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Jul 17
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Embracing Spiritual Healing at Home

Embracing Spiritual Healing at Home

By Mental Health

Embracing Spiritual Healing at HomeTruly transformative healing and recovery addresses many different needs and goals. For those overcoming the use of drugs or alcohol and beginning a life of sobriety, creating an entirely new lifestyle is paramount. However, each person will also be tasked with tending to their spiritual needs in addition to their needs to overcome substance use disorder. The Redpoint Center is committed to this comprehensive approach to sobriety. Embracing spiritual healing and incorporating effective practices at home throughout outpatient care can help to truly embrace this new and sober life.

The Importance of Spiritual Healing

Spirituality is something that can easily go overlooked during a person’s recovery journey. However, it is just s essential as other aspects of an effective recovery. Spiritual healing is the act of tending to personal needs and beliefs beyond the immediate physical body and incorporates mending emotional scars, past traumas, self-belittling beliefs, isolation, and more. This kind of healing is paramount for not only providing direction throughout the recovery journey in outpatient care but is also crucial to challenge feelings of isolation, emotional stresses, and providing purpose, belonging, and a new perspective in sobriety.

Embracing spirituality as part of effective healing and treatment can also empower those in recovery to be more resilient in their continued journey in outpatient care. It can be impossible to predict all of the various stresses and challenges that each person may face throughout their recovery. Finding a core set of spiritual beliefs and practices can help each person maintain their effective transformations and process various challenges that may manifest throughout each person’s sober journey.

Spirituality and religion are also not necessarily the same thing, and it is wholly possible to explore spiritual healing without ascribing to any particular religious denomination or belief in a higher power at all. Spiritual practices and healing throughout the recovery journey will always be a personal journey with no definite “right” or “wrong” way to pursue such goals.

Creating Effective Spiritual Practices at Home

Each journey with spiritual healing in outpatient care will be unique. Exploring a wide array of various spiritual options in recovery can empower each person to find the practices that best resonate with their beliefs, goals, and challenges throughout addiction recovery.

An individual may not also experience all the expected benefits of spiritual healing practices immediately. Exploring effective spiritual healing at home not only means being open to a myriad of new practices and ideas, but also engaging with them a few times to best benefit from them, or to determine if exploring other options may benefit an individual more in their own journey.

Dedicate a Space

Spiritual healing can take many forms, and establishing a sense of consistency can empower those in recovery to make the most of their spiritual practices at home. Dedicating a specific space to spiritual healing at home throughout outpatient care and beyond can ensure continued engagement with whatever form of spiritual healing is most effective, furthering each practice’s efficacy.

For some, this can mean having a room wholly dedicated to meditation or yoga. Others may dedicate a portion of a room to a relaxing atmosphere, surrounding themselves with plants, natural images such as posters, paintings, and more, or even filling the space with sounds that can calm and soothe otherwise trying emotional states.

Some may have a particular place that helps them relax in nature itself that is not necessarily within their own home. Having a favorite hiking trail can help an individual connect with nature and their spiritual beliefs, so long as it remains consistent and accessible whenever needed.

Using Affirmations

Reinforcing a person’s continued success, beliefs, and more throughout the day can ensure that those in recovery are able to focus on their continued needs and healing, both in terms of overcoming substance use disorder and spiritual healing. Reciting a particular mantra at home, keeping words of affirmation or notes to oneself in a wallet or purse, or even posting notes to oneself at common spots throughout the home can all be ways to reinforce these spiritual beliefs and affirmations.

Exposing oneself to these affirmations or reminders of spiritual beliefs can help to normalize these ideas and make them an integral part of each day and decision to facilitate continued commitment to each person’s spiritual well-being.

Journaling for Spiritual Healing

Spiritual healing can be complicated, and it can be difficult to quantify effective healing while engaged in such a metaphysical practice. Journals can be a great way for those in recovery to track their own spiritual healing and perspectives. For some, chronicling the events of the day before bed can be a great way to examine their own needs and beliefs. Others may commit to a gratitude journal to reinforce spiritual beliefs, all while providing a safe outlet to express emotions and find the best way to communicate complex ideas and challenges still prevalent throughout addiction recovery.

Starting Your Own Rituals

Having routines and rituals at home can also be a great way to further each person’s spiritual healing. For some, these rituals can take the form of saying a prayer before bed. However, others can simply find peace in meditation after lunch, lighting a candle at night to calm oneself as the sun sets, or any other simple and consistent practice that helps a person process the stresses of the day and connect to their own thoughts, bodies, and needs.

Engaging in an array of mindfulness practices can also be the beginning of effective and consistent rituals that can be used to further spiritual healing for those overcoming the effects of substance use disorder or navigating urges, cravings, or the continued effects of mental health disorders. The professionals available at The Redpoint Center can help to scaffold these practices through Boulder County IOP treatment, amending each journey to ensure they can be used both at the facility and at home.

Spiritual healing is a necessary part of a new, sober lifestyle, and we at The Redpoint Center are committed to helping you explore your own spiritual needs and best practices while empowering you to continue tending to these needs at home. Our comprehensive approach to outpatient treatment allows us to support your continued growth and healing in sobriety during our programs all while instilling the skills, perspectives, and strategies necessary to maintain sobriety in daily life. From personalizing your treatment program with spiritual healing to introducing you to a community of peers and professionals exploring their own spirituality, we can help you today. For more information on how we can support your sober change, call us today at (303) 710-8496.

