Brush Up on Your Communication Skills

Many people in recovery find themselves a bit uneasy when it comes to communicating with others without the crutch of drugs or alcohol. In addition, you may have the added pressure of repairing relationships damaged by years of addiction. So how do you relearn to talk to people? Start with these tips: 

• Be yourself. True friends will need to love you for you, so avoid putting on a false front or attempting to be someone you’re not. Telling lies is never the answer and is a horrible way to establish a solid foundation for a lasting friendship.
• Make eye contact and smile. Body language is crucial when it comes to effective communication, so do your best to look people in the eye and speak slowly and clearly. And don’t forget to smile, which will show the other party that you’re trying to be friendly.
• Be sincere. You don’t have to be an expert on a topic in order to offer a warm and genuine greeting. Address coworkers and neighbors by name and ask how their day is going.
• Pick a mutual interest. Shared interests make for natural conversation starters – for example, if you love to garden and your neighbor has an interest in gardening, too.
• Stay up-to-date on newsworthy topics. Read or watch the news so you’re at least somewhat familiar with current events. This will give you some ideas to add to a conversation or start a discussion with someone else.
• Learn to listen. Conversations are a two-way street, so even if you’re excited about the subject matter or feel the urge to interject, it’s important to slow yourself down, pay attention to what the other person is saying and wait for your turn to talk.
• Practice with someone you trust. If you’re nervous about talking with others, practice striking up a conversation with a loved one or close friend – or practice by yourself by talking to the mirror. Like everything else in recovery, the more you practice, the easier it will become.

Employment and Educational Assistance 
Rising Roads offers women comprehensive employment and educational assistance, including interview coaching, resume building and professional networking. To learn more about how we can help you find your way into the workforce and regain your confidence, call today: 866-746-1558.

What to Eat to Beat the Bloat

Years of addiction can wreak havoc on your digestive health, including dealing with some bloating during recovery as your body begins to heal. The good news: You can take some steps to better care for your belly -- and perhaps one of the easiest (and yummiest!) is eating the right foods. 

Start with these fruits and veggies, which are loaded with fiber, antioxidants and vitamins to help you de-puff, feel great, and power through your recovery. 

• Cucumbers: These veggies contain quercetin, an antioxidant that helps reduce swelling. If you eat the skin, you can also benefit from caffeic acid, an antioxidant known to help nix inflammation. 
• Asparagus: Not only is this veggie a natural diuretic but it’s also a prebiotic, which increases the probiotics or “good bacteria” in your digestive system. 
• Leafy greens: Loading up on spinach, kale, and Swiss chard will give you a healthy dose of magnesium to help keep digestion and fluid balance on track.
• Avocados: Rich in soluble fiber, this superfood helps you stay full sans gassiness. 
• Tomatoes: Tomatoes are roughly 95 percent water and they’re loaded with vitamin C, lycopene, and other antioxidants that can help you de-bloat.
• Kiwi: This fruit contains actinidin, a natural enzyme that helps digest protein and prevents bloating. Plus, it’s a great source of fiber to help keep you regular. 
• Watermelon: Snacking on this water-dense food – watermelon contains more than 90 percent of water – is a great way to up your H20 intake and flush any excess salt in your body.  

Eating Healthfully During Transitional Residential Care 

If you are graduating from a stabilization program and realize you need more help, then our Rise Up Program is for you. During transitional residential care, you’ll learn critical life skills for independent living, including nutritional guidance. To learn more, call today: 866-746-1558.

Are You Being Good to Your Bones?

Mother’s Day marks the first day of National Women’s Health Week, an observance led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health. The goal: to empower women to make their health a priority. Experts suggest that women pay particular attention to their bone health. After all, one in three women suffer from osteoporosis, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, and addiction can sure do damage to your bones. 

Did You Know?

• Abusing drugs and alcohol can prevent your body from absorbing vitamin D, which plays a critical role in calcium absorption necessary for bone health.
• Certain abused substances, including alcohol and opioids, are study-proven to reduce bone density, upping your risk for the bone thinning disease osteoporosis. 
• Clinical depression, which often co-occurs with a substance abuse disorder, is also associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis.

