Leslie Glass's Blog, page 238

12 Tips On Sleep In Early Recovery

Can’t sleep? Odds are, you’re not alone. Sleeping problems are very common in the early days, weeks and even months of recovery due to the post-acute withdrawal process. Your body must reestablish regular sleep cycles in the absence of alcohol and drugs. Most of these problems usually resolve themselves without medical treatment, but here are...

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Quiz: Test Your Recovery Knowledge

Recovery is complicated. Can you separate fact from fiction?

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Google Maps Adds Features for Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery

Google Maps, which is most often used to provide directions to a destination, will also now support people on the path to recovery from drug or alcohol addiction.

In a blog post, Google announced that it is launching two new tools on Google Maps that will help connect people to resources for drug and alcohol addiction recovery, as part of the company’s efforts in National Recovery Month.

The first new Google Maps feature is the Recovery Locator Tool, which marks more than 83,000 recovery support meetings including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, and SmartRecovery. Users will only have to put in their address to see the closest meetings, which take place across more than 33,000 locations.

The second new Google Maps feature is the Naloxone Locator Tool, which will reveal nearby establishments where the opioid overdose-reversal drug may be obtained without a prescription. Users will have to input “Naloxone near me” or “Narcan near me” in the search bar to bring up the list of locations, which already includes 20,000 pharmacies by CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens across 50 states. Google added that it will be adding local clinics and independent pharmacies to further expand the list, and will also publish more information regarding the availability and life-saving capabilities of Naloxone.

The new Google Maps tools were launched alongside the Recover Together website, where the Recovery Locator Tool and Naloxone Locator Tool are available in addition to other resources for recovery, treatment, and prevention.

More than 21 million Americans struggle with substance use, according to Google, with more than 130 people passing away daily in the United States due to opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fortunately, according to Google, last month saw an all-time high in  search interest for queries such as “rehab near me,” “addiction treatment near me,” and “how to help an addict.” Hopefully the new Google Maps features will play a significant part in the battle against drug and alcohol addiction.

The functions of Google Maps have significantly expanded beyond giving directions, with the platform now also providing disaster warnings, alerting when taxis are off-route, and predicting the crowdedness of a bus or train.

This content was originally published here.

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Purdue Pharma, maker of opioid painkiller OxyContin, files for bankruptcy

Purdue Pharma, the company that made billions selling the prescription painkiller OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in White Plains, New York, days after reaching a tentative settlement with many of the state and local governments suing it over the toll of opioids.

The filing was anticipated before and after the tentative deal, which could be worth up to US$12 billion over time, was struck.

READ MORE: Family behind OxyContin secretly wired $1 billion to themselves, New York finds

But legal battles still lie ahead for Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue, which is spending millions on legal costs as it defends itself in lawsuits from 2,600 government and other entities. About half the states have not signed onto the proposal. And several of them plan to object to the settlement in bankruptcy court and to continue litigation in other courts against members of the Sackler family, which owns the company. The family agreed to pay at least US$3 billion in the settlement plus contribute the company itself, which is to be reformed with its future profits going to the company’s creditors.

In a statement, the families of late company owners Mortimer and Raymond Sackler said they have “deep compassion for the victims of the opioid crisis” and believe the settlement framework “is an historic step toward providing critical resources that address a tragic public health situation.”

WATCH: Federal Election 2019: Singh says opioid crisis needs healthcare, not criminal justice response

Objections came over the amount of the deal, which some officials say will not reach close to the US$12 billion mark, and because it means the company won’t be found liable by a jury or judge.

Purdue chairman Miller said the company has not admitted wrongdoing and does not intend to. “The alternative is to not settle but instead to resume the litigation,” he said on a conference call with reporters. “The resumption of litigation would rapidly diminish all the resources of the company and would be lose-lose-lose all the way around. Whatever people might wish for is not on the table now.”

Because so many states balked at the settlement, it could complicate the bankruptcy process. The Sackler family members said they’re still trying to get more states to sign on.

WATCH: Toronto physician says Purdue Pharma lied about opioid safety

“We are hopeful that in time, those parties who are not yet supportive will ultimately shift their focus to the critical resources that the settlement provides to people and problems that need them,” they said.

