Mental Health: Coping With the News

Whether via social media, television or radio, we’re often bombarded by all of the tragic, violent and disturbing things happening in our world today. This can certainly take a toll on our emotional health, and this is especially true if you have a history of trauma and/or are also struggling with a co-occurring mental illness. In fact, according to Stephanie Dowd, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Center of the Child Mind Institute, there’s a higher risk factor for anxiety [and related issues] for “someone with a traumatic experience in their background.”

If this sounds like you, experts, say that your first step is to just accept your reactions. This means that if you find yourself reacting strongly or getting very upset over the news, remind yourself that it’s ok. These are your emotions and you deserve self-compassion.

While we can’t simply shut out what’s going on in the world, we can learn ways to safeguard our mental health when the news creates extra stress and anxiety. For example, you may want to avoid any visual images and just stick with written word. Here are a few more ways to cope:

• Find the good. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me ‘Look for the helpers; you will always find people who are helping,” said Mr. Roger’s. In 2012, after the Newtown tragedy, this quote went viral – and for good reason. Focusing on the helpers allows you to find hope, faith and humanity amid the disturbing headlines. And it may even become the inspiration you need to offer your services or time to your local community.
• Reach out for help. Calling a trusted family member or friend is always wise when your emotions are fragile. Arrange a time to meet for coffee or to go for a walk and talk about how the news is making you feel.  If the event is bringing up a painful memory or you’re experiencing triggers, make sure to seek support from your counselor or health care professional.
• Engage your senses. Whether you meditate, soak in a bath or listen to relaxing music, engaging your senses can help provide some quiet time away from the stress and sadness.

Minding Your Mental Health During Recovery

At Rising Roads, we focus on the unique needs of women in recovery. We help our female clients discover new coping strategies to manage (not run from) their emotions, so they can continue to heal and reclaim healthy, sober lives. To learn more about our programs, call today: 866-746-1558.

Why Women Have Higher Rates of PTSD

Did you know that women have double the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as men? The lifetime prevalence of PTSD is 10-12% in women and 5-6% in men. What’s more, PTSD tends to last longer in women – 4 years versus one. 

Interestingly, women have been found to experience fewer traumas than men (by a third) and yet their risk of PTSD is higher. This may have to do with the type of trauma, note experts. For example, men who experience combat trauma, accidents, natural disasters and disasters caused by humans are more likely to experience PTSD. For women, sexual abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault are most often to blame. Roughly one out of every 6 women has experienced attempted or completed sexual assault or rape in her lifetime and these victims are more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD than nonsexual trauma survivors.

“Sexual traumas are prevalent and particularly toxic to mental health,” Melanie Greenberg PhD, wrote in an article on Psychology Today. “Sexual abuse typically begins at a young age, when the brain is still growing, leading to a lasting impact on emotion regulation and fear response.”

Do You Know the Signs of PTSD?

Dr. Greenberg said that among survivors of sexual trauma, she often sees high levels of fear and vigilance, shame, and self-blame. Other symptoms, which most often interfere with daily living, can include: 

• Nightmares, flashbacks an frightening thoughts.
• Avoiding and shutting out thoughts and feelings related to the trauma.
• Angry outbursts, feeling “on edge,” being hyper-vigilant for threat or trouble sleeping.
• Feeling excessive guilt, blaming yourself unreasonably, having difficulty remembering aspects of the event, seeing yourself or the world negatively.

PTSD and Addiction
About 80 percent of women seeking addiction treatment also have a trauma history, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And this number doesn’t include women who can’t or refuse to seek help for substance use disorders. Since trauma and addiction often coexist, we offer a dual-focused program to help women begin to restore their well-being and look ahead to lasting recovery. To learn more about our trauma treatment program, call today: 866-746-1558.

Learning to Be Teachable in Recovery

A big part of recovery and relapse prevention is being teachable. Your willingness to learn from past mistakes, take direction from counselors and peers and open your mind to learning new things will help you grow in sobriety. It will also help you to build a fulfilling, sober life and be your best self. A big part of being teachable is being humble – some experts even say the words teachability and humility can be interchanged.

