment center is able to offer its treatment. Many recovery centers only focus on overarching “one-note” recovery plans. These rarely work as everyone in recovery has different needs, and those needs can rarely be met with one modality.
The multi-angled approach to recovery also utilizes many means, methods, and modalities for recovery. This includes psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), experiential therapies like nature-based therapies, and holistic healing methods like yoga therapy and mindfulness meditation. The multi-angled approach also focuses on every part of what is known as the capital “S” “Self,” which includes the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components of one’s being. It also focuses on addressing one’s underlying root/core causes of the disease of addiction.
Getting to the Underlying Issues of Addiction
Most professionals agree that addiction is rarely about the drink or the drug itself. This is why many people in alcohol use disorder (AUD) recovery use the phrase, “It’s about the thinking, not the drinking.” No, addiction is about the underlying issues that cause an individual to pick up the alcohol or, in this case, the opioid in the first place.
The underlying issues also often have to do with co-occurring disorders, which are much more common than many people may like to think. According to NIDA, “7.7 million adults have co-occurring mental and substance use disorders… Of the 20.3 million adults with substance use disorders, 37.9% also had mental illnesses.” and “Among the 42.1 million adults with mental illness, 18.2% also had substance use disorders.” The good news is there are many ways to treat OUD, whether there are co-occurring disorders or not.
Understanding Medication-Assisted Treatment
Many people who struggle with OUD utilize what is known as medication-assisted treatment (MAT). This is because it is often significantly more effective in avoiding a full-blown relapse when someone with OUD comes off of opioids slowly and safely while being monitored by addiction professionals.
Relapse is a significant problem in the U.S., yet many people don’t know just how prevalent it is. According to the peer-reviewed journal Current Psychiatry Reports, “It has long been known that addictive disorders are chronic and relapsing in nature. Recent estimates from clinical treatment studies suggest that more than two-thirds of individuals relapse within weeks to months of initiating treatment.” Also, “For 1-year outcomes across alcohol, nicotine, weight, and illicit drug abuse, studies show that more than 85% of individuals relapse and return to drug use within 1 year of treatment.” MAT can help with this. However, MAT should also be administered with other types of modalities, such as CBT.
Healing With Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
CBT can be particularly beneficial because it gets to the underlying issues that were previously mentioned. It does so by helping individuals address the underlying issues of how they negatively view themselves and the world around them.
CBT makes the individual an “active participant” in the process, which greatly adds to its efficacy. According to the peer-reviewed journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, “Consistent with the medical model of psychiatry, the overall goal of treatment is symptom reduction, improvement in functioning, and remission of the disorder. In order to achieve this goal, the patient becomes an active participant in a collaborative problem-solving process to test and challenge the validity of maladaptive cognitions and to modify maladaptive behavioral patterns… Although these strategies greatly emphasize cognitive factors, physiological, emotional, and behavioral components are also recognized for the role that they play in the maintenance of the disorder.”
Also, just like MAT, CBT should rarely be used in a silo. It should be administered alongside other types of therapies. These therapies may include experiential therapies like nature-based therapies and art therapy.
Healing With Experiential Therapies
Experiential therapies are essentially what their moniker alludes to. They are therapies that focus on “experience” rather than discussion (though, of course, discussion becomes a significant factor). Of course, experiential therapies are a lot more than just having new experiences. It is about having those experiences while also undergoing extensive and beneficial evaluations and support from addiction and mental health professionals. One ideal type of experiential therapy that can be highly beneficial is art therapy.
Art therapy can be used for many issues and offers a myriad of benefits. This is especially true for individuals with co-occurring disorders. According to the peer-reviewed journal Cureus, “According to a literature search, art therapy treats various mental problems. Research is currently looking into the contribution of art therapy in multiple areas, including depression, dementia, schizophrenia, and psychosis. More extensive studies have examined topics like overall wellness or everyday anxiety,” and “It has been proposed that art can help people increase their self-esteem by providing abilities that can be acquired and mastered.” Many people also categorize yoga as a form of experiential (art) therapy because of its “dance” like nature.
Healing With Holistic Healing Methods
According to the iconic yogi and spiritual leader B.K.S. Iyengar, “Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together.” This is symbolic of why yoga can be so helpful in treating OUD. It has been practiced for thousands of years, but it has only recently been used in the realm of recovery.
Yoga can be so beneficial in many areas that it can be hard to quantify them all. According to the International Journal of Yoga (IJOY), “Therapeutic yoga is defined as the application of yoga postures and practice to the treatment of health conditions. Yoga therapy involves instruction in yogic practices and teachings to prevent reduce or alleviate structural, physiological, emotional, and spiritual pain, suffering, or limitations. Yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life.”