Key issues that could be decided include whether the suits against the Sacklers in state courts will be able to move ahead, and what will happen to the company itself. Under the tentative settlement deal, it would continue to operate, but with profits used to pay for the settlement. Another option could be for a judge to order it be sold.

Court filings assert that members of the Sackler family were paid more than US$4 billion by Purdue from 2007 to 2018. Much of the family’s fortune is believed to be held outside the U.S., which could complicate lawsuits against the family over opioids.

A court filing by the New York Attorney General’s office on Friday contended that Sackler family members used Swiss and other hidden accounts to transfer US$1 billion to themselves. The discovery of the transfers bolsters several states’ claims that family members worked to shield its wealth because of the growing legal threats against them and Purdue.

The Sacklers have given money to cultural institutions around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution, New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s Tate Modern.

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This content was originally published here.

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Russell Brand: my life without drugs

The last time I thought about taking heroin was yesterday. I had received “an inconvenient truth” from a beautiful woman. It wasn’t about climate change – I’m not that ecologically switched on – she told me she was pregnant and it wasn’t mine. I had to take immediate action. I put Morrissey on in my car...

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Russell Brand: my life without drugs | Culture | The Guardian

The last time I thought about taking heroin was yesterday. I had received “an inconvenient truth” from a beautiful woman. It wasn’t about climate change – I’m not that ecologically switched on – she told me she was pregnant and it wasn’t mine.

I had to take immediate action. I put Morrissey on in my car as an external conduit for the surging melancholy, and as I wound my way through the neurotic Hollywood hills, the narrow lanes and tight bends were a material echo of the synaptic tangle where my thoughts stalled and jammed.

Morrissey, as ever, conducted a symphony, within and without and the tidal misery burgeoned. I am becoming possessed. The part of me that experienced the negative data, the self, is becoming overwhelmed, I can no longer see where I end and the pain begins. So now I have a choice.

I cannot accurately convey to you the efficiency of heroin in neutralising pain. It transforms a tight, white fist into a gentle, brown wave. From my first inhalation 15 years ago, it fumigated my private hell and lay me down in its hazy pastures and a bathroom floor in Hackney embraced me like a womb.

This shadow is darkly cast on the retina of my soul and whenever I am dislodged from comfort my focus falls there.

It is 10 years since I used drugs or drank alcohol and my life has improved immeasurably. I have a job, a house, a cat, good friendships and generally a bright outlook.

The price of this is constant vigilance because the disease of addiction is not rational. Recently for the purposes of a documentary on this subject I reviewed some footage of myself smoking heroin that my friend had shot as part of a typically exhibitionist attempt of mine to get clean.

I sit wasted and slumped with an unacceptable haircut against a wall in another Hackney flat (Hackney is starting to seem like part of the problem) inhaling fizzy, black snakes of smack off a scrap of crumpled foil. When I saw the tape a month or so ago, what is surprising is that my reaction is not one of gratitude for the positive changes I’ve experienced but envy at witnessing an earlier version of myself unencumbered by the burden of abstinence. I sat in a suite at the Savoy hotel, in privilege, resenting the woeful ratbag I once was, who, for all his problems, had drugs. That is obviously irrational.

The mentality and behaviour of drug addicts and alcoholics is wholly irrational until you understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and unless they have structured help they have no hope.

This is the reason I have started a fund within Comic Relief, Give It Up. I want to raise awareness of, and money for, abstinence-based recovery. It was Kevin Cahill’s idea, he is the bloke who runs Comic Relief. He called me when he read an article I wrote after Amy Winehouse died. Her death had a powerful impact on me I suppose because it was such an obvious shock, like watching someone for hours through a telescope, seeing them advance towards you, fist extended with the intention of punching you in the face. Even though I saw it coming, it still hurt when it eventually hit me.

