Learning to Overcome Addiction Part 1

Learning to Overcome Addiction    Part 1  

This is a 4 part blog, dedicated to helping you overcome addiction. 

Look at your addiction and compile a list of all the harmful things that the addiction has caused in your life. This can be very disheartening, but seeing the ways that drugs have affected all parts of your life can help you realize that it is time for a change. Get a pen and a notebook and write down all the negative ways that addiction has controlled your life, health, friendships, religion, family, and appearance.



List the ways the addiction has hurt you personally but also mentally.  Are you ashamed or embarrassed  about your addiction? This is a common feeling that can be accompanied by depression and anxiety.



How has the addiction to drugs or alcohol affected your relationships with other people? Has it prevented you from perusing a relationship that you have wanted to peruse?


List the ways in which the addiction has hurt you physically and how it has affected your health in general . Have you ever or do you now had any illness or illnesses that are a direct or indirect result from your addiction.

Has your addiction taken a toll on you financially?
  As we fall deeper into addiction it can take a toll on our financial standings and bank accounts. List the time and money that is spent on perusing the drugs, paying for the drugs, picking them up and waiting for them to arrive. Take into account not only the financial toll but also the time it took to secure the drugs.

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Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs    

This service is dedicated to those in need of a Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program for Addiction.  

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Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs

Dual Diagnosis treatment programs are tailor made to specifically address the co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders. Many of the dual diagnosis treatment centers treat the individual using an integrated approach working with both the psychological and alcohol or drug dependency. Dual Diagnosis treatment programs are a relatively new approach to treat addiction and has gained acceptance and significant results in treatment co-occurring substance disorders.

Facts

The need for dual diagnosis treatment programs is growing as we discover that there is an underlying condition that needs to be handled at the same time while treating the addiction problem.

There is significant evidence that shows that almost one third of alcohol abusers and almost half of all drug addicts have a co-occurring underlying disorder.

If we look at the general population, persons with a psychological disorder are twice as likely to self medicate and developed either an addiction to alcohol or drugs.

Dual diagnosis patients will have a harder time in dealing with addiction than patients that do not have a co-occurring mental disorder. Individuals who have a mental illness and a co-occurring substance disorder have higher rates of suicide and homelessness.

Brief history of Dual diagnosis treatment programs



Dual diagnosis treatment interventions and "integrated" programs that truly adapted to the needs of severely mentally ill chemical abusers (MICA) began in 1984 (Gigliotti,1986, Sciacca 1987a,1987b) in a New York State outpatient psychiatric facility. In 1985 these integrated treatment programs were implemented across multiple program sites (Sciacca,1987b). Concurrently, treatment and program elements were taught through training seminars in New York as well as nationally. Early articles by Gigliotti, 1986 and Sciacca, 1987a, 1987b, outlined these processes and documented their starting dates. In September, 1986, the New York State (NYS) Commission on Quality of Care (CQC) released the findings of eighteen months of research. Its report (Sundram, Platt, Cashen, 1986) described the detachment and downward spiral of dually diagnosed consumers who were bounced among different systems with " no definitive locus of responsibility." As a result, Governor Cuomo designated the NYS Office of Mental Health as the lead agency responsible for coordinating collective efforts for this population. CQC proceeded to visit the dual diagnosis programs developed in 1984, and declared the treatment interventions, the training, and integrated programs to be positive solutions to the dilemmas (Gigliotti, 1986).

Form and function

For a client to succeed in a dual diagnosis program there has to be self-motivation and a desire to get better. The doctors and treatment teams must be able to work together seamlessly through a coordinated treatment approach without having to consult different departments. The approach only works through a unified effort and a co-joined treatment team.

What to look for in a dual diagnosis program

While searching for a dual diagnosis treatment program make sure that the center has all the facts regarding the client. Many times it is necessary to "wipe the slate clean", meaning that a client may need to come off of all medications first before continuing their current medication regiment. Many addicts have been put on medication by their family doctor or psychiatrist without disclosing the fact that there has been drug usage going on in the present time. Once the client has been clean and stable for 30 or so days we really see the real person and know exactly what is going on with the patient. It is at this point in treatment that a determination is made if there is a need for medications to handle the underlying addiction problem.





