What You Need to Know About Orthorexia

Gluten free, vegan, clean eating – we’re living in a society where it’s almost trendy to fixate on the foods that we eat. And while proper nutrition is a crucial part of your recovery and overall wellness, it’s also important to understand the dangers of making eating healthy a new and unhealthy obsession.  

Perhaps the biggest danger is putting yourself at risk of orthorexia, defined as a “pathological obsession with proper nutrition,” including strict avoidance of food believed to be unhealthy or impure. While not currently recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, orthorexia can lead to severely restrictive food choices – both in variety and calories – that can result in physical and mental health consequences, explain experts from the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). 

Recognizing the Signs of Orthorexia

People with orthorexia typically have underlying motivations for eating healthy, including safety from poor health, compulsion for complete control, escape from fears, wanting to be thin, improving self-esteem, searching for spirituality through food, and using food to create an identity, notes the NEDA. Answering "yes" to the following questions can signal the need to get help: 

• Do you wish that occasionally you could just eat and not worry about food quality?
• Do you ever wish you could spend less time on food and more time living and loving?
• Does it seem beyond your ability to eat a meal prepared with love by someone else – one single meal – and not try to control what is served?
• Are you constantly looking for ways foods are unhealthy for you?
• Do love, joy, play and creativity take a back seat to following the perfect diet?
• Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
• Do you feel in control when you stick to the “correct” diet?
• Have you put yourself on a nutritional pedestal and wonder how others can possibly eat the foods they eat? 

Nutritional Guidance at Rising Roads

As part of our holistic approach to addiction rehab, we offer weekly nutrition courses, in addition to shopping preparation and cooking classes. At Rising Roads Recovery, we aim to fix old patterns and replace them with a healthy relationship with food. If the client feels she needs additional help from our Registered Dietician, additional support will be arranged. To learn more, call today: 866-746-1558.

Yoga and Your Mental Health

Yoga is a great addition to recovery treatment. It teaches meditation, calmness and inner strength and it’s also been linked to improved sleep, stronger immune systems and increased energy. Mounting research is also showing the healing power of yoga when it comes to your mental health. 

In fact, Newsweek recently ran an article discussing the growing body of evidence that suggests how this ancient practice can play a role in anxiety and depression, eating disorders and PTSD – all mental health conditions that impact many women suffering from substance use disorder. 

Here’s a summary of some of the findings highlighted in the article: 

• Eating disorders: Yoga can help show you how your body can work for (rather against) you. One study found that those who participated in a yoga class designed to target eating disorder symptoms experienced “a significantly lower negative effect before meals compared to the group that did not practice yoga,” noted Newsweek. The participants also felt calmer and in more control of their bodies. 
• Anxiety and depression: A 2016 University of Pennsylvania study found a decrease in depression and anxiety among those with major depressive disorder who practiced Sudarshan Kriya yoga (a cyclical controlled breathing practice). "It teaches clients that they have control of their stress reaction, gives them a coping skill for when they are overwhelmed, gives them experience in practicing calming down which is helpful for times of distress," Erin Wiley, a clinical psychotherapist in Ohio, told Newsweek.
• PTSD: A study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress found a 12-week session of yoga improved the lives of women with PTSD, helping them to calm themselves down when distressed. "This leads to lower incidence of drug and alcohol abuse, or other self-medicating behaviors," Wiley told Newsweek.

Yoga in Addiction Recovery 

The majority of the women who come to us have a diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety, in addition to their addiction diagnosis. Our yoga program can help manage these or other co-occurring mental health conditions. To learn more about our programs, call today: 866-746-1558. 

Lessons From a Mom Who Was Addicted to Pills

A year ago, stay-at-home mom to two young boys Jen Simon revealed to her friends, family and the world that she was addicted to pills, including opioids (like Percocet) and benzodiazepines (like Xanax). In fact, for five years she says she “didn’t know how to function without pills; worse, I didn’t know how to parent without them.” 

Her essay, entitled “I’m a stay-at-home mom. I’m an addict,” was first published in the Washington Post before it went viral and was picked up by numerous media outlets. 

For Simon, who began taking Percocet’s to dull the insurmountable pain of her periods after giving birth, the past year was filled with many lessons. 

