Foods that Enhance Recovery

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In active addiction, the alcoholic or drug abuser often reacts to a feeling by using their drug of choice. They may have used alcohol to lower inhibitions, opiates as an escape, benzodiazepines when anxious or amphetamines to wake up.

In active recovery, one of the first challenges an addict faces is that they start to feel feelings – and they are unable to cope with these feelings the way they used to by muting them with a substance. Soon they learn valuable tools that help them get through moods and emotions, many of which are learned in therapy or through a 12 step program.

One tool of recovery that is often overlooked is one’s diet and how it can assist and enhance their recovery by impacting their mood and overall balance. Here are six ways the sustenance of food can help aid problem feelings:

1. Problem: Brain Fog     Solution: Water
In recovery, we often hear people say, “the fog has lifted” referring to getting clean and sober. Depending on the extent of one’s drug abuse, this may take awhile. One way to speed things up is to stay hydrated. The recommended amount of water can be calculated by taking your weight, dividing it in half and drinking that number in ounces every day.

2. Problem: Bad Mood      Solution: Coconut
Coconut contains potassium, which is essential for supporting feel good chemicals like endorphins. They also are packed with fiber and protein, which helps you, stay “regular,” energetic and full for longer. Just a handful of coconut shavings on cereal or a cup of coconut milk or water may do the trick.

3. Problem: Stress     Solution: Dark Chocolate
Dark pure chocolate (not milk chocolate) assists the brain in releasing endorphins – the great mood enhancers. Endorphins also attack cortisol, the stress hormone in the body by slowing it down and eradicating the stress it creates. However, with any food item, moderation is key…especially with sweets that can elevate your blood sugar.

4. Problem: Hopelessness     Solution: Kale
If you are feeling like the future is grim, the antioxidants and carotenoids in kale may transform you into an optimist. A study looking at extremely optimistic people revealed that they had high levels of antioxidants and carotenoids in their blood. If kale is too bitter for you, most dark leafy greens will do. The phytonutrients they contain may just restore hope.

5. Problem: Sadness/Depression      Solution: Salmon
The omega-3s in salmon do for the brain what an oil change does for a car – allowing it to perform optimally. Regular consumption of omega-3s help balance the brain’s communication. That is why scientists are looking at Omega 3s as a cure for clinical depression.

6. Problem: Anxiousness      Solution: Green Tea
If you are angry or anxious, the theanine in green tea is a natural soother. Although often caffeinated, green tea simultaneously provides a calming effect while helping you focus. Achieving calmness while being efficient seems ideal for the anxiety ridden or those with too much on their plate.

If you are confused, anxious, depressed or hopeless, try one of the above. Want the cumulative effect? The sum total of all these would actually make an excellent meal…in fact here is a recipe for coconut salmon and kale.

Harmony Hosting 2nd Annual Recovery Skiathon this February

Harmony Foundation is hosting its 2nd Annual National Recovery Skiathon in Breckenridge, Colorado from February 6-9, 2014.

Our 1st Annual National Recovery Skiathon last year was a huge success and highlighted the importance of fellowship, not only among those in recovery but also among the organizations, treatment centers and alumni services who work in the field of addiction treatment.

Being in fellowship with one another over a weekend in the beautiful Rocky Mountains helps us share missions, visions, ideas and engage in vital cross agency collaboration. Since fellowship is one of the most important components of successful recovery, we believe that fellowship among professionals in the field is one of the most important components of helping people achieve successful recovery.

The weekend in Breckenridge is open to everyone in recovery and working in the field of recovery and their families and friends. Don’t let the term Skiathon fool you, the weekend is packed full of different activities including:

12 step meetings
Recovery films
Networking opportunities
Live music
Ski tours
A TPAS meeting
Dog sledding
Speakers
Comedy
Tubing
Snowboarding

…and of course, fellowshipping!

For more information and to register, click here.

Colorado addiction recovery fellowship

Why Lindsay Lohan is Right

Why Lindsay Lohan is Right
Lindsay Lohan on Oprah, photo via 

When anything on Lindsay Lohan is written in newspapers or tabloids people’s eyes have grown accustomed to skimming or glossing over – because it is often the same story with slightly varied details about jails, rehabs, arrests, accidents and so forth.

However, in her interview this week on Oprah’s Next Chapter, Lohan sings a different tune, a tune that is actually right on the mark with regard to recovery – that others in early recovery from addiction can  resonate with.