Mediation has also been shown to be an effective holistic healing method that addresses the whole Self and can help one heal from OUD. According to the International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda (AYU), “During the process of meditation, accumulated stresses are removed, energy is increased, and health is positively affected overall. Research has confirmed a myriad of health benefits associated with the practice of meditation. These include stress reduction, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, reduction in pain (both physical and psychological), improved memory, and increased efficiency. Physiological benefits include reduced blood pressure, heart rate, lactate, cortisol, and epinephrine; decreased metabolism, breathing pattern, oxygen utilization, and carbon dioxide elimination…”
Healing With 12-Step Recovery
Roughly 89 years ago, two people got together to help one another get sober and achieve long-term recovery. They accomplished their goal and they did so by following two essential tenets. One was that they accepted that there is something in the world greater than themselves (often referred to as a Higher Power). Two was that they worked to help other people struggling with addiction. These two individuals were Bill Wilson and Robert Holbrook Smith, the two founders of 12-Step recovery, and they have gone on to help millions of people and their families recover from the disease of addiction.
One of the primary reasons that 12-Step recovery can be so effective at helping individuals get out from under OUD is that it helps individuals with the “shared experience” of addiction get together and support one another.
It has been said that working with other people in recovery is one of the most effective ways of staying sober. That is why the phrase, “You have to give it away to keep it,” is so pertinent in many recovery circles. This act of working together is discussed specifically in the primary text of 12-Step recovery (most commonly referred to as the Big Book). The Big Book states, “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much ensure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other [people in recovery. It works when other activities fail… You can help when no one else can.”
Facing the Opioid Crisis Head-On at NorthStar Recovery
Here at NorthStar Recovery Center, we understand how serious the opioid crisis currently is in the U.S. Yet, we don’t get discouraged by the statistics. We get inspired to do all that we can to help reduce the opioid crisis and help people recover.
William James also said, “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” Here at NorthStar Recovery Center, we are proud to help produce those successful outcomes, one client at a time.
Many people don’t realize the high prevalence of opioid use, opioid addiction, opioid overdose, and opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. The good news is that day treatment can be an effective option for many people struggling with opioid use disorder (OUD). If you feel like you or a loved one are struggling with OUD and/or any other types of addiction or mental illness, we can help get you on the positive path to long-term recovery right away. You don’t have to go through this process alone. For more information about the opioid crisis in the U.S. and how to combat OUD efficiently and effectively, please reach out to NorthStar Recovery Center today at (888) 311-0911.
by Kind Dev | Sep 5, 2024 | Therapies
The Buddha famously said, “You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” This is the type of self-love that is required if one is to start to fully recover from issues of addiction and/or mental illness. Now, this is also the type of self-love that can be a positive byproduct of group therapy in day treatment.
The Prevalence of Addiction in the U.S.
Many people don’t realize just how prevalent addiction remains in the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “In 2022, 48.7 million people aged 12 or older (or 17.3%) had a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year, including 29.5 million who had an alcohol use disorder (AUD), 27.2 million who had a drug use disorder (DUD), and 8.0 million people who had both an AUD and a DUD.”
Unfortunately, while these statistics are relatively high, the number of people who actually seek help remains low. There are many reasons for this. One is that people fear the stigma associated with having addiction and/or mental illness.
According to the peer-reviewed journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry, “The prevalence of substance use disorders is increasing in the U.S. general population, but these disorders remain seriously under-treated. Stigma can reduce the willingness of policy-makers to allocate resources, reduce the willingness of providers in non-specialty settings to screen for and address substance abuse problems, and may limit the willingness of individuals with such problems to seek treatment. All of these factors may help explain why so few individuals with substance use disorders receive treatment.” Another reason why people don’t get the help they need is they are held back by co-occurring disorders.
The Prevalence of Addiction With Co-Occurring Disorders
Comorbidities (also known as co-occurring disorders) also remain highly prevalent in the U.S. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “7.7 million adults have co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.” Also, “Of the 20.3 million adults with substance use disorders, 37.9% also had mental illnesses,” and “Among the 42.1 million adults with mental illness, 18.2% also had substance use disorders.”
While co-occurring statistics remain high, the good news is there are many means, methods, and modalities that can help people recover from either sole issues or comorbidities. The key is to connect to the right recovery center to fit one’s individualized needs because individualized care is essential for optimal long-term healing.