Jun 25
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Understanding the Role of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)

Understanding the Role of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)

By Treatment

Each individual will have their own unique journey overcoming addiction of any kind. Addressing the use of marijuana, heroin, opioids, alcohol, and more takes an intense amount of effort and dedication. Having a personalized treatment plan is crucial for making the most of every person’s dedicated efforts throughout recovery. Each person may also resonate with various approaches differently, with some benefitting from the use of medication throughout their recovery journey to address the common challenges prevalent throughout treatment and outpatient care. However, understanding the role of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is necessary to set appropriate expectations and goals for its use.

What Is MAT?

The use of medication throughout the recovery process can be intimidating for some, and knowing the benefits that it can provide is essential. MAT is the use of various dedicated medications during recovery to address specific symptoms and challenges common throughout treatment and sobriety. When used in conjunction with other strategies, MAT provides a holistic approach to recovery, addressing not just physical and emotional symptoms of recovery, but also empowering each person to further dedicate themselves to their own sober goals.

For some, the use of medication can be instrumental, especially during the beginning of their recovery journey. Withdrawal symptoms and newfound stresses are normal during such a tumultuous time of change. However, others may continue to utilize medication to address personal challenges even beyond this time and throughout daily life in outpatient care. How each individual approaches medication, the symptoms looking to be addressed, and when and how long medication is used will be a personal experience depending on their unique situation and the guidance of The Redpoint Center’s on-site medical professionals.

Setting Expectations for MAT

Medication can be an amazing resource for those overcoming the use of alcohol and drugs, and navigating the challenges of a newfound sober life. However, there is never a “quick fix” to substance use disorder (SUD), and expecting medication to fully address these challenges without other efforts can cause an individual to set unrealistic or dangerous expectations about the use of MAT.

The use of medication is not a replacement for other therapeutic practices. Rather, the use of medication can provide each individual with the support needed to effectively engage in other therapies and ingratiate themselves within a dedicated recovery community. This holistic approach is instrumental to a genuine, transformative recovery journey, and aligns with Redpoint’s commitment to treating the whole self, rather than just a collection of symptoms.

The Benefits of MAT

While the use of medication in isolation may not fully address the challenges of addiction, using it alongside other effective treatment modalities available at Redpoint can have a myriad of benefits for those continuing to overcome the challenges of a newfound sober life. Coping with feelings of anxiety, depression, and withdrawal symptoms is difficult and can prevent otherwise gainful engagement in group therapy or the experiential therapies available at The Redpoint Center. Others benefit from a higher ability to focus on workplace responsibilities, rebuilding relationships, and empowering those in recovery to practice new social skills to engage in healing communities.

Using medication to address specific symptoms and challenges while continuing to refine personal coping and life skills to further address these situations can be paramount. Combined therapeutic activities and medication can also help those engaging in Redpoint’s outpatient treatment programs better view their own success, motivating each individual to continue through the difficult recovery journey with motivation and confidence in their progress.

Personalizing Medication

Just as there is no one, single path to a sober and fulfilling future, there is not just one approach to MAT either. Each individual will work with dedicated medical professionals to determine the medication that may best support them depending on their needs and goals, typically determined through an interview process that goes over the challenges faced and their history with addictive substances.

For some, MAT can be used during the beginning of their recovery journey to help each individual transition into a new life in outpatient treatment. Taking the first step into sober life is always filled with change and uncertainty, and the additional support provided by medication can help individuals transition into this new lifestyle and phase of their lives. For others, medication can be a great way to maintain effective changes made in outpatient treatment throughout daily life and foster a sustained, sober future while helping to prevent relapse.

However, the use of medication is not necessary for everyone pursuing a sober future, and not all people may benefit from the practice in the same way. Working with Redpoint’s medical professionals can not only inform if an individual would benefit from the use of medication in their recovery, but also to what extent and what other therapies may best support their transformation. Whether an individual engaged in MAT alongside other proven therapies or not, there are always new ways to approach recovery and sobriety through Redpoint.

The use of medication can be a great way of addressing specific symptoms and challenges that may otherwise compromise effective recovery efforts. If you or a loved one is prepared to take the first step in recovery and ready to discuss the options available to you at Redpoint, we can help today. From medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to practical life skills, a community of peers, and proven therapeutic and experiential practices, we can create an outpatient treatment program that addresses your needs and goals in the most effective and individualized way. There is never one journey to a new future, and we can help you find your path today. For more information on how we can help, call (303) 710-8496.

Jun 15
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Creating a New Sober Routine in Recovery

Creating a New Sober Routine in Recovery

By Treatment

Committing to sobriety involves creating an entirely new sober routine, with dedicated outpatient programs being an instrumental resource in creating this effective approach to sustained sobriety. The Redpoint Center in Glenwood Springs helps individuals adopt new strategies to quell persistent urges and cravings in recovery while developing a new lifestyle that aligns with sober goals. 

Importance of a New Sober Routine

While the desire to cease the use of substances and pursue a sober life is noble, it is also difficult. There are many facets of daily life that may have been affected by the use of these addictive substances. Distancing oneself from addictive substances as well as the lifestyles that enabled their use is vital for a successful recovery journey. 

