Blog Posts | AToN Center

Living With a Higher Purpose

March 31, 2020 // by AToN Center

Just as there are many colors on a color wheel, there are many color values, as well. Each color is unique, and each value gives us the full spectrum with which to view our world. Not unlike the values associated with each color, we all have distinctive values with which we see our world. We place varying amounts of importance on principles and ideas, or values, that help us to navigate our lives. Living within the spectrum of our own values allows us to not only live with a higher purpose, but also create joy and meaning in our lives.

The Values of Our Heart

As a child, we may have reflected on our lives and made plans for who we wanted to become. Not just a profession or position within a family or society, but the core beliefs which defined us and what we wanted people to know us for. As we got older, perhaps we created a set of values that we wanted to stand for – theories, ideas and principles that we thought were important to who we were and who we wanted to be.

Additionally, at some point, we created ideals for how we wanted to interact and relate to others and to the world around us. These principles and values represent the core beliefs of our heart. They may have been shaped by family, religion, education, community, or other influences, but they remain unique to us and also to our heart’s desire.

Guiding Principles

Values become guiding principles in our lives. They are internal, not necessarily related to our professions, religious or political practices, or other external manifestations. They are the beliefs that shape our motives and actions, the colors that we look to in order to create our color palette and navigate our world.

Values are not something to be achieved, rather, they are standards that are perpetual and ongoing. Rather than defined goals or objectives, these principles help us to choose our paths and help us to create tasks and objectives that are in line with these beliefs. We look to our values to guide our behaviors and give us direction and motivation in our lives.

Creating a Sense of Identity

Our relationship with our values may change as we change. For example, as a child, we may have placed a lot of value on winning, such as in a game or sport. As we got older, however, while success may have remained one of our guiding principles, perhaps we learned to place more value on self-acceptance. As we enter recovery, we may place more emphasis on mindfulness, connection to others, or sobriety.

Whichever values we have, or have had, in our lives, they all paint a picture for us to give us a sense of identity. They shape how we personally view the world, how we navigate our own lives, and help us to find meaning individually. The picture of who we are is painted by our values.

Honoring our Values

Within substance use, some of our values may have been neglected in our pursuit of drugs or alcohol. Rather than seeing the full spectrum of colors and values, we may have neglected some of the principles that we formerly valued the most. In fact, we may have done things or lived our lives in a way that was in direct contrast to the values we had previously placed the most importance on in our lives.

One of the best things about recovery is that it gives us the opportunity to reflect on our core beliefs and values. We may enter treatment seeing only a few colors, and in sobriety begin to see every color and hue of the principles we want to live by. We may even find values we never really thought much about before, like compassion and empathy, and choose to make those amongst our most important principles with which we live our lives.

Discovering Our Higher Purpose

Our values can connect us once again with who we are and who we want to be. As we identify the principles that are most important in our lives, our values can help us create or discover our own higher purpose in life. Values give our lives more meaning, and as we live a life that is true to our values, we can find more joy and fulfillment.

Living a life guided by the values that we have chosen to place importance on allows us to find our place in the world and to create the life and affect change in the areas that we want to. We are not just going through the motions, as sometimes people do with a job. We are creating a purpose for our lives and our actions that is based on our core beliefs and values.

As we step into recovery, we have the opportunity to reflect on the values of our heart, the guiding principles, and the ideals that help create our own sense of identity. As we honor those values, we can discover a higher purpose. In substance use, we may have lost ourselves and forgotten our values, but now we can find new meaning in living. Find the values of your life and find the joy of painting your life with a higher purpose.

Determine the colors and spectrum of your values. Learn how to live with a higher purpose. Call AToN Center at (888) 813-5928 to navigate your life with greater joy and meaning.

Why Am I Grieving After Substance Use?

March 31, 2020 // by AToN Center

If we are getting treatment for substance use, we have obviously made a good choice for our lives. Things seem to be going fairly well as we progress in treatment, and then suddenly, we are hit with this powerful sense of grief and loss. Why am I grieving after substance use?

First of all, so many types of emotions come to the surface as we are coming away from substance use. Grief is only one emotional response we may experience. That said, many people feel grief for the loss of their way of life, their friends, and their activities surrounding substance use. It is an entire way of life, complete with people, that we have just turned our backs on and said goodbye to. If our families packed up our farm and moved us to the city, we would also grieve that loss. It is okay to grieve in recovery.