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Dual Diagnosis treatment programs will help you regain your life back. give us a call our counselors are wanting to help you find the best Dual diagnosis rehab center and help you start your journey.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs help line is here to assist you. We will guide you every step of the way. Our trained and certified counselors have helped thousands of people just like you enter into a new life free of drugs or alcohol. The first step is the hardest to take, admitting that we are powerless and need help to handle the underlying addiction that has been holding us back from the life we deserve. Let your addiction become the past.  Give one of our counselors a call    we are here for you 24 hours a day 7 days a week.



 Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs Help Line will assist you in finding the right Treatment Program for your addiction. 1-800-513-5423

How do I talk to my daughter about addiction?

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Putting Addiction Into Context

Teenage girls see addiction everywhere these days: movies, pop songs and shows like “Breaking Bad” and “Weeds” make addiction seem cool. Teens can develop behavioral or chemical substance problems, but teen girl addiction risks tend to be highest for prescription drugs, sex, exercise, or the internet. This means it is now more important than ever for you to educate your daughter about the negative effects of addiction.

Make sure your voice is heard. Here are three ways to help you make sure your daughter knows that addiction is anything but cool.

1. Talk openly about the consequences and risks of addiction.

Take the time to talk to your daughter about the consequences of addiction. Remind her that addiction can jeopardize her education and career opportunities, put her in jail or prison, and cause health problems or even death.

If you have a family history of addiction or your daughter tends to be a thrill-seeker, she may be higher-risk for addictive behavior. Emphasize how addiction has negatively affected your family in the past and tell her about the warning signs of addiction. This will help her to be able to recognize addictive behavior in both others and herself. While family addiction recovery is possible, try to prevent addiction from being in a threat in the first place.

2. Discuss the dangers of prescription drugs.
Many teens opt for prescription drugs because they believe the legal consequences and health risks are lower than those of street drugs. Unfortunately, this isn’t true: not only can your daughter still be prosecuted, but she also isn’t any safer if she’s abusing prescription drugs. Between 1999 and 2012, deaths caused by prescription painkillers tripled.

Keep in mind that prescription drugs are often the easiest for your daughter to obtain; almost every household has a prescription sleeping aid or painkiller in the medicine cabinet. So make it clear that it’s not okay to abuse a medication just because you have a prescription for it.

3. Don’t overlook “less serious” addictions; remind your daughter that all addictions are serious.

It’s a mistake to downplay some types of addiction. You may prefer that your daughter spend four hours per night on Facebook rather than spend that time getting high, but remember that addictive behavior is often repeated. One kind of addiction can easily lead to others, so it’s important to highlight the dangers of any kind of addictive behavior, not just drug and alcohol abuse.

This means that you should look beyond drug use: social media, sex and exercise are all common addictions of troubled teen girls. For example, if your daughter compulsively checks her social media accounts and experiences anxiety or mood swings if she can’t check them, she may be showing signs of addiction.

Opening Up The Conversation

One final note on talking to your daughter about addiction: Remember to make the conversation a two-way street, not a lecture. Your daughter will be more receptive if you encourage her to share her own opinions and to provide a non-judgmental, listening ear. Further, be sure that you are not engaging in enabling behaviors around addiction. If you suspect that your daughter already has a problem, seek professional help from a licensed clinical psychologist or family counselor. http://www.freemyaddiction.com/



Resource link

Addiction Vs. Recovery

Addiction Vs. Recovery

You can recover from addiction. This is a public service website meant to help you or a loved one overcome addiction. It is based on independent and verified medical research.

You can use this site in a few ways.

• Decide if you have an addiction.
• Learn about the genetics of addiction.
• Read about alcohol, tranquilizers, marijuana, cocaine, and opiates.
• Learn relapse prevention skills that will improve your chances of success.
• Learn how to help a family member who has an addiction.

You are not alone. Many people have overcome addiction and are now enjoying a better life. It can be done. You too can do it.

What is Addiction? 

A substance addiction meets two criteria:

1. You have difficulty controlling how much you use or how long you use. For example, one drink leads to more drinks, or one line of cocaine leads to more.
2. You continue to use even though it has negative consequences to your life. For example, you continue to drink even though it has hurt your relationships.

Those two criteria define all addictions. They are true for alcohol and drug addiction, but they're also true for gambling addiction, eating disorders, and sexual addiction.

There are different stages of addictions. The late stage is the non-functioning addict. They've lost their job and have to use every day. It's what people think addiction is like, but that stereotype is rare.