Identify How Substances Impacted Daily Life

For some, the use of drugs or alcohol may be inherently ingrained into their daily life, with schedules, structures, and habits developed around opportunities for their daily use. Others may have normalized the use of these substances into daily routines to where continuing to navigate them can birth urges, cravings, and other challenges as an individual feels compelled to reengage with drugs or alcohol. 

Identify and Avoid Triggering People and Places

Frequenting spaces or engaging in activities that used to be tied to the use of drugs or alcohol can lead to many challenges, even if no substances are being used at that moment. Developing an entirely new sober routine in recovery can help an individual both continue to prioritize their sobriety and avoid unnecessary triggers or risks or relapse. 

Creating Your Best Sober Routine

There is no one, single way to create a new routine in sobriety. However, making a dedicated effort to embrace change in daily life is necessary. No two people will necessarily make the same changes or approach their new sober lives in the same way. 

Personalizing each approach, along with the professional guidance and support available at Redpoint, can empower each individual to develop their own sober routines at home while continuing to engage in effective outpatient treatment. 

Setting a Schedule

Each person’s time in a dedicated treatment program can feel tightly regimented, with dedicated start and end times and a very structured schedule throughout the day. However, this is an important recovery scaffolding, ensuring that each individual always has something to do to avoid boredom while exposing those overcoming the use of drugs or alcohol to new activities and hobbies that are devoid of any previous connotations. 

Having a rigid morning alarm, hygiene routine, mealtimes, dedicated time for self-care and therapeutic activities, and time to tend to personal goals and ambitions are all important. Keeping a tangible and clear schedule can help those in recovery set a new normal for their sober routine and distance themselves from past lives, behaviors, and expectations. 

Avoiding Unexpected Stresses

The recovery journey is already wrought with stresses and challenges, and avoiding as many unnecessary additions to these hurdles is paramount for maintaining a healthy emotional state in sobriety. Taking time to sit with Redpoint’s professionals and peers to create a sober routine can help those in recovery plan ahead and know what to expect, as well as what is expected of them. 

Peers navigating their own sobriety and Redpoint’s professionals who have managed their own sober journeys themselves are important resources for educating those developing a new routine about particular or commonly unexpected stresses. This can empower those in recovery to develop more personalized approaches to daily life, have space plans or supports ready, and add a degree of agency to daily life in sobriety. 

Take Time for Self-Care

Self-care is an important part of a sober life. Approaching self-care not as simple hobbies or relaxation but as a core and necessary part of recovery is an important shift in perspective. Having time to detach from stress, engaging in personal interests, and more is all necessary to continue reinforcing each individual’s sober decisions. 

Dedicated times each day can ensure that each person is making the most of their self-care opportunities. Even otherwise innocuous activities like reading a book, watching a favorite TV show, and more can all be powerful recovery tools for processing stress. Scheduling self-care opportunities in a daily routine can ensure their efficacy and help each person avoid unnecessary stress, risks, and burnout. 

Use What Works

Each person will have their own best practices in recovery. The Redpoint Center prides itself on taking a malleable approach to each recovery program, personalizing activities and approaches to the needs of an individual to create a robust approach to sobriety. 

Outpatient treatment can be the first and most important resource for developing a new sober routine. Not only can scheduling activities around outpatient programs provide a necessary degree of structure, but Redpoint’s outpatient treatment programs are also designed to introduce each person to activities that can be used both inside and outside of the treatment facility. From yoga and meditation practices to experiential therapies, transposing what works during outpatient treatment at Redpoint and making use of it at home can be instrumental. 

Dedicated recovery efforts are more than the cessation of addictive substances; they are instead the development of a new life and identity. Developing a new sober routine can help each person distance themselves from past stresses while celebrating their sober future. We at Redpoint are committed to this kind of transformational recovery. Our comprehensive outpatient treatment programs are designed to help you not only embrace new skills, perspectives, and opportunities but also to empower you to utilize these skills outside of our facilities to further facilitate a healthy and successful sober life. We also embrace a myriad of various proven therapies to provide the most comprehensive and personalized approach to sobriety. For more information, call us at (303) 710-8496.

Jun 13
Love0

Rediscovering Joy and Fun in Life

By Misc

I’d like to describe my own experience adopting sobriety. I used to think that a life without drugs or alcohol would be dreary and boring. But as a result of my experiences and journey of self-discovery, I have come to see that staying clean can be a truly wonderful and rewarding experience. I’d like to discuss some of the exciting and uplifting aspects of my sober life,  to demonstrate that having fun and staying sober can coexist peacefully.

Exploring New Interests

I had previously overlooked a whole new universe of pursuits and interests until I made the decision to become sober. I started pursuing pastimes that truly made me happy rather than wasting time doing things that didn’t bring me joy. Sobriety opened the door to a plethora of chances for personal development and enjoyment, whether it be going on nature hikes, joining a sports team, or trying my hand at painting. I discovered that participating in these things gave me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment in addition to filling my time.

Connecting with Like-Minded Individuals

One of the unanticipated advantages of quitting drinking was the amazing community I met along the road. Through support groups, recovery communities, and local activities, I made connections with others who were familiar with the struggles and rewards of sobriety. These new relationships were based on similar interests and a shared desire to experience life to the fullest without using drugs. We looked into sober-friendly activities, planned game nights, and even went on exciting adventures together. I couldn’t have done it without the friendships and support I gained in recovery, which is proof that recovery can result in lasting relationships.