Loss of the Substance

Despite stigma about substances, many people who have used substances have a relationship with their substance, especially how it made them relax or feel good, at least in the beginning. While there are plenty of consequences to using substances, like a bad relationship, we might still regret that it is over.

Likewise, we had people, places, and things that surrounded our drug use, which was what we knew. We must leave all of that behind, too, and that is a big loss. Also lost is the time we spent seeking and using substances, especially hanging out with those fellow substance users. Now we have to find new things to do, new places to go, and new people to do things with to fill that time. That is change, and that is loss.

Loss of Events and People

We may also need to grieve the time that we missed with people in our lives during our substance use. The milestones in the lives of children, or even adults, which we were not present for. Coming out of substance use makes these missed experiences freshly painful. We may have also missed children growing up and moving on, friends or family who moved, and we were not there to say goodbye. Worse still are the goodbyes we cannot get back, saying goodbye to those who may have passed away while we were in the midst of our substance use. These losses can hit us hard when we are emotionally vulnerable in treatment, and the grief is very real.

Loss of Relationships, Livelihood, or Freedom

Sometimes, in our substance use, we have experienced significant losses. For example, we may have lost a relationship through a breakup, separation, or divorce. While in substance use, even if those breakups were happening, we may not have allowed ourselves to truly grieve these losses. The more powerful our connections were, or even the length of time we were with that partner can impact the level of grief that we are experiencing now, and that can be intense.

We may have lost our source of income or our job while we were using substances. Or perhaps we lost our housing. We may have also lost our health. All of these things are basic needs that we no longer have, making our lives more challenging going forward. When we lose basic needs, there can be a significant grieving process to navigate, which can be complicated by the use of substances and the changes we are now making to improve our lives.

A very significant loss that we may have endured is the loss of freedom because of our actions while using substances. Incarceration is also accountability for our actions and any harm we may have caused to others, but we still lost our freedom. Such a significant loss and change in our life is inevitably going to cause grieving.

Loss of Self

Often in substance use, we may have compromised our morals or values with some of our behaviors. This, along with other factors, can lead to the loss of our sense of self. We may have lost ourselves in our substance use, and that seems to define us now more than our values or who we were before.

We may also be grieving the loss of the dreams we had for the future. Particularly if our substance use has significantly impaired our financial, legal, or relationship status, or any other major influences. We may have to grieve the dreams we once had and make new plans and dreams when we have finished grieving.

Acceptance of Our Loss

At the end of the grieving stage, which can be different for everyone, we will finally find acceptance for the life we left behind and the people and experiences that we missed out on. This becomes easier to accept when we realize what we have gained in recovery.

Why am I grieving after substance use? Because we have lost everything. Our identity, our friends and relationships, our method of feeling better, and so much more. There is a grieving process when we leave so much behind and make such wholesale changes in our lives. That is okay. Grieving is just one part of the recovery process, and it is healthy to grieve. Face your grief and all of the emotions as you work to heal from substance use. Call to begin treatment today.

You can grieve your substance use. You can process all of your grief at AToN Center. Call (888) 813-5928 to learn how to process all of your emotions after substance use.

The Value of Hypnosis in Treatment

March 25, 2020 // by AToN Center

The power of suggestion has long been used to influence people’s choices. Advertising is a multibillion-dollar industry that thrives on finding new and more powerful ways to influence us through suggestions. The reason the industry is thriving is because the power of suggestion actually does have a big impact on our choices and actions.

How much more power, then, is available through hypnosis? When the power of suggestion is used in a relaxed or subconscious state, we can more powerfully influence thoughts and behaviors. When used by trained professionals in conjunction with our initial treatment for substance use, hypnosis can become an important tool to help us change our habits and thinking around substances.

Taking Hypnosis Seriously

We may have seen people who use hypnosis like a circus act, putting someone in front of an audience and making them believe they are a chicken or something. While the concept of using the power of suggestion to transform someone’s behavior is the basic idea behind hypnosis, the motives and credibility of those using it for performance or profit sheds doubt on the clinical practice of hypnotherapy.

Using hypnosis within psychotherapy couldn’t be farther from the circus concept. No one is going to try to exploit us. Hypnosis is done in a trusting, safe environment with someone who is trained to help us achieve our goals in treatment. In fact, some techniques are used without even entering a fully subconscious hypnotic state, but rather a simply relaxed state. Hypnosis has been used for years to successfully help people stop smoking, or lose weight. Now, there is increasing scientific evidence of the efficacy of hypnosis to help reduce our behaviors and cravings when used in the initial treatment of substance use. Which means it is time to take hypnosis seriously.