The following excerpts are from Oprah’s 1st of many scheduled interviews with Lohan that aired this week :

Lohan: “I need to shut up and listen”

Why it is right: This self deprecating phrases is often considered essential for newcomers in 12 step meetings. It is not to say that the newcomer doesn’t have a voice, but rather they have a lot to learn. The way they have been living their lives – according to their will and their way, hasn’t worked. With this humble realization comes the greater realization that another way, not theirs, might be better – such as the way of those with more time in recovery, that newcomers can “shut up and listen” to.

Lohan: “I’m willing to do whatever it takes…and [to do] whatever people that have more experience than me in their recovery [have done]…”

Why it is right: Addicts do whatever it takes to get their drugs and alcohol. They go to great lengths to get high. When they become serious about their recovery, they do whatever it takes to stay sober. When an addict in early recovery says this, they are often held accountable by their own words, agreeing to take the suggestions of their sponsor, counselors or others in their recovery circle. This statement is bold and often represents a real surrendering to recovery. The bittersweet reality of this proclamation is that what it takes to stay sober is often enjoyable, such as showing up to meetings, communicating with others and being of service to others – often much more favorable than the conditions it took to score drugs.

Lohan: “I’ve been lucky and blessed enough to have been given a gift to share with other people…”

Why it is right: Those who live through their addiction and are able to make it to recovery, be it treatment or 12 step rooms, are blessed to be there. It is a gift, as there were so many circumstances and situations that could’ve taken their lives – from driving under the influence to the over consumption of substances. Those that have made it through and grasped recovery, realize it is a gift because many, many try to get sober and fail – and this motivates those that have the gift to share it with others.

We give Kudos to Lohan to have grasped these concepts and to be doing whatever it takes, including listening and being of service to others, to stay sober.

But there is something all-powerful that rules over the verbiage and vernacular of recovery or 12 step-meeting rooms – and that is action. After all is said and done, recovery is a program of action.

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Men and Women Have Different Triggers

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A recent study published in the Scientific American showed that alcoholic men and women relapse for different reasons.

It is common knowledge that relapse rates are high for those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. That is why addiction treatment programs work with clients on relapse prevention before they leave treatment.

John Kelly and Bettina Hoeppner with Massachusetts General Hospital collected and assessed data that revealed new insights for relapse prevention. For 15 months they looked at the social networks and drinking habits of 1,726 members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). They presented them with hypotheticals and asked them how confident they were in their ability to stay sober if those situations happened.

They found that male alcoholics are at greatest risk of relapse when they are in social situations where others are drinking. AA helps them stay sober by being around non-drinking friends. After some time in recovery with fellow members of AA, they learn coping skills to handle situations where friends or colleagues are drinking around them socially. The classic depiction of men bonding in business or personal life over a glass of whiskey seems to be all too triggering for men.

Kelly and Hoeppner found that women alcoholics are at greatest risk for relapse when they feel strong emotions. When they are feeling depressed or anxious, fellow female AA members can help them recognize that they can have emotions, but they don’t have to react to them by picking up a drink.

While in alcoholism treatment, clients often identify their own relapse triggers – be it business dinners, breakups or celebrations. Those in early recovery are cautioned to avoid those situations because the integrity of their recovery should come first. Clients also have opportunities to play out the triggering situations in an individual or group therapeutic setting while in treatment. They can role-play how they would react to identified triggers by utilizing the new tools they learned in recovery. Over time when they are strong in their recovery they can handle triggering situations with grace.

What are your triggers? How do you handle them?

 

Cory Monteith’s Death Sheds Light on Relapse

I may have a relapse but may not have another recovery
 The Importance of Relapse Prevention

It has been a week since it was announced that Cory Monteith passed away from a fatal combination of alcohol and heroin. The devastating news has made us reflect on the importance of addiction treatment for younger adults and relapse prevention.

Monteith was best known for his role in Glee, portraying Finn Hudson, a young football star turned singer for the high school’s singing squad. He was found dead in a hotel in Vancouver last Saturday and reports indicated that alcohol and other substances were found in his hotel room.

Monteith was open about his substance abuse – saying in interviews that he first got sober when he was 19 and remained clean for almost 10 years. In one interview he told Parade Magazine that was “lucky to be alive” because he was “doing anything and everything, as much as possible” by the age of 16. Then last April his publicist announced that he entered rehab for substance abuse.

His relapse is a reminder that sobriety is something those in recovery have to consistently work at, through various means of support – and that a relapse can happen no matter how many years of sobriety someone has under their belt. There is no one size fits all approach to maintain sobriety, but many find that going to 12 step meetings, having a sponsor, incorporating spiritual principals such as honesty and discipline in their lives, maintaining connection with others in recovery and aftercare services or staying connected to their former treatment centers can help.