Rediscovering Authentic Connections

Many of my relationships had been weak and drug-centered while I was still recovering from addiction. But once I stopped drinking, I was able to evaluate my connections and give the most significant one’s priority. Genuine relationships based on shared values, empathy, and trust seemed to me to be much more gratifying than casual acquaintances. Through deliberate conversation, attentive listening, and participation in sober social events, I was able to forge closer bonds with my friends and family. I realized that I could have deep connections with people without using drugs as a crutch, and these connections provided me a tremendous deal of joy and fulfillment in life.

Celebrating Milestones and Achievements

My earlier successes were overshadowed by substance abuse, which led to a lack of ambition and self-worth. But this dynamic was significantly changed by becoming sober. Every day began to feel like a notable accomplishment, and I reveled in seeing how far I had come. Whether it was completing a month, a year, or even just one day of abstinence, I embraced these successes as evidence of my strength and perseverance. I made up for it by looking after myself, occasionally pampering myself, or just by spending time with loved ones. Reaching these goals and the success that followed became a constant source of encouragement.

Making the choice to remain sober has been one of the most important decisions of my life. I have discovered a flourishing world full of happiness and fulfillment by giving up drugs. The pillars of my sober journey have evolved into attempting new things, forming strong connections, recovering true connections, and celebrating individual successes. Sobriety has shown me that life can be entertaining, interesting, and significant without relying on drugs or alcohol. If you’re considering leading a sober lifestyle, keep in mind that you have the ability to create a happy, contented life that is filled with countless opportunities.

Part of recovering from mental health and substance abuse is the realization that life can be fun again. Discovering new ideas and meeting new people can lead to tremendous growth and optimism. Having fun in life leads us down a path that helps us discover and express our true selves. If you or anyone that you know is struggling with mental health or drug abuse, call Redpoint Center today at (303) 710-8496.

 

May 24
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Andy’s Journey of Recovery with Redpoint

By Addiction, Featured

Before I spoke with Donnie on the phone during my last week of inpatient treatment, I had no idea where I was going or where I was headed. Before admitting to that facility, I had relapsed only two weeks after leaving a different rehab center. I knew that I had to surrender and ask for the support I needed if I was ever going to achieve long-term sobriety, I just didn’t know what that looked like or how to get there. With the last week of my 90-day stay coming to an end, my case manager suggested The Redpoint Center in Longmont for intensive outpatient therapy and optional sober living.

I spoke with Donnie on the phone, and he could relate to me on my new journey of recovery. He knew exactly the steps to take not only to get admitted to Redpoint but what I needed to do after I had moved into sober living and started therapy. If I ever had any questions regarding what to do, I knew I could ask Redpoint staff since most of them have personal experience in recovery and have found success in long-term sobriety. They paired me with another sober living housemate who took me to AA meetings, and who even helped me get a job. I started working a new job serving tables at a restaurant 3 days after admitting, at 23 years old. It was suggested I go to recovery meetings as often as I could, and to start exercising. I filled most of my time working, attending AA meetings, going to therapy, and exercising.

Then faster than I could have ever imagined, my life started drastically improving. Not only was I making friends, connecting with a recovery community, becoming financially independent, and working through past trauma, but all that work slowly started accumulating into a life I could enjoy and feel fulfilled in. I was soaking in advice and suggestions like a sponge, and I was taking action. This was the change I needed because, in previous treatment environments, my inflated ego and sense of entitlement were like the great wall of China that blocked any useful advice or suggestions. Unlike other treatment centers that I went to, Redpoint felt like home. They held me accountable, treated me like family, and showed they truly cared about me, and eventually became like family.

After obtaining a sponsor in AA and working through the 12 steps, I started sponsoring other young men in recovery. I attended group and individual therapy at Redpoint for 9 months. After obtaining a year of sobriety, I became the house manager of Redpoint’s sober living house. I get the opportunity to support people who are just like myself, as they start their recovery journeys. While in my role as house manager, I obtained a job as a pharmacy technician in a mental health hospital. I worked in the pharmacy for about a year, until I was offered a full-time position at The Redpoint Center.

I have worked at Redpoint for over three years, and currently have over four years of sobriety. I have obtained my recovery coach certification, and I love being able to work with people in recovery and to be working at a facility that was instrumental in saving my life. Even though life throws curveballs, my life is manageable without using mind-altering substances, and that is such an amazing gift.

Boulder and Larimer County Mental Health and Drug Rehab Andy's Journey of Recovery with Redpoint Photo

Our dedicated outpatient programs can instill the skills and strategies needed to manage your life with your family while continuing to focus on your sober efforts. With multiple locations across Colorado, we can help you find the place to begin your journey to healing with your family today. For more information on how we can personalize your time with us, call to speak to us today at (303) 710-8496.

May 19
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The Impact of Environment on Addiction and Recovery

The Impact of Environment on Addiction and Recovery

By Addiction

There are many factors involved with addiction and substance use disorder (SUD). However, a person’s engagement with addictive substances like drugs or alcohol is not somehow the product of any kind of moral failing. Rather, one of the most profound factors that can influence the development of SUD is a person’s environment, both while growing up and in their current living state. While the environment can be a major influence in the development of SUD, it is also possible to form a new environment in sobriety to reflect a person’s sober transformation. Understanding the impact of environment on SUD can empower those in recovery to utilize the environment as a recovery resource for their continued success in overcoming SUD.