How Hypnosis Works

Actual hypnosis involves the therapist verbally or otherwise guiding us to a subconscious state of mind. This only works if we are aware and willing to be hypnotized. Developing a relationship of trust with our therapist is essential for the hypnotherapy to be effective.

While we are in a subconscious state, our therapist can offer suggestions to help decrease the thoughts, cravings, and actions related to substance use. There is also the opportunity for hypnotherapy to help us change our subconscious thoughts about substances or even the reasons we began to use substances. These are the same ideas and concepts being used in the rest of our treatment on a conscious level.

When we are guided back to a conscious state, we may not have memories of the thoughts and suggestions given to us while in a subconscious state. However, by harnessing the power of the subconscious mind, those suggestions can have a direct influence on our conscious actions and behaviors going forward. The goal in treatment, obviously, is to support the abstinence of substance use and to encourage different thoughts surrounding our prior reasons for substance use.

Hypnosis is typically used in the initial stages of treatment, and for as long as deemed necessary to help curb thoughts and actions surrounding substance use. It is not used as a long-term form of therapy, because it should work by changing our subconscious thoughts right away. It is not necessary to keep trying to change our thoughts. Rather, we should benefit immediately from the power of suggestion in regard to our substance use.

Why Hypnosis Works

Just as advertising and marketing can send both conscious and more subtle messages that influence us, hypnosis uses the subconscious mind to send messages that will impact our conscious choices and actions both now and long term. In the case of substance use, we may feel like our cravings and desires to use substances is not within our conscious control. When we use hypnosis as a part of our initial treatment, the suggestions given to us while in a subconscious state can be powerful tools to help us feel more in control of our choices and actions while conscious.

The suggestions given to us while hypnotized can override negative thoughts and patterns of thinking that have contributed to our substance abuse. Replacing old thought patterns with new, healthy thoughts and ideas about ourselves is like a do-over for our minds, giving us more control over our thoughts and actions surrounding substance use. This is why hypnosis can be such a powerful tool in treatment.

Contributing to Success in Recovery

Particularly when combined with other therapies and treatment practices, hypnosis can be very valuable in recovery. Much like choosing a healthy diet from a variety of food groups for a balanced and nutritious meal, our treatment allows us to choose a variety of tools and practices that can work together to help us heal. Using hypnosis as part of our treatment can contribute to our overall success.

Perhaps we have been skeptical of hypnosis, or never really thought to use it ourselves. However, the power of suggestion on a subconscious level can be a gamechanger in our treatment. As we are truly wanting to change our lives and rid ourselves of substance use, we can be open to all types of treatment to ensure our success. Now that we have experienced the power of suggestion on a conscious level, it’s time to heal ourselves with hypnosis on a subconscious level.

Find out if hypnosis can help you. Call AToN Center at (888) 813-5928. Harness the power of suggestion to help your healing.

What Does Time Management Have to Do with Recovery?

March 24, 2020 // by AToN Center

Time management sounds like a presentation we would have at work. Learning to schedule our time, use our time more effectively, and use a calendar properly hardly seem like they have anything to do with treatment for substance use. What does time management have to do with recovery?

Time management helps provide structure and balance as we are leaving our substance use behind. When we manage our time well and align our schedules to reflect our values, we can enjoy a higher quality of life and become more effective, too.

Finding Balance

In active substance use, it is unlikely that our time was balanced very well. Inevitably, we may have let some things in our life go as we prioritized our substance use and accompanying behaviors. However, we don’t want to overschedule our new lives and create more stress. We also don’t want to under-schedule our lives, because we don’t need a lot of idle time to be tempted into a relapse, either. Time management in recovery is all about finding balance.

Balance is not just the time we have planned. Balance also refers to the types of activities that we plan. Does our schedule reflect our values? Do the activities we have scheduled reflect the things that are most important in our lives? Are there things such as family and other relationships that we neglected during our substance use? If we look at a week in our calendar, do the activities accurately reflect who we are and what our priorities are?

Balance is also about flexibility. Not only the opportunity to change activities if something doesn’t work out, such as that pottery class we thought we would love but actually hated. But also the flexibility to change our schedule when we have a tough day or have an unanticipated need. Balance is about being disciplined enough with our time and plans, but also flexible enough to be patient when life asks us to be.