The early stage is the functioning addict. They still have a job and their relationships are intact, but their life is suffering because of their addiction. That is the most common scenario. You don't have to suffer major losses to have an addiction.

The consequences of addiction get worse over time. Addiction is a progressive disease. It's never easy to quit. But if you've already suffered negative consequences and don't want them to get worse, there's never a better time to quit than now.

If you need help with addiction and are ready for recovery, give us a call at 1-800-513-5423 today. www.drugrehabservices.com

resource link 

Why Do People Binge Drink

Why Do People Binge Drink

To speak with a counselor about binge drinking, click HERE or call 1-800-513-5423 now. 

Binge drinking has been defined as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL. This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men…in about 2 hours. However, binge drinking can generally be understood as drinking 5 or more alcoholic drinks on the same occasion, on at least one day in the past 30 days.

So, if you or someone you care about is binge drinking…what can you do about it? Here, we review where binge drinking started for one of our writers, a recovering alcoholic. And we review how/why it can progress into alcoholism in many cases. Then, we offer some suggestions for how to get help and invite your questions about binge or problem drinking at the end.

Alcoholism: How Did We Get Here? Part Two

The disease of alcoholism really took off after I got out of college, as I raced like mad into my 20′s. Maybe yours did, too. I prided myself at being able to keep up with the guys, at being able to drink  them under the table. In reality, I was starting to build up a tolerance for alcohol, part of the progressive nature of the disease.

But let’s face it, for a while at least, binge drinking was lots of fun. It loosens any inhibitions we may have, enabling us to do things we wouldn't ordinarily do. We talked more and danced better, we laughed harder and more often. You might even say, we had a blast. But sometimes these loosened inhibitions led us into trouble, which happened more than I’d like to admit.

The Chemistry Of Drinking (Too Much)

Part of the reason that people binge drink is that alcohol increases the release of dopamine, the feel good hormone, into your brain. But during heavier drinking, a larger amount of dopamine is released, blocking those negative emotions of anxiety, stress, fear, and insecurities. Which can lead to “risky sexual behavior, criminal activity, fighting and other violence, making inappropriate comments to friends, family or co-workers, the use of other drugs to feel even higher, and driving under the influence. If you experience any of these symptoms while drinking, you may be abusing the substance to feel good about yourself.”

David DiSalvo, a science writer for Forbes Magazine, says that alcohol tricks you into thinking that it’s actually making you feel great, but over time, the dopamine affect diminishes until it’s almost nonexistent.

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So where does that diminishment in euphoric effect take us? For me and for many others, it meant more and more drinking. When a therapist, who I saw in my late 20′s, told me I drank too much and should stop, I stopped seeing the therapist, not the drinking, after just two appointments. I dropped that buzz-killer faster than I could down a bottle of beer. And where did it lead me? To 12 more years of trying to control my alcohol consumption. A feat that grew harder to handle as time went on.

Regular Drinking Can Increase Your Tolerance

The National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) states that, “Alcohol tolerance is increased by regular drinking. This reduced sensitivity requires that higher quantities of alcohol be consumed in order to achieve the same effects as before tolerance was established. Alcohol tolerance may lead to (or be a sign of) alcohol dependency.”

In other words, in order to get the same buzzed effect that most alcoholics are seeking, and an easy thing to achieve when you first started drinking, it soon begins to take more quantities of alcohol to get that same euphoric feeling that we crave. People can become alcoholics over time simply by chasing the buzz, increasing alcohol tolerance, even to the point of developing alcohol dependence.

When It Becomes Difficult To Stop…

We usually surround ourselves with like-minded people who drink as much as we do, or more, and chose partners who match our drinking or who watch our disease progress, trying to control it for us. Before I got married, I had strong inklings about my disease, but chose to ignore them and stay in denial. I married a man who drank as much as me, but when I had a baby (and by the way, I couldn't make it through the nine months without alcohol), my denial was getting chipped away and I started making rules for myself. I would never drink before 5 pm (except on vacation) or never on Tuesdays, or on Thursdays, when that didn't work. As the journalist Christopher Hitchens once said, “Making rules about drinking can be the sign of an alcoholic.”

I couldn't pass by a liquor store without feeling a tug on my steering wheel. Or attend a social event without having a drink before arriving. You know, to make me feel more sociable. I thought about drinking all day, until that 5:00-inner-whistle blew, giving me permission to have my first. Bottom line was, I had to drink. Until the pain of knowing who and what I was, seemed greater than the pain of stopping.