The Impact of Environment on the Development of SUD

Each person’s environment is a potent and influential part of daily life that encapsulates much more than a person’s psychical setting. While the physical elements of the environment certainly have an influence, with exposures to seeing alcohol or drugs used or in the house from a young age directly affecting an individual’s perception of their use or causing an individual to normalize unhealthy levels of use, a person’s environment also incorporates the people and cultures that affect a person in daily life.

The people of a particular environment can have profound effects on the acceptance, perception, and even use of drugs or alcohol, and can facilitate the development of addiction. Regular use of these substances in a particular environment can cause an individual to adopt a more lenient or less moderated approach to their own use, or cause an individual to perceive their negative effects as less serious.

However, others may indirectly impact a person’s use of drugs or alcohol by introducing toxic atmospheres. Either home or workplace environments can introduce stress or anxiety, or expose an individual to other difficult social interactions, each of which can facilitate the use of drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism. Some of these stresses that may impact the development of addiction may include:

  • Toxic relationships
  • Overly competitive mindsets or atmospheres
  • Abusive individuals, either psychically, verbally, or emotionally
  • Neglect, especially during younger developmental years

Lastly, a person’s environment is also comprised of a unique culture specific to a subset of people, and these cultures can also have wildly varying effects on a person’s sobriety. Some cultures may normalize or accept the use of drugs or alcohol as not just a normal way to celebrate accomplishments or cope with stress, or may even encourage such self-destructive behaviors or mentalities. Recognizing when a certain culture around drugs or alcohol permeates a particular environment or individual is paramount to distancing oneself from these ideas and creating a healthier, sober life.

Using the Impact of Environment as a Recovery Tool

However, the impact of environment does not always have to be negative, and Redpoint is committed to creating an environment that not only challenges the perceptions, ideas, and cultures instilled by less supportive environments but replaces them with people and cultures unified around healing and sobriety.

Supporting a Shift in Mindset

Redpoint’s focus on community healing empowers those engaged in effective outpatient programs to overcome some of the most difficult hurdles commonplace throughout the journey to sobriety – expressing vulnerability. By personalizing each treatment program and supporting change by facilitating an environment where emotional expression is not just accepted but encouraged, it is possible to challenge the use of drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism while challenging stresses, mental health needs, and past traumas in tandem.

This shift in mentality can empower those pursuing recovery to embrace not just potential vulnerabilities, but also a mindset that can better adapt to change and create the scaffolding for a sustainable sober future.

Challenging Stigmas

By normalizing sobriety and healing, The Redpoint Center is also committed to creating a culture shift that focuses on healing. There can be many misconceptions about words like “recovery” or “sobriety,” and curating an environment that destigmatizes these words to facilitate a healthy approach to healing can be a great impact of environment on a person’s motivation to pursue sobriety and ability to maintain sobriety outside of our walls.

Getting Connected

The people that surround an individual throughout their journey can greatly impact the use or abstinence from drugs or alcohol. At Redpoint, each individual has access to not just their own personalized program, but also a community of peers and professionals that all understand the challenges of addiction recovery. The perspectives, experiences, stories, and social connections that can be built on mutual respect and solidarity in sobriety can be a truly transformational experience, with such an accepting environment continuing to impact a person’s mental health and even the development of their own sober practices and routines.

Start Your Journey at Redpoint

The impact of environment on the use of addictive substances cannot be ignored. However, it is always possible to choose what kind of environment a person strives to be a part of, and committing to being engaged in a supportive environment can have truly transformational effects. The Redpoint Center’s commitment to curating a healthy and sober environment based on acceptance, change, and healing can facilitate the best, most personalized treatment and therapy options for overcoming SUD and its continued effects on a person’s physical and mental health.

Being a part of the right culture and having access to supportive peers, professionals, and influences are all paramount for an effective and sustainable sobriety. At The Redpoint Center, we are committed to not just developing a personalized treatment program to address your needs but to fostering a community of healing and an environment that champions each person’s sober journey and dedication. With locations across Colorado, we are prepared to create an environment and social circle that can best support your sober change. We utilize a combination of proven therapeutic modalities, including CBT, EMDR, and experiential therapies, and a cultural focus on healing and community to birth an entirely new lifestyle. For more information, call us today at (303) 710-8496.

May 08
Love0
Exploring the Benefits of Psychodrama in Recovery

Exploring the Benefits of Psychodrama in Recovery

By Treatment

Each individual will have their own best practices when it comes to managing sobriety in daily life. Empowering each individual to explore how they can make the most of their outpatient treatment programs at Redpoint can lead to the most effective and sustainable practices. There are always new opportunities and therapeutic options to explore, with psychodrama being one of these proven options. Psychodrama can be instrumental in creating a transformed future and further personalizing each recovery journey. Understanding psychodrama in recovery and how it looks in practice can help those in outpatient treatment develop an effective approach to using it in their own recovery journey. 

The Role of Psychodrama in Recovery

Overcoming addiction is complicated, with many intense emotions and stresses impacting an individual on a daily basis. Anxiety, depression, guilt, doubt, and more are all incredibly common. These emotions, coupled with any personal traumatic memories, can be incredibly difficult to process. It is common to push down these feelings due to such emotional discomfort. Psychodrama is a therapeutic modality about developing an atmosphere that empowers those in recovery to create a space to confront difficult feelings while working with professionals and peers to explore their impact on each person’s mental health. Exploring dialogues, vocalizing thoughts and responses, and moving and interacting with peers can all facilitate this healing. 