That is why Harmony’s addiction rehab in Colorado has a unique alumni support system whereby former clients connect with Alumni Services through events and even an iPhone and Android app that allows them to track their recovery progress. We also have a relapse program for those that need to recommit to their recovery. We have created these safety nets because we believe the saying that “I may have a relapse but may not have another recovery” unfortunately rings true. You never know when a relapse or what combination of substances can take a life. Our hearts and prayers go out to Monteith and his friends and family.

Russell Brand Shares A Tool to Avoid Relapse

Relapse prevention is an essential component of recovery and there are endless tools that help addicts avoid a relapse. One such tool is picking up the phone, often referred to as the “50 pound phone” because it is hard to make a phone call when we are feeling our worst.

Even those who are in their double digits – 10 years or more – of sobriety occasionally struggle, as expressed recently by Russell Brand in a blog post he wrote about relapse. “The last time I thought about taking heroin was yesterday,” he wrote on his website, russellbrand.tv. But, recognizing his thought was fleeting and that the promises of recovery outweigh the ill fated reality of active abuse of drugs and alcohol, Brand says he picked up the phone: “Even as I spin this beautifully dreaded web I am reaching for my phone. I call someone not a doctor or a sage not a mystic or a physician, just a bloke like me, another alcoholic, who I know knows how I feel.”

Just picking up the phone and calling someone to talk about triggers (in Brand’s case it was bad news from a woman) can help immeasurably because fellows in recovery have been through similar situations and sentiments. That is why in 12 step meetings people often say, “I have a sponsor and my sponsor has a sponsor” because somewhere, someone has had the same experience and can share how they got through it – sans alcohol or drugs.

Often in active addiction people struggle with what is coined “terminal uniqueness,” thinking that no one has walked in their shoes and experienced what they have. When they get sober and share what they thought of as unique experiences, they realize they are far from being alone, and that their sponsor – or their sponsor’s sponsor – has experienced the same thing and can shed light on how they overcame it.

Making a phone call a fellow in recovery is one of the most powerful tools to avoid relapse because, as Brand says, “the price of this [recovery from addiction] is constant vigilance because the disease of addiction is not rational.” Therefore, staying in one’s own head, filled with triggers and temptations may not serve up a rational answer – but someone on the other end of the phone line can provide some rationality to help us stay sober.

Here at Harmony Foundation, we understand the potential for relapse, which is why we have crafted a special program called Recommitment to Recovery aimed at helping those who have relapsed get back on track. Picking up the phone is just one of the many tools we instill in our clients in our relapse prevention programs.

The “Helping Others” Study Finds That Alcoholic Anonymous Works

There have been few scientific studies on the efficacy of 12 step programs – until now. Maria Pagano, a professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University led a 10-year study known as the “Helping Others” study. Considering the high membership of Alcoholics Anonymous worldwide, the outcome of the study comes as no surprise – active participation in AA does in fact improve one’s chances of successful long term sobriety.


Pagano and her colleagues used Project MATCH, a clinical trial on the efficacy of alcoholism treatments on behavior sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. What they found was that those in AA had lower alcohol use and longer sustained sobriety than non-participants.

Twelve step programs like AA promote service as an important component to the program and staying sober. Service can be as simple as driving someone to a meeting or sharing one’s own personal story with others. It is through this service aspect that many are able to sustain their sobriety and recovery. “Consequently, being interested in others keeps you more connected to your program and pulls you out of the vicious cycle of extreme self-preoccupation that is a posited root of addiction” says Pagano.

A large program component of Harmony Foundation’s Drug and Alcohol Programs is service and getting outside of one’s own way to strengthen their own sobriety. To many it seems counter-intuitive who may think don’t I need to focus on myself and analyze my past to overcome it? Or don’t I need to be ok before I can help someone else? Sometimes the best thing a person can do for their recovery is to stop analyzing, thinking, worrying and the best way to do that is to take the focus from inward to outward. Like headlights on a car shining outward, a fellow addict can beam light on others and help them through the darkest of times. In such an instant, the worrying addict forgets their own problems by helping another and inadvertently feels better about themselves. Feeling good about oneself and selflessly giving to others brings pleasure and reward that is undoubtedly deeper and more pleasurable than any false reward from substance abuse.

Harmony foundation’s Colorado drug rehab is rooted in 12 step principles, which do have a lasting impact on the ability of our clients to recover and live productive and fulfilling lives.