Which I finally did.

Things To Remember If You Drink Regularly

As Caroline Knapp said, in her memoir, Drinking: A Love Story, “For a long time, when it’s working, the drink feels like a path to a kind of self-enlightenment, something that turns us into the person we wish to be, or the person we think we are. In some ways the dynamic is simple: alcohol makes everything better, until it makes everything worse.”

So remember:

When you first start drinking, you’ll probably think it’s fun. The release of dopamine in your brain makes you feel that way.
The more you drink, the harder it is to get that initial feeling of euphoria. You start building a tolerance to alcohol.
If you have to make rules to control your drinking, then you probably have a problem, and should seek some help.
Where Alcoholics Can Go For Help: 5 Tips

1. Take a self-assessment test for alcohol problems.

How can you tell if you have an alcohol problem? If you think you have a drinking problem, chances are you probably do. It might be helpful to take this self-test issued by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in order to identify possible alcoholism.

2. Seek out support groups.

If the test leans towards a problem, attending a 12-step meeting like A.A., SMART Recovery, or Rational Recovery may be good places to go next. Try a few different meetings before making a decision which one is best for you.

3. Seek one-on-one professional help.

Talking to a psychologist, therapist or counselor will also help. The American Psychological Association operates a “Find a Therapist” directory on their website. It’s a good place to start.

4. Look into treatment centers that treat alcoholism.

Many mental health clinics offer intensive outpatient programs, often referred to as IOPs, for those seeking help for alcohol and substance abuse. While residential rehab may work for some, other people find that a treatment center is the best option for them.

5. Make sure the family is treated.

And lastly, if someone’s else’s drinking troubles you, attending an Al-Anon meeting might be helpful. The CRAFT model for intervention, which requires family participation and training is also helpful.

Resource link

Yoga in Recovery

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 Yoga employs a broad approach that focuses on teaching people a new lifestyle, way of thinking, and way of being in the world. The main emphasis is upon general well-being. Although yoga is not considered a therapy for a specific illnesses, it has been shown to help in a variety of conditions.


Self-Discovery


   Yoga can be used to help people become aware of themselves on both a physical and psychological level. This allows people to take early action, such as improving posture, when discomfort is first noticed.
People who study yoga learn to relax and they can use the technique whenever pain appears. Practicing yoga can give chronic pain sufferers useful tools to actively cope with their pain and to help counter their feelings of helplessness and depression.


Self-Development


   One of the common techniques used in yoga is breathing through one nostril at a time. Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies have shown this type of breathing, through one nostril, results in increased activity on the opposite side of the brain. Some experts have suggested that the regular practice of breathing through one nostril may help improve communication between the right and left side of the brain.
Yoga can enhance a persons cognitive performance, a study of 23 men found that breathing through one nostril resulted in better performance of tasks associated with the opposite side of the brain. Other studies show this increased brain activity is associated with better performance.


Moodiness and Energy


   Virtually everyone who participates in yoga over a period of time reports a more positive outlook and increased energy level. A British study of 71 healthy volunteers aged 21 to 76 found that a 30 minute program of yogic stretching and breathing exercises was simple to learn and resulted in a “markedly invigorating” effect on perceptions of both mental and physical energy and improved mood.
In a study that compared relaxation, visualization and yoga. It was found that the yoga group had a significantly greater increase of mental and physical energy and an increased feeling of alertness and enthusiasm over the other groups. Relaxation tends to make people more sleepy and sluggish after a session, and visualization seemed to make them more sluggish and less content.


Yoga and Mental Well-being


   People that practice yoga seem to experience a number of factors that results in a profound effect on their mental health.


1. Reducing Tension


   People who practice yoga speak of “freeing the mind, calming the spirit or steadying the mind." from mental disturbances,” reduction of nervousness, irritability and confusion, depression and mental fatigue are some of the benefits experienced. One experiences a relief from the pressure of his “compulsions.”
The extent to which these benefits may be expected will depend in part upon whether or not the person can approach and participate in them willingly and wholeheartedly.