Confronting past traumas or emotional challenges in sobriety is paramount, not only so they can be safely expressed in recovery, but also to empower those in recovery from the use of drugs or alcohol to find new ways to communicate and address these alongside professionals, peers, and supports. Some of the most important benefits of psychodrama in recovery include:

  • Processing and overcoming grief
  • Building social skills, communication skills, and new relationships
  • Developing new perspectives or ways of thinking
  • Building newfound self-confidence
  • Embracing new life skills

However, it is still common to have reservations about committing to psychodrama in recovery. Knowing what to expect in psychodrama can help quell these reservations and promote the most open approach to benefitting from its healing potential. 

Understanding Psychodrama in Practice

Psychodrama is a therapeutic modality where practitioners act out scenes or memories from their past or engage in role-play to explore stressful situations. This approach to recovery is a proven and effective approach to treatment that can be instrumental in confronting and overcoming mental health disorders, stress, trauma, urges, cravings, and other challenges commonplace throughout recovery. 

Psychodrama can bolster effective communication skills and facilitate the best possible way to connect with others in sobriety. Members of a group are often tasked with not only talking to each other but even stepping into each others’ shoes and experiences to gain new perspectives. For some, this can illuminate how their actions may have impacted others across various situations, creating clearer ideas of how to address these relationships in sobriety, pursue forgiveness, and more. 

Acting out memories can also help those overcoming grief better create a realistic understanding of how traumatic events played out. This can help each individual internalize the reality of the situation, challenging feelings of guilt, self-blame, and beginning the process of reconciling with past events.

Lastly, acting out feelings, thoughts, or self-destructive behaviors can allow those in recovery to better understand how their own thoughts and behaviors may be impacted throughout recovery and sobriety. Each individual can be more honest with themselves about how to address situations, identify when unhealthy or unrealistic thinking patterns may be occurring, and create a healthier mindset to navigate the challenges of sobriety. 

Some may also engage in role reversal, trading placing with another to act out situations and better understand how another may have felt, or add a new perspective on why an individual may have reacted in a certain way. This level of understanding can further inform a person’s future actions to best align with their sober goals and emotional needs.

Preparing for Stresses in Outpatient Treatment

While psychodrama is incredibly effective for processing and overcoming past experiences while embracing new perspectives, it can also be used to facilitate further resilience growth in outpatient treatment. Acting out potential high-risk situations to practice how to handle these situations can be a powerful way to prepare for the inevitable stresses of life in sobriety. Others can use these spaces to explore how to best communicate with their own supports, verbalize emotions, or even use their bodies and body language to better communicate with supports. 

Using Psychodrama in Recovery

Psychodrama can be instrumental in either overcoming a person’s past or preparing for their recovery journey. The new perspectives and strategies instilled throughout the effective use of psychodrama in recovery and outpatient treatment can empower those in recovery to better embrace change while developing an honest and supportive community of peers. While exploring a degree of vulnerability is necessary to make the most of psychodrama in recovery, working alongside peers to address these feelings can create the best possible path to healing, introduce an individual to new perspectives, and help those in recovery explore effective practices to challenge unhealthy mindsets, thoughts, and avoid potentially self-destructive behaviors. 

Psychodrama is an effective and powerful approach to addressing not just each individual’s journey with addiction and recovery, but also the stresses, traumas, and challenges that inform your continued journey of overcoming guilt and mental health disorders. At Redpoint, we are equipped to address not just the immediate effects of addiction, but also mental health disorders, all working in tandem for a truly transformative and holistic approach to healing and sobriety. Our intimate communities of healing across multiple locations throughout Colorado are committed to helping you find your best practices, with psychodrama being just one of a myriad of options available to you. For more information on how we can support your sober transformation, call us today at (303) 710-8496.

Apr 13
Love0

Sobriety & Substitution: How I’ve Learned to Spot and Adapt to My Addiction Triggers

By Addiction

Getting sober was one of the best decisions I ever made, but it wasn’t easy—and it’s not something that you ever “finish.” As I’ve learned in my journey, addiction doesn’t just go away overnight; it tends to manifest itself in other ways. The key is to recognize when this happens so that you can manage your triggers and remain on the path toward sobriety.

Identifying Your Triggers

The first step in remaining sober is recognizing when your addiction manifests itself in other ways. For me, this means being aware of activities or situations that might cause me to slip back into addictive behavior. This could be anything from hanging out with certain people who trigger my old habits, visiting places where I used to use, or even just engaging in a particular activity that has been linked with my addiction (like going out for drinks). In order to stay sober, I need to be conscious of these triggers and avoid them as much as possible.

Substituting Healthy Habits for Unhealthy Ones

Once I’ve identified my triggers, I need to replace those activities with healthier habits. This can mean replacing an unhealthy habit like drinking with a healthy one like yoga or running. It can also mean finding new friends who are supportive of my sobriety goals or avoiding certain places that may tempt me into relapsing. Whatever it may be, substituting healthy habits for unhealthy ones is key in maintaining sobriety long-term.