What was so painful about Amy’s death is that I know that there is something I could have done. I could have passed on to her the solution that was freely given to me. Don’t pick up a drink or drug, one day at a time. It sounds so simple. It actually is simple but it isn’t easy: it requires incredible support and fastidious structuring. Not to mention that the whole infrastructure of abstinence based recovery is shrouded in necessary secrecy. There are support fellowships that are easy to find and open to anyone who needs them but they eschew promotion of any kind in order to preserve the purity of their purpose, which is for people with alcoholism and addiction to help one another stay clean and sober.

Without these fellowships I would take drugs. Because, even now, the condition persists. Drugs and alcohol are not my problem, reality is my problem, drugs and alcohol are my solution.

If this seems odd to you it is because you are not an alcoholic or a drug addict. You are likely one of the 90% of people who can drink and use drugs safely. I have friends who can smoke weed, swill gin, even do crack and then merrily get on with their lives. For me, this is not an option. I will relinquish all else to ride that buzz to oblivion. Even if it began as a timid glass of chardonnay on a ponce’s yacht, it would end with me necking the bottle, swimming to shore and sprinting to Bethnal Green in search of a crack house. I look to drugs and booze to fill up a hole in me; unchecked, the call of the wild is too strong. I still survey streets for signs of the subterranean escapes that used to provide my sanctuary. I still eye the shuffling subclass of junkies and dealers, invisibly gliding between doorways through the gutters. I see that dereliction can survive in opulence; the abundantly wealthy with destitution in their stare.

Spurred by Amy’s death, I’ve tried to salvage unwilling victims from the mayhem of the internal storm and I am always, always, just pulled inside myself. I have a friend so beautiful, so haunted by talent that you can barely look away from her, whose smile is such a treasure that I have often squandered my sanity for a moment in its glow. Her story is so galling that no one would condemn her for her dependency on illegal anesthesia, but now, even though her life is trying to turn around despite her, even though she has genuine opportunities for a new start, the gutter will not release its prey. The gutter is within. It is frustrating to watch. It is frustrating to love someone with this disease.

A friend of mine’s brother cannot stop drinking. He gets a few months of sobriety and his inner beauty, with the obstacles of his horrible drunken behaviour pushed aside by the presence of a programme, begins to radiate. His family bask relieved, in the joy of their returned loved one, his life gathers momentum but then he somehow forgets the price of this freedom, returns to his old way of thinking, picks up a drink and Mr Hyde is back in the saddle. Once more his brother’s face is gaunt and hopeless. His family blame themselves and wonder what they could have done differently, racking their minds for a perfect sentiment; wrapped up in the perfect sentence, a magic bullet to sear right through the toxic fortress that has incarcerated the person they love and restore them to sanity. The fact is, though, that they can’t, the sufferer must, of course, be a willing participant in their own recovery. They must not pick up a drink or drug, one day at a time. Just don’t pick up, that’s all.

It is difficult to feel sympathy for these people. It is difficult to regard some bawdy drunk and see them as sick and powerless. It is difficult to suffer the selfishness of a drug addict who will lie to you and steal from you and forgive them and offer them help. Can there be any other disease that renders its victims so unappealing? Would Great Ormond Street be so attractive a cause if its beds were riddled with obnoxious little criminals that had “brought it on themselves”?

Peter Hitchens is a vocal adversary of mine on this matter. He sees this condition as a matter of choice and the culprits as criminals who should go to prison. I know how he feels. I bet I have to deal with a lot more drug addicts than he does, let’s face it. I share my brain with one, and I can tell you firsthand, they are total fucking wankers. Where I differ from Peter is in my belief that if you regard alcoholics and drug addicts not as bad people but as sick people then we can help them to get better. By we, I mean other people who have the same problem but have found a way to live drug-and-alcohol-free lives. Guided by principles and traditions a programme has been founded that has worked miracles in millions of lives. Not just the alcoholics and addicts themselves but their families, their friends and of course society as a whole.

What we want to do with Give It Up is popularise a compassionate perception of drunks and addicts, and provide funding for places at treatment centres where they can get clean using these principles. Then, once they are drug-and-alcohol-free, to make sure they retain contact with the support that is available to keep them clean. I know that as you read this you either identify with it yourself or are reminded of someone who you love who cannot exercise control over substances. I want you to know that the help that was available to me, the help upon which my recovery still depends is available.