Improving Quality of Life

When we manage our time with balance and also according to our beliefs, then we can find more quality of life. We can enjoy life if we are living unscheduled, there is a certain joy in that. However, that is a luxury that we may not be able to afford after substance use, and so planning a well-balanced schedule offers us the opportunity to find more quality of life.

Quality of life happens when our core values are reflected in our daily routines. When we give priority to the activities and people that we believe in, then we are more fulfilled. For example, if family is one of our core values, then spending quality time with them will increase our quality of life.

Becoming More Effective

As we utilize time management to schedule the things that are most important to us, we can also learn to set and achieving goals. The more specific the goal, the more likely we are to follow through with it. In fact, we can set specific dates and times to fulfill our goals, which will help us be more accountable to ourselves and actually complete the tasks.

We can learn to use calendars and schedules to help us fill our time productively. As we do so, we also become more effective at life in general. We are more likely to keep appointments and dates with people when we learn to rely on our schedules. We can fit more in our days and find time for things we didn’t think we could when we utilize our time management skills.

Preventing Relapse with Time Management

We can replace the time we spent in substance use with new and meaningful activities. This will help us to not only keep us busy and focused on positive things, but will also bring more fulfillment in our lives. If we choose to share that time with family, friends, or by volunteering with others, then we can bring fulfillment to other people’s lives as well.

As we look to prevent relapse, we can carefully schedule healthy activities during the times that we would have formerly used our substances. It is important to focus on what we can do. Thinking about what we would have done previously opens a window for a potential relapse and is not a productive use of our time. By keeping our minds on the new things that we can do with our time, we continue to live our recovery fiercely and powerfully.

What does time management have to do with recovery? It is the structure that keeps us sober, the balance we create in our lives. Time management improves our quality of life and also makes us more effective in everything that we do. Time management is like the road map that we make for our lives to keep us safely on the path and to create the journey that we want to live.

We can learn to prioritize our lives according to our values to find balance and find more joy. We can use time management to set and achieve goals both short- and long-term. We can use time management to stay busy enough to stay sober, and still have enough down time to stay healthy. Let time management help you navigate your life.

Find out what time management has to do with recovery at AToN Center. Call (888) 813-5928 to begin finding the balance and fulfillment that scheduling can bring in your life.

Healing With ACT Therapy

March 20, 2020 // by AToN Center

Within the recovery process, there are many different tools and many different forms of therapy. Ideally, we would find a treatment facility which offers many types of therapy, so we can find what works best for us. Just as none of us are identical, neither are our stories or our needs, so we might not all benefit from identical types of therapy or treatment.

The best forms of treatment for substance use are evidence-based practices. These are practices which have been researched and for which there is scientific evidence of their efficacy in treating addiction. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of substance use.

What is ACT?

ACT is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy which utilizes mindfulness, or being present and non-judgmental. Rather than avoiding pain or negative emotions, we are taught to simply accept them and not place judgment on them or try to control them. This technique is utilized because we will not always be able to avoid unpleasant situations or emotions, but we can learn to control our responses to them. As we change our perceptions of the struggles in our lives, we actually reduce their existence by realizing that it is our reactions which create most of the struggles.

This approach, of changing our perceptions rather than trying to change ourselves or the world around us, results in greater cognitive flexibility and a significant decrease in emotional stress. There are six core ideas within ACT which help us to change our perceptions and functioning:

• Defusion – we can learn to watch our thinking. Often, we give thoughts, memories, or emotions the same power as concrete events or things. As we learn to separate the tangible from the intangible, our brains can learn to give the appropriate weight and response to intangible things. This helps us to give balance to our thinking.

• Acceptance – Rather than resist or fight or judge events or emotions, we can simply accept them. We can notice them, almost as if watching them from a distance, without perceiving them to be bad or wrong or even negative. This helps us to control our emotional response to the world around us.

• Being Present – we can train ourselves to be in contact with the present moment, to be here, now. When we are thinking about things in the past or anticipating things in the future, we are placing judgment upon those events, many of which are things we cannot control. When we are distracted by other things, we are not effective in the moment for ourselves or others. Being present helps us to see things now, as they are, and reduces judgment and emotional response.