Asking for Help When You Need It

Finally, asking for help is an important part of staying sober when your addiction manifests itself in other ways. This could be talking to a friend who understands your situation or seeking professional help if needed. Having an accountability partner can also be incredibly helpful; having someone you trust who will remind you why you got sober in the first place can make all the difference when temptation strikes.

Everyone’s path towards sobriety looks different; what works for one person may not work for another—and that’s okay! The key is finding the strategies and tools that work best for you so that you can stay on track and achieve your goals. Recognizing when addiction manifests itself in other ways has been instrumental in helping me remain sober since getting clean; hopefully these tips will be useful for others on their own road towards recovery!

Redpoint has the capability to assist you in discovering your own ideal way towards a healthy future. By cultivating personalized connections with you and your unique needs, guiding you in setting suitable goals for sobriety, and acknowledging the obstacles that are specific to your journey, we are completely dedicated to helping you create the ideal path for success. We blend tried-and-true therapeutic techniques with a setting that promotes personal growth and change, all at multiple locations throughout Colorado, giving you the chance to explore your personal path toward a sober future. For enquiries and additional information, contact us today at (303) 710-8496.

Apr 01
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Finding Spirituality in Recovery

Finding Spirituality in Recovery

By Mental Health

With the challenges, stresses, and emotional obstacles that are prevalent at any stage of addiction recovery, having a core set of beliefs and goals is paramount. While each individual will have their own personal beliefs throughout recovery, embracing some kind of spiritual component can be wholly transformational. However, each individual’s journey with spirituality will be just as unique. Exploring the role of spirituality in recovery can empower those in recovery to best embrace their own spiritual center throughout their recovery efforts and daily sober life.

Understanding Spirituality in Recovery

Spirituality can be an enigmatic term for many, especially with the wide array of ways in which each person may develop their spiritual beliefs and practices. The term itself references any kind of belief, practice, or combination therein that connects an individual to any kind of higher or metaphysical power and explores how such beliefs affect a person’s perception of themselves, their thoughts, behaviors, and more. These beliefs also can help those in recovery shape their worldview and perspectives, all while informing effective self-care practices and guiding daily routines.

This definition is left intentionally vague, as there can be many different ways an individual may approach their own best spiritual practices. Each individual may feel their own connection to a greater power or purpose in their own way. Having the opportunity to explore how spirituality can uniquely manifest for each individual throughout recovery is part of its transformative and powerful experience.

The Difference Between Spirituality and Religion

Spirituality and religion can often be compared to each other, and there can be an overlap between the two. For some, the belief in a greater power can come in the form of religion, placing God at the forefront of their healing. However, this is not necessary for all people, nor is there any one particular religion that is somehow “better” than another throughout recovery.

While embracing a religious component can empower those in recovery to explore new communities, forgiveness, and perspectives – and provide a better sense of belonging in recovery – these goals can also be accomplished by constructing each person’s own spiritual beliefs. Those who are agnostic or atheistic can still explore the spiritual component of recovery and accomplish these same goals. Whether a person is exploring a belief in a higher power, their spiritual connection to the natural world, or any other form that their spiritual practices may take, engaging in spiritual healing is always a personal journey that never has to overlap with any kind of religious denomination.

The Benefits of Spirituality in Recovery

Dedicated recovery programs can empower those in recovery to explore new spiritual practices in a safe and supportive environment. While each person may have their own reservations or notions regarding their spirituality when beginning their journey to sobriety, professional treatment and support can provide a plethora of ways to explore spirituality and ensure that each individual is able to find the practices that best allow them to further their own sober goals.

Challenging Harbored Beliefs

One of the greatest advantages of embracing spirituality in recovery comes in its ability to challenge negative thought patterns. Feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, and more can all fundamentally embed themselves in a person’s perspectives through the use of drugs and alcohol, especially in a person’s perceptions of self-worth. Spiritual practices can instead create honest, uplifting thoughts and new perspectives to challenge these notions. Such practices can replace harbored self-destructive tendencies or beliefs with newfound direction or purpose that can inform the best practices for ongoing sober efforts.

Guiding Ongoing Recovery

Navigating a person’s continued sobriety in dedicated outpatient care can be difficult, with a myriad of stresses, challenges, hurdles, and more. Creating a basis of spiritual beliefs and practices can help an individual guide their own continued success in sobriety.

For some, utilizing mantras can be instrumental, while others may embrace daily spiritual exercises like meditation or yoga that can emotionally prepare them for the day ahead. Having a set of core beliefs can also help those in recovery gauge their actions and ensure they are always acting in their own best interests. This can provide beliefs that can eliminate unnecessary exposure to high-risk situations while challenging unhelpful or self-destructive thoughts.

Creating a Feeling of Belonging

Feeling connected to others or the world around oneself is a powerful experience. However, prevalent feelings of isolation and self-isolation tendencies that manifest throughout addiction can compromise these feelings of belonging. Exploring spiritual practices can help those in recovery emotionally connect to the world around them by exploring what it means for them to be part of something greater, both fostering social skills and a healthy approach to their own worldview.

However, others may also explore belonging in their daily lives as a result of finding others who share similar spiritual practices or ideas. Creating groups and atmospheres based around continued communal healing or common goals in recovery can foster healthy spiritual healing and practices, all while facilitating continued success in sobriety.