2. Restoration Of Flexibility


  “The positive benefits from a full round of yogic exercises may be described as renewal of mental quickness. Both mood and capacity for alertness, attentiveness and willingness to tackle problems revive. A person may not be able to reignite enthusiasm late in a working day; early morning, or even noonday, efforts to recharge mental energies can ignite a full measure of willingness. Traditional phrases, such as restored “spiritual vitality,” intend to convey the complex idea of mental spryness, agreeableness, resiliency, and feelings of confidence and self-sufficiency. Some even testify to attaining feelings of buoyancy and euphoria; these then provide a background or mood of well-being and assurance such that one naturally more fully enjoys both his ability and the worthiness of being more tolerant and generous.”


3. Personal Worth


   Avoidance of fear: Yoga is said to result in the reduction of a variety of mental ills. These may range all the way from vague feelings of frustration, persecution, insecurity, on the one hand, to acute and specific types of insanity, on the other.
Yoga is not a cure all for all conditions. But its attack upon some basic mental ills may indeed be just enough to pay dividends that grow in magnitude.
If we can merely halt and reverse some mental compulsions that keep us chained to increasing anxiety, we may be able to embark a course which will bring us around to a healthier lifestyle. We are all, in some degree, insane. Overwhelming waves of tension and stress, which may catch us in periods of physical and mental exhaustion, can produce a spiritual explosion which leaves us so helpless that we are at a loss to know how it all came about.
By regular efforts to reduce tension through yogic exercises, we may finally reverse our tendency toward real or imagined fears and anxieties.


                 

4. Acceptance of Faith in Life.


The goal of yoga is to live confidently. The goal is to replace negativism and cynicism with an appreciation of life, not only on any given day, but everyday.
If you cannot accept all of it, because some problems remain unavoidably troublesome, then you will accept the troubles which you have as (1) yours and (2) enough for you, without wishing you had still more troubles.


5. Life Skills


Yoga may reduce your irritability with others and others’ irritability with you. If you become less irritable, you tend to irritate others less and tend to be less irritated

Late-Breaking Breakthroughs: Recovery in the Bible (RIB)

Late-Breaking Breakthroughs: Recovery in the Bible (RIB): Thank You, O Savior and LORD, for making the Way for each of us to enjoy a Direct Connect with You, to be nourished by You, hand-fed by Y...

Holistic Drug Rehabilitation Centers for Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Holistic Drug Rehabilitation Centers for Drug and Alcohol Addiction

*For help finding yourself or a loved one treatment options, please contact us toll free at 1-800-513-5423.

For those who have tried to defeat drug or alcohol addiction and have been through a traditional program before, you might want to try a different approach to treatment for addiction. Holistic and natural healing centers for addiction, treat addiction as a condition and not a disease, focusing on the mind, body and spirit as a whole. The holistic drug rehabilitation centers treatment consists of treating each of these areas to help the client achieve their freedom from addiction.

Why choose a Holistic Rehab Center?

  The reasons that a person can choose to enter a program for addiction that is holistic can vary from person to person. Some self medicate for pain relief, mental problems, and self esteem issues. While others can use drugs or alcohol to get away from everyday problems that they think will get better when they use. Addicts usually don't know what area that they are compensating for by the use of drugs and alcohol. For this reason the addiction is addressed in all aspects of the addicts life. This will help address the situation at it's root causes.


  If you are looking for a holistic Drug Rehab center please use our online contact form or call toll free and one of our addiction treatment specialist can help guide you to a program that will best fit your needs in treatment. 1-800-513-5423

  When looking for a holistic treatment center or drug rehab there are a few things to consider.
We recommend that you evaluate the program that you are looking at to make sure that the program is the right fit spiritually, physically, and mentally. There are several options and treatment models to consider when choosing a holistic drug rehab.

Treatment options that are available?

  When choosing a program there are different treatment models that may or may not be beneficial to the individual seeking treatment for their addiction. For this reason we recommend that the program offers several different models so they have a variety of tools in their arsenal to handle the addiction at it's root causes. Most treatment centers that are holistic will try and help you come off all medications and offer holistic options for anxiety and other disorders, while others may offer both types of treatment, medicated or non medicated treatment options.


What is the length of stay at the program?

 As well as having different treatment options, it is recommended that the length of stay at a treatment center be longer than the average 21-28 day programs. Usually the treatment length is anywhere from 45 days to 90 days depending on the program. Longer programs work well for some that need a little extra time to handle their addiction.

What is the cost of a the program?