• Values – It is important for us to know what is important to ourselves. By knowing and maintaining our own values, we can choose words and actions that reflect who we are. We can also choose the people we want to surround ourselves with, those who will support us in our values. When we use our own values, we can be true to ourselves in our responses and actions.

• Committed Action – when we take committed action, we do what matters. As we are increasingly aware of our own values, we can set goals which reflect those values. As we make those commitments to ourselves, we can take effective action to follow through with our plans. Taking committed action helps us to develop integrity and lead an authentic life.

• Self as Context – we can simply notice. We are not our emotions, feelings, thoughts, memories or even our bodies. Those things individually are part of us, but they are not our essence or who we really are. As we simply notice or observe, we can remove the judgments and reactions to the world around us.

How Does ACT Help Heal?

Our healing is based on change. We are changing our behaviors by giving up our substances. We are changing our thoughts and actions to support this change. Changing the way that we think is very difficult, but ACT can help us learn to drastically change how our minds work and how we perceive the world.

We also need help healing from the pain and experiences which led to our substance use. ACT is a powerful tool to help us change how we look at our experiences, which also helps us to heal from our pain and trauma. We can even learn to change our feelings about our substance use, which can remove the guilt and shame and other emotions we might have about our actions. Learning to use mindfulness and the other tools we gain from ACT, we can gain the skills to heal ourselves and live authentically and effectively.

We need help to heal from substance use. ACT is an evidence-based practice which can help us not only heal our minds, but also change the way that we think and perceive our world. As we learn to be healthy and free of substances, we can also free ourselves from emotional responses that can keep us stuck in unhealthy thought patterns and reactions. ACT can also empower us to change not only our perceptions, but also identify our values as we learn to act and live authentically. ACT can not only help us heal, but also transform our lives.

Discover how ACT can help you heal. Call AToN Center at (888) 813-5928. We have many treatment options available, including ACT Therapy.

Why Do I Need a Physical Trainer?

March 19, 2020 // by AToN Center

Most people seek the help of a physical trainer to lose weight, get that ultimate beach body, or to help them prepare for a physical competition. Yet, we are looking to recover from substance abuse. Gaining the perfect BMI or finding our optimum fitness levels is probably not a priority for us right now. Then why do we need a physical trainer?

A physical trainer is the ideal way to start an exercise program in treatment. In addition to assessing our physical condition and being able to help plan a personalized program for our own fitness, a physical trainer can teach us a lot about our bodies and appropriate ways to become fit. We seek professional help for our mental and emotional healing, so why not also seek professional help for our physical healing?

Importance of Exercise in Treatment

We have subjected our bodies to substances and all of the side effects of drugs or alcohol, as well as perhaps the accompanying lifestyle. This might include poor diet, poor sleep, and lack of exercise. The side effects of substances can impact our immune systems, our cardiovascular systems, and more. This is one of the reasons that exercise can help us so much, as it can help to reverse some of the side effects by strengthening our immune system and improving the function and overall health of our cardiovascular system.

Exercise can also help improve our sleep. Our sleep cycle may have been affected in our substance use, and physical activity is one of the ways to regulate sleep patterns again. There are benefits in our brains, too, as we start to exercise and heal. There is evidence to show that regular exercise can help lower our cravings. Above all, exercise makes us feel better and improves the functions of our bodies.

Personalized Workout

Perhaps if we were left alone to try to start exercising, we might set unrealistic goals, such as running a marathon within the month, despite us having been sedentary for years. However, a physical trainer can assess our condition and help us make healthy, safe, and realistic goals to improve our overall health.

Setting up a personalized workout for us, one that focuses on our needs and our limitations, allows us to be kind to our bodies and ease into a fitness program that is right for us. The trainer can set goals for us that challenge us, but are also attainable. The success we are most focused on at this point is our own recovery, so our personalized fitness plan should support that, not take away from it. We can trust a physical trainer to help plan our path back to physical health.

Accountability

Having a personal trainer means we have someone to hold us accountable for the exercise we should be doing. Particularly as we are emerging from our substance use, having a schedule and some accountability for our exercise helps us to develop good habits as we recover. We also benefit from the guidance and consistency that a personal trainer gives us. Even if fitness is not our highest priority in treatment, it is still a very important piece of it, and having a personal trainer can help us to maintain the quantity and quality of exercise in our recovery process.