Here’s why. When you’re teachable you will…

• Be more aware of your limitations, knowledge and abilities.
• You’re not afraid to regularly ask for help, instruction, guidance and advice.
• You learn from anyone and everyone you can.
• You listen to others carefully and patiently with a desire to learn their experiences.
• You’re ready to move out of your comfort zone, try something different and make mistakes. 
• You don’t give up when you fail but seek help and try again.

The good news is that you can learn to be teachable – and these steps will benefit your recovery, too:  

• Try something new. Whether you learn to cook, knit or speak a different language, do your best to step out of your comfort zone and seek new experiences. The more you learn, the more you’ll get in touch with yourself and the better you’ll relate to others. 
• Make time for reflection. Take a few minutes each night to reflect on and journal about your day. What stayed the same? What was different or better or worse? Answering these questions honestly will help you become aware of any areas that need improvement. 
• Surround yourself with positive people. The right supports will help you grow and learn in daily life. How can you tell if someone is helpful or harmful? Ask yourself how the person makes you feel? For example, energized and inspired or tired and negative?
• Pick up a book. Reading is a great recovery activity that can help you learn new things and gain a fresh perspective – while taking time to relax and decompress.

A Place for Personal Growth 

At Rising Roads Recovery, we provide a safe, support environment that allows our female clients to learn life skills and flourish in their new sober lives. Let us help you or someone you love find the path to your happy destiny. To learn about our programs and services, call today: 866-746-1558.

Study: Diet Affect Women's Mental Health More Than Men's

We all know that what you eat can play a big role in your recovery as you work to replenish your body from the damage of addiction and live a healthier life. A new study shows a particularly strong link between diet and emotional well-being, especially for women. 

Researchers surveyed nearly 600 people about their eating habits and mental health and found that diet had a stronger effect on well-being for women than it did for men.

"The biggest takeaway is that women may need a larger spectrum of nutrients to support mood, compared to men," Lina Begdache, an assistant professor at Binghamton University and lead author of the study, said in a press release. "These findings may explain why women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression and suffer from longer episodes, compared to men."

The study, published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, found that a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle were most closely linked to mental well-being for women. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, key components of the Mediterranean diet include: 

• Eating primarily plant-based foods (fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts).
• Replacing butter with healthy fats like olive oil. 
• Flavoring foods with herbs and spices instead of salt. 
• Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week and red meat only a few times a month.
• Making meal time enjoyable with family and friends.
• Getting plenty of exercise.

The bottom line: This study gives us yet another reason to make sure food is a joyful, nutritious part of your recovery and your life. You’ll have more energy and emotional balance – both essential for lasting sobriety.

Healthy Eating at Rising Roads Recovery

We are staffed to support all of our clients in the exploration of themselves and their relationship to food. We are lucky to have a registered dietician as well as women who are in recovery from food related issues that can help you find a path to healthy eating. To learn more about our nutritional guidance and cooking classes, call today: 866-746-1558. 

Sober Ways to Have Fun This Fall

Fall is almost here – even if it still feels like summer – and it’s the perfect time to have some sober, seasonal fun. Here’s a list of ideas to get you started.

1. Take advantage of seasonal eats. Fall is a time for “pumpkin everything” but that doesn't have to mean indulging in pumpkin pies and calorie-laden lattes and ice cream. Pumpkin is a real super food, loaded with immune-boosting vitamin A and filling fiber. Add it to smoothies, oatmeal, chili, soup or homemade hummus. And don’t forget about the seasonal apples, squash, artichokes, beets and lima beans. 
2. Plan a pumpkin picking trip. Gather some friends and go to a nearby pumpkin patch like the Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch. Pick out a pumpkin to paint or carve. And don’t forget to roast the seeds for a healthy treat. 
3. Start a new book. Now that you’ve completed your summer reading list, why not add a few selects to curl up with for fall. Reading is a great year-round activity to stave off boredom and stress during recovery. 
4. Check out a fall festival. Enjoy a day of crafts, food booths, cook-offs, pie-eating contests and music – sober fun! Just be careful not to choose a festival that focuses on alcohol as this can be a trigger. 
5. Take a hike. Fall is the perfect time to take a hike and enjoy the offerings of Mother Nature. There are some gorgeous trails throughout Orange County, including Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, Caspers Wilderness Park, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and Alta Laguna Park. Bring along a good friend for company as well as water and a healthy snack so you can have fun exploring the trails for hours.
6. Try your hand at knitting. Autumn is the perfect time to learn how to knit or crochet. The repetitive action can induce a relaxed state similar to what's experienced during meditation and yoga. In fact, knitting has been study-proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure and reduce harmful blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Plus, the tangible product (aka a scarf or blanket) will be a great boost to your self-esteem.  