Doing the work to get (and stay) sober is the perfect start toward safeguarding your bones – so, if you’re already in recovery, give yourself a pat on the back! In addition, you might want to add some of these bone-boosting tips to your healthy to-dos to prevent osteoporosis:

• Know your family health history. In 50 percent of osteoporosis cases, genetics plays a role. 
• Schedule a bone density screening. The tricky part of this “silent disease” is that you won’t know you have until you get tested (or you break a bone).
• Eat to beat osteoarthritis. Some bone-friendly foods to add to your diet: Sardines, canned salmon (with the bones), almonds, dark green, leafy vegetables, milk, yogurt, cheese, calcium-fortified juices and breakfast cereals.
• Stop smoking. Okay, easier said than done. But know this: Smoking cigarettes can rob your bones of vital nutrients, including calcium, and increase your risk of broken bones. 
• Make exercise a priority. Staying active and exercising helps to strengthen muscles and improve overall bone health, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. In particular, there are two types of osteoporosis exercises important for building and maintaining bone density: weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises.

Let Us Fuel Your Recovery
Rising Roads offers weekly nutrition classes, in addition to shopping preparation and cooking classes. The camaraderie of cooking together, gaining new skills, learning new recipes and enjoying the process is a positive move forward. To learn more, call today: 866-746-1558. 

This Prescription Medication May Aid in Treating Opioid Addiction

Given the rapid growth in opioid use and abuse, many researchers are working hard to develop new and innovative therapies that providers can use to treat the condition. In addition to that, scientists are also taking a closer look at using existing medications to aid in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

In that same vein, a team at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) examined the effects of a prescription medication, Lorcaserin, that was originally designed to help clinically obese patients return to a healthier weight.

Lorcaserin was originally approved in 2012 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with a body mass index (BMI) over 30. The medication works by altering how the brain processes serotonin, which is associated with feelings of fullness. Serotonin also plays an important role in the disease of addiction - this neurotransmitter also controls the pathways associated with drug seeking behaviors.

To better understand how Lorcaserin affects the addicted brain, Kathryn Cunningham, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology and director of Center for Addiction Research at UTMB, and her team of researchers evaluated the behavior of rats who were given an unlimited supply of Oxycodone. The scientists then administered Lorcaserin to some of the rats, while others received a placebo. They found that the group of rats who received Lorcaserin self-administered Oxycodone less often and exhibited fewer drug-seeking behaviors.

In a paper published in the American Chemical Society Neuroscience, Cunningham and her collaborators found that the prescription could have a profound impact in the lives of those struggling with an addiction. Lorcaserin can help those with an opioid addiction by reducing the urge to use opiates and ultimately, mitigating the risk of relapse.

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2 million Americans are dealing with an addiction to prescription painkillers and drug overdose is now the most common form of accidental deaths in the U.S. Given the severity of this public health crisis, it’s important that the addiction recovery community continues to make progress towards fighting this epidemic.

Post Relapse Care at Rising Roads Recovery

When individuals relapse, it doesn’t mean that their journey to addiction recovery is over. Though, it does require the help of professionals who specialize in helping those regain their footing in sobriety. At Rising Roads Recovery, we offer a recovery program that is tailored to helping women post-relapse. With our Boost Up program, we can help you identify your personal addiction triggers and develop a comprehensive plan to combat those cravings. To learn more, call today: (866) 746-1558.

New Research: Women Have an Increased Risk for Tech Addiction

According to new research from Binghamton University, women have an increased risk of developing a smartphone addiction.

In a paper recently published in Information Systems Journal, scientists interviewed 182 college students to better understand how often they use their smartphone throughout the day and also tracked their moods throughout the duration of the study.

Isaac Vaghefi, assistant professor of management information systems at Binghamton University, and his team then classified the research participants into five different usage categories ranging from “Thoughtful” (lower usage) to “Addict” (higher usage).

Across the board, more frequent smartphone usage was correlated with negative outcomes such as having more problems at home and at work due to an excessive need to use it throughout the day. Those individuals also self-reported experiencing negative emotions such as social isolation and depression throughout the day.

In this survey, the correlation between high usage and negative outcomes was consistent for both men and women. But, researchers found that women were more likely to fall into the high-risk categories of “Fanatic” and “Addict”, which suggests that they have an increased risk of developing a smartphone addiction.

"Our smartphones have turned into a tool that provides short, quick, immediate satisfaction, which is very triggering," said Vaghefi. "Our neurons get fired and dopamine is being released, and over time this makes us acquire a desire for quick feedback and immediate satisfaction. This process also has contributed to developing shorter attention spans and being more and more prone to boredom."

"While self-identified 'addict' users were in the minority, I predict technology addiction will increase as technology continues to advance and application, game and gadget developers find new ways to ensure users’ long-term engagement with technology," said Vaghefi.