I wound down the hill in an alien land, Morrissey chanted lonely mantras, the pain quickly accumulated incalculably, and I began to weave the familiar tapestry that tells an old, old story. I think of places I could score. Off Santa Monica there’s a homeless man who I know uses gear. I could find him, buy him a bag if he takes me to score.

I leave him on the corner, a couple of rocks, a couple of $20 bags pressed into my sweaty palm. I get home, I pull out the foil, neatly torn. I break the bottom off a Martell miniature. I have cigarettes, using makes me need fags. I make a pipe for the rocks with the bottle. I lay a strip of foil on the counter to chase the brown. I pause to reflect and regret that I don’t know how to fix, only smoke, feeling inferior even in the manner of my using. I see the foil scorch. I hear the crackle from which crack gets it’s name. I feel the plastic fog hit the back of my yawning throat. Eyes up. Back relaxing, the bottle drops and the greedy bliss eats my pain. There is no girl, there is no tomorrow, there is nothing but the bilious kiss of the greedy bliss.

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. The phone rings and I half hope he’ll just let it ring out. It’s 4am in London. He’s asleep, he can’t hear the phone, he won’t pick up. I indicate left, heading to Santa Monica. The ringing stops, then the dry mouthed nocturnal mumble: “Hello. You all right mate?”

He picks up.

And for another day, thank God, I don’t have to.

• Red Nose Day is on Friday 15 March. Join the Fun Raisers at rednoseday.com

This content was originally published here.

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What Is the Best Diet for Mental Health?

Should you eat an apple—or a bag of Oreos? Go to McDonald’s—or the vegetarian restaurant on the corner?

When we make these everyday food choices, many of us think first of our physical health and appearance. But there’s another factor we may want to consider in picking foods: their impact on our mental health.

A growing body of research is discovering that food doesn’t just affect our waistline but also our moods, emotions, and even longer-term conditions like depression. Which makes sense, after all. Our brains are physical entities, running on the energy that we put into our bodies, affected by shifts in our hormones, blood sugar levels, and many other biological processes.

Although there are many unanswered questions, the research to date can give us some guidance when we’re hunting for an afternoon snack. What we know so far can be summed up, more or less, as this: Whole-food diets heavy on the fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed protein can lift our moods and protect us from depression, while too much junk food and sugar may put our mental health at risk.

One-third of adults in America eat fast food on a given day. Many of us see French fries and chocolate cake as treats to cheer us up when we’re feeling down. But perhaps our perspective on food needs an update. With a few simple dietary changes, you might be able to improve both your mind and your mood.

Can your diet protect you from depression?

A paper published this year in Psychosomatic Medicine offers one of the most up-to-date snapshots of diet and mental health—specifically, how diet might play a role in depression.

The research team scoured academic journals for experiments that had asked people to change their diets and had measured the effects. In all, they found 16 studies with nearly 46,000 participants from the United States, Australia, and Europe, ranging from ages 21 to 85.

The experiments were quite diverse, prescribing a variety of diets to boost nutrient intake, reduce fat intake, or encourage weight loss. One group went on a vegan diet, while others restricted calories; many people loaded up on fruits and vegetables while avoiding meat and processed foods. Some people attended nutrition classes together, while others got personalized counseling or simply took home a set of guidelines. They followed the diet for anywhere from a couple weeks to a few years.

The results? Overall, adopting a healthier diet did lead to reduced symptoms of depression—less hopelessness, trouble sleeping, and disconnection from others—compared to engaging in other self-improvement activities or going about life as usual.

“Including more non-processed foods, more whole foods—fruits, vegetables—is very beneficial in terms of your psychological well-being, particularly mood,” says Joseph Firth, the lead author of the paper and a research fellow at Western Sydney University.

But the results got more interesting when the researchers started to dig into the details, to see for whom and under what conditions our diet might keep the bad feelings at bay.

Who benefits most from a healthy diet?

First off, diet programs tended to work better for women. Why? Besides differences in hormones and metabolism, Firth conjectured, women seem to be in a better position to benefit. They’re more likely to be depressed, and, he says, they might have more discipline at following diets than men.