Proper Technique

As we are making changes in our life, we might be excited to jump in and try new forms of exercise and fitness that we have never tried before. Maybe it has been a long time since we last did any of those movements. A personal trainer can help us to be sure we use the proper techniques that will give us the maximum efficiency in our workouts, as well as help to prevent injury.

Using a personal trainer allows us to experience optimal workouts for our bodies wherever we are at in our fitness. We can learn so much by listening and working with someone, including the activities that we can do now, the activities that we can build up to, and how to know if we are ready for that next level. We can also learn to monitor our breathing and heartrate so we know when to stop and when we can push ourselves a little more, but doing so safely.

Motivation

Especially while we are still new in our treatment, finding the motivation to exercise can often be difficult. Having a personal trainer helps to give us that motivation. When there is a trainer who has worked with others in treatment after substance use, it helps to have someone who has compassion and empathy for what we are going through, but also provides us with appropriate motivation to exercise and help our bodies heal.

Why do you need a personal trainer? Because you are worth it. Your physical health is as important as your mental and emotional health. Seeking the help of a trained professional to help your body heal shows your commitment to yourself and your well-being. Discover what a personal trainer can do for you and your physical health. Experience the personalized care, the accountability, the motivation, and techniques to heal your body. Find your unique path to physical fitness and health.

AToN Center has our own personal trainer to help you restore your physical health. Call AToN Center at (888) 813-5928 now and start your path to physical health today.

Changing the Culture of Alcohol

March 18, 2020 // by AToN Center

Different cultures and groups of people have different belief systems and practices when it comes to alcohol. Those of us who have used substances, particularly alcohol, may have experienced a lot of familial, cultural, or social pressure to drink. That pressure can be very real. As we seek treatment for substance use, though, we can be torn by the societal pressure and making choices that are right for us. The expectations surrounding drinking and substance use are not always healthy. Sometimes, it can become necessary to change the culture of alcohol.

Influences of Advertising

In the United States, alcohol companies spend billions per year to advertise their products. While there are guidelines in place as to where and when alcohol advertising can be shown in an effort to prevent advertising to minors, those who are underage are still exposed to such advertising daily. Thus, alcohol is a culture that is marketed as a societal norm from as early as a child is able to see and be aware of television ads, billboards, grocery store advertising, and more.

Whether or not this marketing increases the actual instances of drinking in those who are exposed to the advertising is something that is heavily debated. Research about the social and cultural impacts on alcohol use demonstrates that the impact of advertising varies amongst various races, genders, and age groups. However, the one thing that is clear amongst all groups is that advertising and marketing of alcohol creates positive beliefs about consuming alcohol. The images we see create an expectation of alcohol being not only socially acceptable, but a behavior that is encouraged, particularly in certain environments and occasions. Advertising gives us all “permission” to drink.

Cultural Influences

Alcohol use varies widely within various cultures. For example, where there are strong ties to family and religion, there is often less alcohol consumption. Cultures with a lot of socioeconomic challenges, oppression and other stressors often consume a lot more alcohol than other groups. Gender-wise, men traditionally consume a lot more alcohol than women.

Although there may be cultural influences that impact us such as those listed, it is our own personal culture that impacts us the most. We do not need to fit into one of those groups or stereotypes to use or abuse alcohol or even other drugs. Rather, it is the overall culture that surrounds us that most impacts our choices to drink or not.

The Power of Family

The part of our culture that impacts us most is family. As with any other area of our lives, the values our family places on alcohol consumption will directly impact our own choices. Often, our values are similar. Sometimes, we choose the exact opposite values. For example, in a very conservative household that condemns alcohol use, we might be inclined to rebel and use or misuse alcohol to defy the familial values.

However, the most impactful influence our families can have is by example. If alcohol is acceptable but only used socially and occasionally, we are likely to adapt that attitude for our own lives. If we witness excessive alcohol use and the behaviors associated with it, we may also end up abusing alcohol as well. If we never see our families using alcohol, then it will more likely be foreign to us and something we are less likely to engage in.

Regardless of the social, cultural, or familial environments we have been exposed to, we are now faced with the challenge of treating our substance use. This requires wholesale changes in how we think about alcohol and other substances. We are also going to need to change our own culture surrounding alcohol.

Creating a New Culture

There is stigma around sobriety that not drinking makes us boring, or turns us into people that no one wants to be around. This stigma is partially based on the permissiveness that society gives to drinking alcohol, and the guilt that people have of drinking, sometimes excessively, when others around them are not so inclined.