Here’s a look at a few that might help you or someone you love, too: 

• You’re not alone. Simon says that not a week goes by without a new message from a woman struggling with addiction. She even began a secret Facebook group comprised of moms who are struggling with or overcoming addiction. “Being a woman or a mother doesn’t preclude someone from becoming an addict,” she writes. “Addiction crosses socio-economic, race, age, sexuality and gender lines; there is no immunity from the disease.”
• Getting help is brave. Simon feared negative reactions – especially in today’s age of “mommy wars” when we are judged for nearly every way we parent, she writes – but the opposite happened. “People applauded my ability to get help and my courage in stepping forward.” 
• You’re stronger than you think. Recovery isn’t easy and there will be plenty of times where life without drugs or alcohol seems impossible – but it isn't. “I am strong. I am brave. I am a mom. And I am no longer addicted to pills,” she writes. 

Women and Addiction Recovery
At Rising Roads Recovery, we know that every woman who comes to us is incredibly unique and needs to be treated that way. One size does not fit all – and one future does not work for everyone. To learn more about our addiction treatment programs, call 866-746-1558. 

Study: American Women Drinking More Alcohol

High-risk drinking – defined as having four or more drinks per day at least once a week, every week, for a year, and five or more for men – is on the rise in America. And ladies as well as adults over age 65 are most at risk, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry. 

Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism compared the self-reported drinking habits of two groups: more than 43,000 adults from 2001-2002, and more than 36,000 adults from 2012-2013. 

Here is a summary of the findings:

• The number of Americans who said they drank alcohol in the last year increased 11%. 
• Alcohol use disorders increased nearly 50%.
• High-risk drinking increased almost 30%.
• For women, high-risk drinking increased close to 60%, and alcohol use disorder increased nearly 84%.
• For men, high-risk drinking increased 15% and alcohol use disorder increased close to 35%.
• For adults 65 and older, high-risk drinking increased 65% and alcohol use disorders increased close to 107%.

Researchers are calling the drinking levels in the U.S. a "public health crisis," yet exactly what's causing these high levels remains unclear. Some theories include rising numbers of women in the workforce, stress and the fact that it has become more acceptable for women to drink in similar ways as men, the researchers note. 

Spotting the Signs of Alcoholism
According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcohol use disorder includes the following four symptoms:  

• Craving: a strong need or urge to drink.
• Loss of control: not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun.
• Physical dependence: withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety, after stopping drinking.
• Tolerance: the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get “high.”

Alcohol Abuse Treatment for Women 

Rising Roads Recovery is dedicated to helping women who are struggling with alcohol use disorder and/or a co-occurring mental disorder. Our treatment center was created to inspire women to thrive in recovery. To learn more, call today: 866-746-1558.

Women and Smartphone Addiction

It’s not too surprising that America is in the midst of a so-called “smartphone epidemic” — Americans check their cellphones or mobile devices over 9 billion times per day. And 50 percent also check their phones in the middle of the night, according to Forbes.com.

More and more research is showing that women are particularly prone to smartphone addiction and the personal, social and workplace problems that follow suit.  According to studies, “constantly” checking your phones can lead to higher levels of the following mental health conditions, which may already be a struggle as many of them are also linked to substance use disorder:

• Depression
• Social isolation
• Social anxiety
• Stress
• Low self-esteem
• Sleep problems

The first step in preventing the negative health effects of smartphone addiction is to recognize the warning signs, including:

• You panic when you can’t find your phone. 
• Your vision is fading and your head hurts. 
• You use your phone when driving.
• You get phantom vibrations. 
• You’re not sleeping well. 
• You’re getting a sore neck and poor posture. 

Smart Steps to Set Limits on Your Smartphone 

Getting your smartphone use under control is important for your emotional health and recovery. Here are some everyday ways to scale back: 

• Pay attention to your habits. In particular, track how much time you spend on your phone. If you think you might need to scale back, consider downloading one of the many apps that let you lock yourself out of your phone if you exceed a pre-set limit. 
• Put your phone away during social times. Staring at your phone while spending time with loved ones isn’t the best way to form bonds -- but putting it away will help curb your use and allow you to devote your full attention to friends and family. 
• Make your bedroom a no-phone zone. And this includes charging your phone bedside. The blue-hued light can interfere with your sleep cycle as it prevents your brain from releasing sleep-inducing melatonin. 