Also, the diet programs worked better if a dietary professional administered them—probably because the recommendations were sounder and the participants (believing in the dietitian’s authority) were more apt to follow them, Firth says. An earlier review of diet studies came to a similar conclusion.

One of the strongest studies in the collection suggested that diet could help people who were right in the midst of a major depressive episode. Researchers recruited 67 depressed people with poor diets, half of whom were instructed to follow a healthy, Mediterranean-style diet favoring whole grains, fruit and vegetables, legumes, low-fat dairy, nuts, fish, lean red meat, chicken, eggs, and olive oil while reducing sweets, refined grains, fried and fast food, processed meats, and sugary drinks. Across 12 weeks, they attended seven sessions with a dietitian who helped them set diet goals and stay motivated; they also received recipes, meal plans, and a hamper of food.

The other half attended sessions on a similar schedule. But rather than getting diet advice, they simply spent time with a research assistant who was trained to be supportive of them—talking about topics they were interested in, like sports and hobbies, or playing games with them for an hour.

Despite how beneficial social interaction is, the diet group fared better than the social support group. After 12 weeks, they had reduced their depression and anxiety more—and they were about four times more likely to experience a remission from their depression. The more they improved their diet, the more their depression lifted.


What about anxiety? In that particular study, anxiety did go down—but on average, across all 16 studies, healthier diets didn’t seem to make people less anxious. That actually strengthens the case that diet can directly affect depression, says Firth. If the results were simply due to people feeling proud and accomplished with their new healthy habits, you would expect them to feel better all around, including less anxious. The fact that only their symptoms of depression shifted means that something deeper may be going on. 


What could that be? We don’t know for sure yet, but there are a variety of biological processes that seem to be both influenced by diet and involved in mental health. It’s possible that certain diets may increase inflammation and oxidative stress, and disrupt our mitochondrial function and neuron production, in ways that could put us at risk for psychological problems. Our gut microbiome—the colony of microorganisms in our intestines that is increasingly being studied as a contributor to mental health—may interact with many of these processes. Also, says Firth, following a diet can bring us a sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy, as well as potential weight loss—which can influence our minds, too.

But there are still a lot of unknowns. As Professor Almudena Sanchez-Villegas of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria points out, the findings from diet experiments are not consistent. Many of the diet programs in Firth’s review didn’t help alleviate depression, nor did a newer one that also included multivitamins. Researchers have much more to explore.

Can your diet make you happy?

It’s one thing to say that our diet might protect us from depression and other mental health issues. But could the foods we eat actually move the needle toward more positive emotions and happiness?

In a 2017 experiment published in PLoS ONE, researchers recruited 171 young adults with a diet low in fruits and vegetables, which meant three or fewer servings per day. These 18 to 25 year olds were split into groups: One got a basket of carrots, apples, and kiwi or oranges and was told to eat an extra serving of fruit and an extra serving of vegetables per day; another didn’t change what they ate.

Every day for two weeks, they answered questions about their feelings, mood, and happiness. At the beginning and the end of the experiment, they also filled out surveys about their anxiety and depression.

The diet group only managed to add one extra serving of fruit and vegetables to their daily diet. But that made a difference: Compared to everyone else, they had more energy, curiosity, creativity, and motivation; and they felt more engaged and purposeful in their lives overall—a greater sense of flourishing.

Surprisingly, though, the diet didn’t seem to change their mood or their feelings of depression and anxiety. That might be because the experiment was so short, the authors believe; while diet can give us a positive boost pretty quickly, it’s possible that mental health problems take longer to show up.

“The accumulation of factors such as low vitality, reduced motivation, and poorer socio-emotional flourishing may precipitate the development of psychological ill-being over time,” write researcher Tamlin S. Conner and her colleagues.

Similarly, in a short pilot study from 2011, a Mediterranean diet seemed to boost people’s feelings of contentment—but didn’t improve their depression or anxiety.

Twenty-five women were surveyed on their feelings of depression, anxiety, anger, calm, and contentment. Some continued eating as usual for 10 days, while the rest adopted a Mediterranean diet (this time with no red meat). After another round of surveys, the researchers found that the women on the Mediterranean diet felt more content.