If you are working on your recovery, it’s important to take an inventory of your entire lifestyle, including how you use technology, to avoid developing unhealthy attachments. At Rising Roads Recovery, we can help you learn new life skills to set yourself up for success.

Women’s Only Transitional Living Services

Have you made the first step towards recovery but still need more support on your journey towards independent living? At Rising Roads Recovery, our Rise Up Program is specifically designed to help women who have graduated from inpatient residential drug and alcohol rehab strengthen their new skills of sobriety. At our California women’s recovery center, you can renew your confidence and nurture your recovery in a safe environment. Call (866) 746-1558 to learn more.

[Addiction Research] State Drug Monitoring Programs Are Effective

Patients who are addicted to prescription opioids and desperate for that next high often resort to doctor-shopping to get multiple prescriptions for the same drug. To help combat this practice, 49 states and the District of Columbia have created their own prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). These databases are designed to help providers identify patients who may already have a prescription from another doctor and are high-risk for substance abuse.

But, how effective are PDMPs? One researcher at the UK College of Public Health recently published some initial findings that support the continued use of PDMPs. 

To conduct their analysis, Hefei Wen and her team reviewed data collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2011 to 2014. 

The researchers found that residents aren’t prescribed Schedule II opioid painkillers as often in states with more aggressive regulations mandating that providers consult the databases . (One thing to note is that while PDMPs are widely available, they aren’t being used consistently. State laws that govern how providers should use the online databases vary greatly.)

And, those states save a lot of money too. Prescription reimbursements are typically 9 to 10 percent less than states with less restrictive regulatory controls.

Today, providers in Kentucky are bound by some of the strictest rules in the nation in terms of mandatory usage of their database. Doctors are required to register with the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting System (KASPER) and check the system each time before submitting new prescriptions and at least once every year after that.

While the opioid epidemic continues to gain steam, researchers are making progress developing new therapies designed to help individuals who are struggling with addiction issues. In addition to that, it’s also important that we continue to take a more proactive approach as well. Preventing the disease of addiction is a powerful tool. The results of this study suggest that the PDMPs can help prevent the accidental overprescribing of painkillers.

California Recovery Center for Women

Are you researching your options for transitional residential care? If you’ve already graduated from an inpatient program but aren’t ready to dive back into independent living, our Rise Up Program can help you bridge the gap. At Rising Roads Recovery, we specialize in helping women regain their confidence and sense of purpose in life with a compassionate approach to addiction recovery. To take the first step today, take an online tour of our facility and contact us to learn more about what we have to offer.

Invest in Your Success: 3 Tips for Daily Goal Setting

What are your long-term goals? Do you want to own your own business, launch a new career or train for a marathon? If so, kudos to you! Planning for your future is an important and exciting part of starting a new life of sobriety. When you are no longer living in the fog of substance abuse, you’ll likely find that you have more energy to pursue your dreams.

But, it’s important to think about your long-term goals as a series of smaller, short-term milestones. That way, you can set realistic expectations for yourself and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

To set yourself up for success, take a few minutes every day to create a few daily goals for yourself. It will likely help you stay focused on your priorities and keep your progress top of mind.

Daily goal setting doesn’t have to be time-consuming or difficult and it can help propel you forward. Here are a few tips to help you get started!

(1) First, identify a few long-term goals that you want to achieve. But, keep the list manageable, perhaps two or three objectives at first. When you sit down in the morning to jot down your short-term goals for the day, you can reference this list to help you stay focused. Starting with a blank slate can be challenging and you can use this information to help you get started.

(2) Use a positive tone! While it may seem like a slight difference, the words you use can make a big impact. Phrase your goals using positive words such as “I will” instead of “I hope to”. This can help give you a boost of confidence and the determination to achieve your goals and not push them to the side. 

(3) Celebrate your successes but don’t dwell on goals not yet completed. When you sit down each day to create a new list of goals, review your goals from the day before. Celebrate the progress that you have accomplished but don’t beat yourself up for the work that you still need to complete. Sometimes you might underestimate the amount of time required to complete a task or something unexpected might pop up. Just learn from your experience and keep moving forward!

California Addiction Treatment for Women

At Rising Roads Recovery, we specialize in helping women who are dealing with difficult situations. Living with an addiction to drugs or alcohol may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Our Rise Up Program is designed to help women who need additional support before graduating to independent living. With our transitional living program, you can continue your powerful journey of personal growth during recovery. Reach out to us today to learn more. Call (866) 746-1558.