A Focus on Individualized Addiction and Mental Health Care
Here at NorthStar Recovery Center, we only believe in individualized care. There are many recovery centers that only offer broad “one-size-fits-all” treatment plans. We find that this rarely works because it does not get to the specific underlying issues that often cause the negative behaviors associated with addiction and mental illness.
Often, these underlying issues are associated with trauma. Yet, many people are unfamiliar with what trauma exactly is in a psychological sense. According to the peer-reviewed journal Psychological Medicine, “The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines a traumatic event (TE) as exposure to threatened death, serious injury or sexual violence. Such exposure may occur directly or indirectly by witnessing the event, learning of the event occurring to a loved one, or repeated confrontation with aversive details of such event (e.g. emergency responders). Exposure to TEs is a prerequisite for the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is also associated with a wide range of other adverse mental and physical health outcomes.”
PTSD is also more common than many people realize. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Center for PTSD, “About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the U.S. population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives.” Also, “About 5 out of every 100 adults (or 5%) in the U.S. has PTSD in any given year. In 2020, about 13 million Americans had PTSD.” Also, individualized care is not the only important aspect of effective treatment. Treatment must also be comprehensive.
A Focus on Comprehensive Addiction and Mental Health Care
Comprehensive care starts with connecting to the client. This includes a proper intake that focuses on the individual rather than the diagnosis. As the father of Western medicine, Hippocrates, famously said, “It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has.”
Comprehensive care also has to do with utilizing all aspects of the recovery realm. This includes psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), experiential therapies like nature immersion therapy and art therapy, trauma therapy, group therapy, and holistic healing methods like yoga therapy and meditation. Also, this is what having a multi-angled approach to recovery is all about.
The Importance of Having a Multi-Angled Treatment Approach
A multi-angled approach to recovery is all about holistic healing. Now, many people think that holistic healing only has to do with more “eccentric” practices like reiki and massage therapy. However, while those practices can actually be extremely helpful, holistic healing has more to do with “whole mind-body” healing. It has to do with utilizing modalities that heal physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
When all aspects of the “Self” are treated, then the opportunity for healthy well-being and long-term recovery becomes not only possible but probable. One of the best ways to focus on this whole mind-body healing is via day treatment.
Understanding Day Treatment
Day treatment is an ideal way for people to focus on their recovery while also being able to stay connected to their day-to-day lives. Now, this does not mean that it is any less intense or effective than residential care. Rather, it simply means that the individual has more autonomy over their own recovery.
Day treatment requires focus 24/7, even though most facilities will only require an individual to connect in person with the treatment center five days a week for eight hours a day. However, clients will also attend recovery community meetings (like 12-Step meetings) while they are outside of the treatment facility or recovery center. Day treatment also offers many other benefits.
The Benefits of Day Treatment
While there are benefits to all types of recovery, like residential care, day treatment has its own unique set of benefits. Perhaps the most obvious has already been mentioned, which is the ability to remain outside of the treatment center. There are also many other benefits of day treatment:
- Connects people with others with “shared experiences”
- Introduces individuals to different types of treatments
- Is often more easily covered by insurance
- For those without insurance, it can be more affordable than residential care
- Connects people with 12-Step and other community meetings
- Offers an opportunity for the whole family to get treatment
- Often has alumni support groups for after treatment ends
- Keeps individuals accountable for their own recovery
- Helps reduce the chances of relapse
This last benefit is crucial because many people don’t realize just how common relapse currently is in the U.S. According to the peer-reviewed journal Current Psychiatry Reports, “It has long been known that addictive disorders are chronic and relapsing in nature. Recent estimates from clinical treatment studies suggest that more than two-thirds of individuals relapse within weeks to months of initiating treatment.” Also, “For 1-year outcomes across alcohol, nicotine, weight, and illicit drug abuse, studies show that more than 85% of individuals relapse and return to drug use within 1 year of treatment.” Group therapy can also be very effective in helping people avoid a relapse.
Understanding Group Therapy
Group therapy is highly effective for many reasons. One of the primary reasons is that it connects people who have shared experiences of addiction and/or mental illness. This connection allows individuals to both see that they are not alone in their struggles and that recovery is possible.
Group therapy is also very versatile. According to the peer-reviewed thesis, Group Therapy, by Doctors Malhotra and Baker, “Group therapy is the treatment of multiple patients at once by one or more healthcare providers. It can be used to treat a variety of conditions including but not limited to emotional trauma, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).” Also, “Group therapy provides a solution to this problem by allowing for the treatment of multiple individuals simultaneously.” There are also many other benefits of group therapy.