“The nutrients consumed in everyday diets are important for individuals’ mood,” write Laura McMillan and her colleagues.


Of course, this was a very small study—and the women may have simply felt satisfied about doing something good for their health. Indeed, in a few other studies, a healthy diet didn’t make people happier. For example, following a Mediterranean diet for 12 weeks didn’t seem to boost people’s mood, well-being, or sense of self-efficacy compared to receiving social support.

Despite how catchy it sounds, it might be too early to say that any particular diet is going to bring us happiness.

Eating for well-being

So, how should all this research inform our grocery list?

Most researchers are only willing to say that diet does seem to influence our mental health in some way, although they’re not sure exactly how. “There’s no real evidence to suggest that one diet works better than another,” says Firth.

However, the big picture is reasonably clear: Try to get enough fruits and vegetables—and avoid junk food.

Supporting that perspective, one paper reviewed the results of another 16 studies and found no differences between two relatively healthy diets. People who were eating a typical Western diet of fast food, salty snacks, desserts, and soft drinks became more depressed over time. But eating a classic healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables, seafood, and whole grains or a more Mediterranean diet—which includes lots of olive oil and more legumes, meat, dairy, and alcohol—both seemed to protect against depression.

Since many of the research findings are stronger for women, Firth does have one further tip.

“If you’re female, then you will benefit from adopting a healthier diet in general and you don’t need to worry about what type of specific diet you’re adopting,” he says. “If you’re a man and you’re not overweight, probably don’t bother.”

In other words, at least as far as our mental health goes, we can stop obsessing about having a perfectly consistent diet—or whether we should go paleo or keto—and instead focus on cultivating healthy but sustainable eating habits. That’s the area where Firth wants to see more research, too, to figure out how to help people make lifestyle changes that last.

“It’s more important to actually stick to any healthy diet than it is to try and go for some aspirational perfect one that’s ultimately unfeasible or disgusting for you to stick to,” he says.

This content was originally published here.

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Healthy Sleep In 7 Steps

Healthy Sleep is beneficial for everyone, but for people in recovery, it can make or break a rough period. 

The benefits sleep are enormous. To name a few, we have better mental and emotional health, an improvement in mood, increased alertness—that’s not even talking about the physical benefits. We need sleep because it lends itself to a smoother and more lasting recovery. However, often in early sobriety, it’s tough to find a good night’s sleep. All sleep is not equal, so we’ll talk about why healthy sleep is more than catching a few zzzs.

People in early recovery often have these sleep problems



Problems falling asleep Constant disturbances in the middle of the night Difficulty falling back to sleep Constant, nagging thoughts while trying to sleepFeeling exhausted in the morningNightmares Lengthy hours of sleep with no satisfaction



Here’s why it’s so hard to get healthy sleep in early recovery

Withdrawal. How many nights did you fall asleep with the help of substances or alcohol? Without them, your body has to relearn how to fall asleep on its own. It’s important learn how to establish these sleep cycles without the help of any medication, so how best to get started? 

Luckily there’s a solution: It’s called Sleep Hygiene, and it’s defined by the National Sleep Foundation:

“A variety of different practices and habits that are necessary to have good nighttime sleep quality and full daytime alertness” 

–National Sleep Foundation 

7 basic tips for to achieve healthy sleep

1. Turn it off. Get off the phone, computer, tablet, TV—whatever you use. Turn it off at least two hours prior to going to bed. 

2. Create a cave. Make sure your room is dark and cool. It’s important to eliminate any unnecessary lights that could disturb your sleep cycle. And don’t forget to cool down your room before heading to bed. No one likes waking up in the middle of the night to kick off sweaty blankets. 

3. No silence? No problem. If you can’t sleep in total silence or there’s noise that you just can’t control, invest in a white noise machine. Don’t fall asleep to the TV or your favorite streaming app. 

4. Cancel the caffeine. Limit or totally cut out mid-day caffeine. If you’re reaching for coffee after 3 in the afternoon, there’s a good chance it’ll keep you up at night. 