Autumn at Rising Roads Recovery

Make fall the season you decide to embark on a path toward lasting sobriety. At Rising Roads, we offer our female clients a variety of addiction treatment programs that support their recovery and nurture their mind, body and soul. To learn more about how we can help you or someone you love – call us toll-free today: 866-746-1558.

Mental illness: What Women Wish They Knew as Teens

A recent article on Bustle.com asked seven women the question: “If you had the power to go back in time and address the misconceptions about mental illness you had as a teenager, what would you say?”

It’s a great question, especially given that it’s National Recovery Month, a month-long celebration dedicated to stopping the stigma, raising awareness and celebrating the many of you who are in recovery from a mental health illness and/or substance use disorder. 

Here’s a look at some of the responses we thought might resonate most with you: 

• Gabi wishes she understood that she wasn’t alone and that others were suffering just like she was. If only she knew this, she would have sought the help “before her illness become life-threatening,” she said.

• Tina would tell her teen self that it wasn’t her fault and she didn’t deserve it. 

• Deb wishes that she had a better understanding of the self-harm behaviors – so she could educate others who thought she was just being “dramatic” or that she’d “grow out of it.”  

•  Sarah says if only someone told her “mental health issues wasn’t something to be ashamed of” and that she was “good.” 

• Nicole would have liked to know that mental illness looks different in everyone – and “even over the course of a day in myself," she said.

What do you wish someone told you about mental illness and/or substance use disorder? In honor of Recovery Month, we encourage you to take the time this month to think about this question and to educate someone in your life about the hard work and rewards of recovery. 

Take Back Your Mental Health

At Rising Roads, our staff is here to help you or a special lady in your life recover from a co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder. Let us help you take back your physical and mental health. To learn more about our psychiatric consultations, call us today: 866-746-1558.

Ways to Take Part in Recovery Month

It’s National Recovery Month and there’s no better time to help raise awareness, stop the stigma against addiction and spread the message that treatment is effective and people do recover.

There are a number of ways that you can get involved this September – and why not? The goal, after all, is to celebrate those who have committed to recovery and who are working hard to build a new, healthy sober life – just like you!    

So what are you waiting for? Here are a few ways to get involved this Recovery Month: 

• Spread the word on social media: You can update your FB status to include your recovery date or post an image on Instagram that represents something you’re proud of now that you’re sober. Recoverymonth.gov also has banners, flyers and customizable posters for anyone to use to promote Recovery Month on social media.
• Attend an in-person or online event: Recoverymonth.gov keeps a running list of events that take place around the country so you can find an event near you or learn about local activities to support recovery efforts. National Recovery month activities range from walks and runs to concerts to cookouts and more. There are also webinars, online chats and live Tweeting. 
• Share your recovery story. Certainly you can share your story under the “Voices for Recovery” section on Recoverymonth.gov – but it doesn't have to be that formal. Just taking the time this month to share your recovery story with a friend or coworker or family member is a great way to start spreading awareness. Of course, how much you want to share is a personal decision. But by being visible and letting others know you’re in recovery, you may help someone else take the first step toward sobriety.

Celebrate Recovery Month With Us!
National Recovery Month is a positive way to celebrate the importance of recovery and it can also be a wake-up call for you or someone you love. If you or a special lady in your life needs addiction help, reach out today. To learn about our women’s addiction treatment programs, call: 866-746-1558.