The Benefits of Group Therapy
While people are often going to experience different benefits from group therapy, there are also many universal benefits that many people tend to share. The following are just a few of those benefits:
- Helps individuals develop essential social skills
- Keeps people accountable to their therapy
- Offers a safe space for people to share without fear of judgment
- Helps individuals gain new perspectives
- Can help bridge individual therapy and family therapy
- Helps relieve isolation
- Allows people to build a healthy “sober network”
- Can reduce relapse rates
- Often more affordable than individual therapy
- Helps with anxiety and depression
- Reduces stress and feelings of loneliness
Group Therapy and Other Means, Methods, and Modalities
It is also important that group therapy be utilized with other modalities. This includes psychotherapies, experiential therapies, and holistic healing methods.
When multiple methods are used, the chances for long-term recovery are greatly increased. Using multiple methods also makes it possible for a recovery plan to be more flexible. For example, if one type of treatment isn’t working, it can be replaced with one that may be more effective. One of the most effective of these treatments is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
Group Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
CBT can be exceptionally effective because it can get to the underlying issues that cause the negative behaviors associated with addiction and mental illness. It is also a process that helps with growth and long-term recovery.
CBT focuses on the negative way that people view themselves and the world around them. According to the peer-reviewed journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, “Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) refers to a class of interventions that share the basic premise that mental disorders and psychological distress are maintained by cognitive factors… [T]hese maladaptive cognitions include general beliefs, or schemas, about the world, the self, and the future, giving rise to specific and automatic thoughts in particular situations. The basic model posits that therapeutic strategies to change these maladaptive cognitions lead to changes in emotional distress and problematic behaviors.”
CBT is not the only type of therapy that helps to get to these underlying issues. Experiential therapies also help people with these issues, either via external activities or creative outputs.
Group Therapy and Experiential Therapies
Experiential therapy is all about helping individuals connect with their issues via external means. This may involve physical activities via nature immersion therapy, or it may involve creative means of expression via art therapy.
Nature immersion therapy offers physical, emotional, and mental benefits. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Besides improvements to physical and psychological well-being, exposure to natural environments has been shown to bring about positive impacts on cognitive functioning… While cognitive restoration and physiological well-being are the prominent and renowned benefits of nature exposure, there is one important construct that is often overlooked in environmental psychology research studies – that is, the human-nature relationship; also known as connectedness to nature (CN).”
Art therapy also offers many whole mind-body benefits. According to the peer-reviewed journal Cureus, “Art therapy is used most commonly to treat mental illnesses and can aid in controlling manifestations correlated with psychosocially challenging behaviors, slowing cognitive decline, and enhancing the quality of life. Art therapy can help people express themselves more freely, improve their mental health, and improve interpersonal relationships. The basis of art therapy is established on the idea that people can recover and feel better via artistic expression.”
Group therapy is not just often more effective when used with experiential therapies; it can also benefit from being utilized alongside holistic healing methods. This includes holistic means like yoga and meditation.
Group Therapy With Yoga and Meditation
According to the iconic yogi and spiritual leader B.K.S. Iyengar, “Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together.” Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years. Initially, it was solely used as a religious or spiritual practice, but it is now also being used in the realm of recovery.
The benefits of yoga for addiction and issues of mental health are vast and varied. According to the International Journal of Yoga (IJOY), “Therapeutic yoga is defined as the application of yoga postures and practice to the treatment of health conditions. Yoga therapy involves instruction in yogic practices and teachings to prevent reduce or alleviate structural, physiological, emotional and spiritual pain, suffering or limitations. Yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life.”
A Focus on Long-Term Success at NorthStar Recovery Center
The Buddha also famously said, “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” Some of that peace can be gained via group therapy and its accompanying modalities.
Here at NorthStar Recovery Center, we believe in long-term success over short-term fixes. That is why we offer individualized comprehensive recovery plans that focus on the future.
It is important to remember that recovery is always about the journey, never the destination. That journey can start right here at NorthStar Recovery Center. There is hope. We can help.
Group therapy can be highly beneficial for addiction recovery. One of the primary reasons is that it helps clients connect to both recovery professionals and recovery peers. It also creates a safe space where one can share openly and honestly without fear of judgment. Group therapy also works well with a number of other modalities, like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). If you feel like you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, mental illness, or both, we can help get you on the right road to long-term recovery right away. For more information about the benefits of group therapy and other treatment options, please reach out to NorthStar Recovery Center today at (888) 311-0911.