Spirituality in recovery is a crucial part of a truly holistic approach to healing, and the professionals available at Redpoint are prepared to help you explore your options for spiritual healing while also supporting you through daily challenges and exercising new therapeutic modalities. With multiple locations across Colorado, we are committed to creating a community and atmosphere of sobriety, ready to address your individual needs for spiritual healing while also working closely with the local communities to continue fostering this culture of healing and sobriety. From experiential therapies to spiritual guidance and care, recovery at Redpoint considers all of your needs and goals for a healthier life. For more on how we can help you, call us at (303) 710-8496.

Mar 29
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Involving the Family in Your Sober Transformation

Involving the Family in Your Sober Transformation

By Therapy

Addiction recovery is a familial journey, with every family member being affected by even one person’s use of drugs or alcohol. From damaged relationships to stressful home atmospheres and traumatic experiences stemming from substance use, families are intimately affected by addiction.

While many of those overcoming addiction may feel alone in their challenges or avoid involving their family due to preconceived notions that they are somehow “protecting” loved ones from its effects, these ideas can actually be detrimental to their overall recovery. Families are already involved and are integral players in the journey through addiction and sobriety. Making an effort to actively involve the family in recovery efforts can make for the most effective and comprehensive sober transformation.

Acknowledge the Effects of Addiction on Family

Families are among those most affected by addiction, and acknowledging the effects of addiction on families is necessary to effectively begin the healing process and incorporate them into recovery. Feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, and resentment are all prevalent among family members, and it is common for families to feel a complicated mix of these negative emotions and resentment along with love and the desire to support. Such a complex emotional state can be difficult to navigate, but understanding these effects is crucial.

Families may also be dealing with other effects of addiction. For some, home atmospheres can become compromised due to the emotional impact of addiction. Feeling as if an individual has to walk on eggshells, worry about the thinness of the walls, or otherwise carefully navigate what should be a comfortable home environment is a wholly stressful situation. Others may be tasked with financial burdens as addiction compromises budgets or loved ones miss work as a result of substance use.

Each of these impacts is profound, and incorporating the family means understanding their experiences with a loved one’s addiction to create the most honest and open atmosphere for healing to foster.

How to Involve the Family in Your Recovery

Effective recovery from addiction takes a family, and effective familial healing means getting everyone affected involved in sober efforts. Making an effort to create new traditions, activities, and more alongside each person’s family, whether connected by blood or the relationships developed, is necessary to begin a truly transformational journey to sobriety.

Explore New Traditions

One of the best ways to involve the family in a person’s sober transformation is to explore what activities and traditions can be established in a new sober life. A person’s former lifestyle may be intimately tied to the use of drugs or alcohol, and entire routines and habits may have been either consciously or subconsciously developed around their use.

Exploring new traditions, such as new ways to celebrate holidays or weekly rituals such as movie nights, game nights, and more, are all great ways to begin establishing new traditions in sobriety. Not only can families better experience these sober efforts themselves if they are involved, but it can also help families see the developing new lifestyles and intentions of loved ones navigating their recovery.

Stay Connected

Isolation is common among not just those previously engaging with drugs or alcohol, but their families as well. Involving the family in recovery means finding new and effective ways to stay connected. Daily or weekly meetings, family dinners, regular text chains, or scheduled phone calls are all great ways to involve the family in a person’s sober transformation, providing constant updates on each person’s progress and mental health while helping identify new stresses or challenges that may manifest. Not only can this continue to foster a more open and honest relationship, but also help families better support one another through challenges to maintain their hard-earned sobriety.

Sharing personal stories, anecdotes, or other regular conversations can further develop these communication skills while ingratiating family as an integral part of daily life and support.

Celebrate Together

Addiction can fundamentally change the attitudes and perspectives of celebration. However, celebrating together can help transform previous traditions. Families commonly harbor resentment, anger, and blame, even if they are aware of the difficulties their loved ones face in overcoming addiction. Working with family members to celebrate holidays or milestones together and revel in the strides made throughout addiction recovery can make these accomplishments more tangible for all. Exchanging gratitudes or gifts can help explore a person’s current identity and create new traditions that can challenge some of these harbored feelings.

However, celebrating together also means celebrating the accomplishments of family members as well as those in recovery for overcoming addiction. Taking a unified approach to healing and progress and celebrating each person’s goals as equally important is part of creating a truly transformative healing atmosphere.

Utilize Family Programs

Family programs are instrumental in helping families address and overcome the challenges prevalent throughout addiction recovery. These dedicated programs are designed to foster effective communication, honesty, and accountability in a safe atmosphere. Dedicated family programs can help not just educate families on the disease of addiction, but also help those in recovery address the impact of addiction on family members.

Family programs also provide education to family members regarding effective support practices while opening up those in recovery to the idea of accepting help and repairing these relationships, all while learning to properly erect barriers and create an atmosphere of honesty and accountability for a truly transformative sobriety.

Families can be amazing supports, but healing is always a group effort. At Redpoint, we understand the intimate, important role that families play in the recovery process, and the necessity for family members to embark on their own healing, for a truly transformed life. Our dedicated outpatient programs can instill the skills and strategies needed to manage your life with your family while continuing to focus on your sober efforts. With multiple locations across Colorado, we can help you find the place to begin your journey to healing with your family today. For more information on how we can personalize your time with us, call to speak to us today at (303) 710-8496.

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