Life Skills at Rising Roads

As part of our addiction treatment for women, we include ‘life skills’ related groups so clients are equipped to handle the temptations and stress that go along with re-entering society after rehab. To learn more, call today: 866-746-1558. 

Keeping Anger at Bay

Getting a handle on your emotions is hard for everyone — and you likely know that it’s even more difficult when you’re also trying to recover from alcohol or drug abuse. For example, if left unrecognized and/or uncontrolled, anger can hold you back from moving ahead in recovery. 

For one, it can lead to relapse. Uncontrolled anger can also jeopardize your relationships as well as your physical and mental health. Headaches, insomnia and digestive issues have all been linked to pent-up anger. This is especially worrisome, when you consider the fact that a substance use disorder can cause these issues as well.

While you never want to avoid or suppress anger, you do want to make sure it’s not controlling you and your actions. These tips can help.

• Keep a log. This can help you identify your anger triggers and make you more aware of how you think, feel and act in angry situations. For example: What are the signs that you are becoming angry? Do you rattle your words off in rapid-fire or become exceedingly sarcastic? What causes you to become angry? Who were you with? Were you lonely, stressed, exhausted, hungry or scared? 
• Postpone your anger. The next time you find yourself becoming angry, count to 10 or to 20 or to 30 before you speak or take action. Allowing some time to pass will help you calm down so you can act rationally rather than emotionally. 
• Try relaxation techniques. This can include deep breathing, listening to soothing music, taking a hot bath, meditation – whatever helps you calm the physical sensations (increased heart rate, tightness in the chest, feeling hot or flushed, etc.) associated with anger.
• Find a healthy distraction. The idea is to prevent your thoughts from feeding your anger, and this could be as simple as thinking about something that makes you happy or relaxed. 
• Do something incompatible with anger. By embracing a loved one or petting your dog, you can displace anger with more positive feelings. 
• Watch for signs of depression. Anger is often a sign that you're hurting inside. In fact, many experts define depression as “anger turned inward.” Many co-occurring mental conditions, including depression and anxiety, can certainly cause unhealthy levels of anger. In these cases, it’s essential to address the root of the anger problem along with the anger itself.

Anger Management for Women 

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, call today: 866-746-1558. 

Why Women May Be More Prone to Drug Abuse

Women are among the fastest-growing segments of drug users in the United States — and they may even be more prone to addiction than men, according to an article in U.S. News & World Report. 

Here’s a summary of some of the reasons listed in the article: 

• Women are more vulnerable to mental illness. And mental disorders, including depression, eating disorders, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, have been linked to an increased risk of substance use disorders. 
• Women have more chronic pain. The result: greater susceptibility to opiate and prescription drug abuse. In fact, women are given higher doses and for longer periods of time than men -- and they become dependent more quickly, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
• Women have higher incidents of trauma, discrimination and stress. These are all intertwined with addiction. As many as 80 percent of women seeking treatment for drug abuse report lifetime histories of sexual and/or physical assault, according to studies. Women are also more likely to experience gender discrimination – and this is linked to higher stress, which is also a risk factor of substance abuse. 
•  Women tend to develop addictions faster. And they often enter into treatment programs with more severe dependence than men.

Gender Differences in Substance Abuse

Luckily, more and more research is focusing on the differences between women and men when it comes to addiction. These findings can only help women get the treatment they need and deserve. 

Here are a few more telling facts about women and drug abuse, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse:

• Women use smaller amounts of certain drugs for less time before they become addicted.
• Women may have more drug cravings and be more likely to relapse after treatment. 
• Sex hormones can make women more sensitive to the effects of some drugs.
• Women may experience more physical effects on their heart and blood vessels.
• Women may be more likely to have panic attacks, anxiety or depression.

Women and Addiction Recovery

At Rising Roads Recovery, we know that every woman who comes to us is incredibly unique and needs to be treated that way. One size does not fit all – and one future does not work for everyone. To learn more, call 866-746-1558.