The truth is that sobriety frees us up to be so much more than just a social drinker, an excessive drinker, or someone who likes to party. We can create a new culture around us of fun and excitement that is not based solely around bars or clubs or parties. We can expand our activities and circles to include others who are also looking to create a culture that challenges the norms that advertisers have paid to construct for us. We can look beyond the marketing and societal stipulations meant to sell products regardless of the harm that misuse and abuse of alcohol causes to us and to others. When we free ourselves from alcohol addiction, we free ourselves to create a new culture without limitations.

Just because advertising, societal, cultural, and familial influences have dictated to us that alcohol use is acceptable, or even encouraged, does not mean that we need to buy into that way of life. For us, maybe alcohol or other substance use is harmful, both to ourselves and others. That is definitely not okay.

Alcohol is also not necessary to live a life that is rewarding and fulfilling. We can change our own culture. We can be empowered to make new choices. We can inspire others to make better choices, too.

You can change the culture surrounding alcohol. Call AToN Center at (888) 813-5928 to start making a change today.

Does My Family Need Therapy?

March 17, 2020 // by AToN Center

One of the biggest misconceptions about substance use is that the person with the addiction is the only person who needs help. Anyone who has used substances or lived with someone while they were using substances knows that addiction is a family disease. Everyone is impacted by the behaviors and actions of someone using substances, and that impact can create other issues or change the family dynamics exponentially. Addiction affects the entire family system. Does that mean my family needs therapy?

Healing for All

Families, significant others, and anyone else living with someone who was in active addiction also need the chance to heal. Family therapy that is simultaneous to our own treatment is very important. When only one person heals and returns to the pre-existing family and their accompanying dynamics, it can make it difficult for us to maintain our recovery. The healing that can occur in family therapy for both ourselves and our close family members helps everyone.

Family members and others show their support by being willing to step into therapy. Particularly when they might consider that they are not the “problem,” it can be a leap of faith to be willing to be vulnerable. Families who come to therapy to support us can open up to healing and possibly even forgiveness. The support received then in turn helps the person in treatment to heal, which creates a circle of healing for all.

Making Amends

One of the really helpful aspects of family therapy is that it gives us the opportunity to make amends to our family members. Some things cannot be undone, but making restitution in any way that we can, even heartfelt and sincere apologies, opens up the dialogue for healing. For many families, this may be the first time we have even openly discussed what has occurred due to our substance use.

Making amends within a therapeutic environment helps everyone to engage in open, honest communication. It is powerful to have this opportunity for everyone to share perhaps some of the most painful of experiences in a safe environment, facilitated by a clinical psychologist. Family therapy is a safe place to communicate, cry, express anger, express pain, express gratitude or forgiveness. Family therapy is a place for healing to begin.

Education

Many families do not know a lot about substance use, how it impacts our brains and our bodies, or about treatment and recovery. They may know firsthand what it is like to live with someone in active addiction, but now they are going to be living with someone in active recovery. There is so much for them to learn. Education is so helpful for all of us.

When our families learn the difference between stigma and reality, when their ignorance is replaced by knowledge, they are then given the opportunity to make informed choices about whether or not to support us and how to support us in our treatment and recovery. Giving families more information empowers everyone.

Therapy

Unfortunately, we are not all born with healthy communication skills. Each family has their own dynamics, and there is a good chance that some of those dynamics may have inspired our original substance use. We are learning important therapeutic and communication skills within our own treatment, but our families are still the same as they were. This is where family therapy is invaluable. Even one single session with a clinical psychologist can help our family members acquire some basic communication skills that will improve future communications about recovery or anything else.

Our families get a chance to see the type of work that we have been doing to heal our own selves. Perhaps they have never even been to therapy before, and this is an opportunity for them to learn more about what therapy is and what it can do for our families as a whole. Even if they have experience with therapy, experiencing therapy as a family while we are in treatment is an opportunity for growth in each family member as well as the entire family unit.

Support

Ideally, behind every one of us who is in recovery is one or more family members offering us support. We also have the support of our treatment facility, as well as potentially longer-term support such as therapists and more. But who gives support to the family?

Family therapy opens the door of the facility to those we love and introduces them to the benefits of therapy, as well as offering them support at this crucial time. Meeting with a therapist teaches them the value of therapy, helps them learn about both substance use and recovery, but it also provides them access to support for them throughout this process.