5. Exercise early. Exercise in the morning instead of the evening. It’ll get your heart pumping and give you energy for the day. 

6. Don’t stay up late. Do you have a bedtime? As elementary as it sounds, it helps you develop a better sleep routine. 

7. Log your sleep. If you’re really struggling to have a good night’s sleep, note the times you wake and an estimate of how long they lasted. Log nightmares or stressful dreams. Write down what you did before heading to bed and see if you pick up on any patterns. Discuss this with your counselor, sponsor, or trusted friends in recovery. 

Once your body and brain are used to a new routine, you’ll be surprised by how easy it is fall asleep and have a good night’s rest before you know it. Healthy sleep is important to a healthy recovery so take the time to figure out the best sleep hygiene for you. 

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Do You Have Questions About Meditation

Everybody has questions about meditation—it can be a tough concept to grasp. But it seems to be well worth the effort for many who choose to practice it. Yogi Andrew Santry talked to us about the positive effects that meditation has had on him, and his students. For those in addiction recovery, Santry teaches a special kind of yoga: Y12SR. This practice integrates the 12 Step principles into the classes, which may also improve mindfulness.

Questions About Meditation Abound

For many people, however, there is mystery surrounding how and when to meditate. Does it actually involve dropping everything to sit and zone out each time you feel anxious? To help us better understand, Andrew Santry answered our questions about meditation and how it influences his way of thinking each day. 

Meditation isn’t something that gets me through a thing. It’s more a regular practice which offers me a greater peace when I’m going through something. So, it’s not like a pill you take when you have a headache. It’s a practice that you live so that ‘headache’ isn’t as bad.

Andrew Santry

Meditation and Recovery

Mostly, I look into the spiritual principles of 12 Step Recovery and often turn those concepts into a meditation, so I can be more mindful in exploring principles. I can prepare my nervous system to be more receptive and to further deepen my understanding with breath and the meditation. So, some of those things are awareness, open-mindedness, compassion, love and kindness… Those are just a couple off the top of my head that I practice. 

Practice Makes Perfect

When I feel that sense of being overwhelmed, I remember the guided meditation practices. I can use that tool and rely on an alternate response method to lower that feeling of being overwhelmed. That way, I can count on a past meditation I’ve used and visualize putting those concepts into a box. Have them disappear and separate them from me, so they don’t have control over me. I might still feel like the world is moving too fast and everything is coming after me, but I don’t become overwhelmed by it. I recognize that this is an intense moment, but I am able to maintain who I am.  

Meditation Can Decrease Anxiety…

I have had a lot of anxiety in my past. So, if I’m around people—that’s my hardest thing to do, to interact with individuals. I’m good at working by myself. But around people I may start people-pleasing and I’ll get really anxious if I have multiple things to do during the day.  Like, if I have to meet someone for coffee, if I have to discuss a website, have to meet another person to interview, if I have to teach a yoga class and so-on. 

…And Help Tame Overwhelming Thoughts

And with that overwhelm meditation, I’m visualizing the box I mentioned before. Once I finally identified my tendency to blow things out of proportion, I go through the practice of meditation. I remember the box. I can visualize writing down the fear or worry, and placing it in the box. By acknowledging it I can remove it energetically from my being. Then I can close the box and make the box disappear. That process helps separate me from that negative energy from all of those things. I can do it for one, or I can do it for all of them. 

Creating an emotional cleansing tool allows me to move on

I don’t have to go through the meditation. Now that I’ve used this method a couple of times, the tool is now inside of me. So, I can be in the car and before I drive away, I can take a deep breath and remember that. I can kind of put those things in the box and go teach that class. 

Meditation starts with a breath anyone can do it

Meditation starts with just being aware of how your breath changes when you feel differently. When our nervous system responds a specific way to influences, it directly effects our breath. And that breath is also tied to differences with our digestive system, circulatory system, nervous system… We can reverse that by managing our breath. 

My blood vessels are constricting when my breath is becoming rapid and shallow. My eyes become dilated and my energy moves from my frontal cortex to my limbic system… I’m in this fight or flight reactionary mode because I feel threatened, I feel anxiety, I can recognize it. 