  Holistic treatment centers can become quite expensive due to the level of care and the high quality foods that they serve. You can find out exactly what the program will cost right down to the activities offered at the center. There may be ways to cut the cost by opting out of some activities and treatment options they offer that may not interest you.


Where is the program located?

  There are holistic programs in almost every state and choosing a program should be carefully thought out take into account all aspects of treatment. We recommend that you base you decision on the best possible treatment program for you and forget about location. There may be the perfect program right in your own town or it may be out of state. In the end, it is your choice, so choose wisely.

We can help you locate high quality centers throughout the country and even in Canada, that offer a holistic approach, along with traditional treatment models. The best way to locate a drug rehab center that is holistic, is to give us a call and we will guide you to the best treatment center that will be able to handle your addiction.




                   Call Now, Our counselors are here to help you

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   When you have located a few treatment centers that are holistic, we highly recommend that you visit the centers if possible and talk to some of the clients if allowed. If this is not possible at least talk to the intake counselor and interview them to see if they are the right fit for you. Remember this treatment is for you, not the treatment center in question, and you need to make sure that you feel comfortable with the staff and treatment model, for treatment to be successful.
It can be very difficult to find a drug rehab center that is holistic and close to your area of need. If you do not have a holistic treatment program that is near, do not worry. There are options available in almost every state. Taking the time to interview them and make sure that you are comfortable with their treatment methods and practices can be the difference between succeeding and failing. For this reason, we recommend that you call and we can help you with the questions that you may or may not know to ask about their treatment methodologies.



     

information found at http://addictionnomore.com/holistic_drug_rehab_centers.htm

You are Worthy of Recovery

To begin your recovery process, call 1-800-513-5423 today. 

From Rachel

Dear You

Did you know that there are flowers which bloom only in the darkness? Even on the blackest night, Moonflowers blossom, their beauty shining through.

Depression can make you forget everything you know and rob you of rational thought. It sucks the colour out of life and makes you feel like the world is spinning without you, like you're absent. Like you don't belong in any conversation. Like it wouldn't matter if you weren't present in the room, the town, the world.

The strength of depression lies in its ability to negate positivity. No matter how sincere the compliments others may pay you, you can't believe them. You can't accept that you're worthy of love, acceptance or even happiness.

But you are. You really, really are. You can't see it at the moment, because you've got a rain cloud over you. There's a deluge of icy rain blurring your vision and a fog in your mind, obscuring your thoughts. But underneath it, the truth is you're still there. You're here and you matter. You're kind, beautiful, loved. You're important to so many people and you deserve to get better.

I know you don't believe me. I wouldn't have believed these words either. I'd have discounted them, ruled out any positive words. Put myself down.

I spent long, dark, anxious nights awake. My mind raced and I felt like the only person awake in the world. As if the night would never end. Panicking and palpitating and crying.

But little did I know then, that even during darkness, flowers still bloom. And one day, without you even realising, you start to notice them again. It starts with a strange feeling one morning. You think of something you've got planned for later on that day, and an odd feeling comes over you. It takes a while to recognise it at first. Is is anxiety? No. It's called positivity. You're looking forward to things again. Fancy that.

You might look up at the blue sky, and really see it. Once clear sky seemed to mock you, going about it's business despite your pain. But suddenly you'll really see the sky again, appreciate it, allow it to bring you a slither or joy.

One day soon you'll notice a beautiful flower, or laugh at a joke, or sing along to something. Little by little, you WILL get better. Because you, as much as anyone, deserve happiness. You are worthy of love, of kindness and of compassion.

In the depths of the darkness it seems like you'll never recover. But you simply must believe that you deserve better than this. Because you do. You are more than your depression and it does not define you. It is a chapter in your life, yes. Perhaps a big and significant one. But it's not the final chapter.

Help is out there, so please, please, find someone who will listen to you. Who will sit with you in the dark place until you're ready and capable of leaving it behind you. If it's medication you need, take it. Seek out therapy, support, exercise.... Whatever you need. If you don't know what you need, please find someone to guide you.

Falling apart gives you the opportunity to put yourself back together, like a phoenix from the ashes. You may never be quite the same, but that's okay. Even in the dark you've been quietly blooming and learning. You just haven't been able to see it in yourself. Soon you will.

Be kind to yourself, dear friend. It truly can and will get better. I promise. You're not alone. 

GET HELP NOW Call 1-800-513-5423

Here is a link to Rachel's blog

link to original site