It’s like, “Okay. I can manage my breath. I can’t control anything else, but I can manage my breath and I can consciously take a deeper breath into the belly and then exhale slowly, maybe lengthening the exhale twice as much as the inhale.” The body often revolts at first because it recognizes this isn’t what it’s used to doing. 

We need to train our nervous system with our breath. And if you start there, almost anything is possible. 

Andrew Santry

Do it a couple of times and everything starts to soften because the breath can also control the nervous system. Although, the nervous system will generally control the breath unless we train it.

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7 Tips To Stay Focused In Recovery

How hard is it to stay focused in recovery? Let us count the ways. Ask anyone who’s been there, and you’ll find out that getting sober is just the first step to recovery. So many people hope that giving up their drug of choice will be enough recovery, and they are surprised when sobriety doesn’t last or doesn’t work.

Addiction is defined as a chronic progressive relapsing brain disease with both physical and psychological components.

The truth is recovery is both physical and psychological. That means you have to engage your body and your brain to stay focused long enough to develop new habits, new lifestyle, new relationships and that all important new attitude for recovery to work.

It’s an art form to stay focused in recovery

Sometimes sobriety feels simple and life is easy, but other times, it’s a daily epic battle to fight off triggers and cravings. Here are 7 tips to inspire you to stay focused on the masterpiece your recovery when you just don’t feel like it. 

1. Take it one day at a time 

Whether you’ve been in recovery for days or decades, it’s best to take everything one step at a time. Be grateful for every morning you wake up clear-headed and without a hangover and every evening you fall asleep without passing out or the room spinning. When you’re creating your goals, think about them in steps. Don’t get freaked out by the big picture because it doesn’t help to feel overwhelmed. 
 

2. Celebrate the milestones

Made it through the weekend without picking up or picking a fight? Didn’t lash out at relatives at a holiday party? Got a job? Reaching the biggest and smallest goals are all cause for celebration. Remember you’re on a journey of change. So every time you cross a milestone, acknowledge it and celebrate. It’s another victory to journal about, or cross off that list.  
 

3. Track your results  

Whether you have a journal, a calendar, a list, an app on your phone—whatever—track your successes. Looking back will help you stay focused when things get tough. Really take in how much time and effort has gone into your recovery and how much that means to you. When you’re having an off day check your progress and remember where you started and how far you’ve come. 

4. Have a plan  

Plans are what make things happen. So, what steps will you take to meet your goals? Who’s on the list of people that will help you make it there? What resources will you need? Make plans for how to make new recovery friends, get healthy, learn a new skill, relapse prevention plan, and a plan for anything else you can think of. Need to find a job? Make a plan for how to do that starting with what needs to be done like a resume to what contacts or websites can help you find what you’re looking for.  

5. Keep reaching out to your support systems 

You’ve made sober friends at meetings, or through other people. It’s important to have phone relationships with these people AND see them in person! You have your sober community to help you through tough times, use them. You may have a therapist. All these resources should be used regularly, but don’t forget to use them when the going gets tough. If you’re in contact, they’ll reach out, too, if they feel worried or sense that something is wrong.  

6. Go to meetings/ Don’t skip meeting  

Just like in number 5, it’s so important to have those places to go to find help. Meetings make a great distraction to help you get out of your own head, help other people and the opportunity to share what’s on your mind. Find a way to talk things out with someone else who you know will listen. Talking things out will help you make discoveries that you may not have when just thinking things through. Sometimes, if you’re stuck in your thoughts, they can turn into a merry-go-round of doom.  

7. Believe in yourself 

You can get yourself out and back on the right path. Relapse is common, so don’t beat yourself up over it if it happens and just let yourself stay in those bad, dangerous habits. Try your best to keep from relapsing because returning to those old ways isn’t worth it. So, believe in yourself and what you can do. Remember that you are not alone. 

No matter what you’re dealing with that may be causing you to feel like giving up, remember what it was like coming in. Take this disease of addiction seriously and remember that it wants you drinking, using or dead. As much as it is a disease, there’s also the choice of whether or not to treat the disease every day. Remember the positives, use your networks and give yourself the best chance possible to succeed. 

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