Whether or not your family needs therapy is ultimately up to you and your family. There is a reason it is offered, even encouraged at the best of treatment facilities. Because family therapy allows healing in that part of our life that connects you, your family. You can offer education and support to those who will be supporting you most. The question is not actually that of family and therapy, it is more about how much support and healing you are willing ask for from those who love you most.

Invite your family to heal with you. Complete the circle of healing. Call AToN Center at (888) 813-5928 and let your family learn how to support you in your recovery.

What Does Wellness Mean?

March 13, 2020 // by AToN Center

Within the community of addiction recovery, there are a lot of terms that are used to describe healing from our substance use. For example, sobriety refers to our abstinence from substances. We go through detoxification to cleanse our bodies of substances. Our treatment refers to that process, as well as the therapeutic, physical and spiritual treatment for our substance use. Recovery can refer to our entire journey from substance use to healing. But what does wellness mean?

Wellness in Recovery

Within our recovery, wellness refers to a wholesale change that occurs as we seek not only to become sober, but to live a healthy life mentally, physically, and spiritually. Wellness includes our ability to maintain our recovery independently and with purpose.

Wellness is far more than sobriety, or even simply restoring our physical health. It is a way of living an authentic life where we are fearlessly capable of managing our emotions. We are practicing skills and techniques which prevent relapse and which empower us to live autonomously with mental and emotional strength.

Mental Wellness

Our minds are typically the most impacted by substance use, so they also become the cornerstone of our search for wellness. We take back the control by healing the brain and the reward pathway step by step, day by day. There are many physical things we can do to affect the physiological healing, such as yoga, acupuncture, exercise, and more. Many of these things also help reduce cravings to give us more peace of mind in our recovery.

There are many therapeutic methods to help heal the thought processes in our heads. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT,) Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT,) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are all examples of methods that help us to heal from old pain and trauma as well as process old ways of thinking. However, their larger purpose is to give us new skills and new ways of thinking and functioning that, as we practice them daily, will lead to mental wellness.

There are other tools to help elevate our minds from the scars of substance use to empowering wellness. Mindfulness meditation, for example, is a way of training our minds to be present and non-judgmental. The more we practice it, the more elasticity we develop in our brains of being able to control where our thoughts go at any given time. This is particularly helpful as we work toward wellness in the mind.

Physical Wellness

Substance use can have many negative side effects on our bodies. While some conditions and side effects are unfortunately irreversible and may require extended medical treatment, many people are able to return to physical health with good diet and exercise. This requires removing poor habits and replacing them with good habits.

A person with physical wellness is someone who actively chooses not just healthy foods, but foods which are nutritional. Our bodies are often severely lacking in nutrients following substance use, so all of our dietary choices need to be more than just healthy. Likewise, healing practices like massage, acupuncture, and meditation contribute to physical, mental, and spiritual wellness.

Exercise is key. Whether it is a physically demanding but non-impact or cardio form of exercising like yoga, or anything from walking to running, swimming to bicycling, or participating in sports, our bodies need the physical movement. Exercise can help to reverse some of the negative side effects of substance abuse in our bodies, and also contribute to our mental and spiritual wellness.

Spiritual and Emotional Wellness

There is a certain degree of structure to healing our minds and bodies, but to achieve spiritual and emotional wellness, we must look in the mirrors of our souls and be willing to strip down our beliefs and values and rebuild the person that we are. We use some of the same tools as with our mental healing, such as the various forms of therapy, mindfulness meditation, and even yoga. But when it comes to spiritual wellness, that is something that only we can define for ourselves.

Learning to control our emotions is something we can definitely learn and practice. With CBT, DBT, and ACT therapies, we practice valuable skills that allow us to react differently than we have in the past and give us greater control over our emotional responses. These skills, combined with the spiritual empowerment we find individually help us to become not only stronger and independent in our recovery, but also empowered and authentic to our values and core beliefs.

Why Wellness is Important

Wellness is a comprehensive healing of our minds, bodies, and souls. Achieving wellness is incredibly valuable in preventing relapse. The more grounded that we are in our healing process, the more tools we have to cope with cravings and emotions, the stronger we become in our recovery, the more vigilant we are to prevent a relapse.

Wellness is the constant commitment we have to our overall health and well-being. Wellness encompasses our mental, physical, and spiritual and emotional healing. Wellness is not just being in recovery, it is living and becoming our recovery. We can find our purpose and live authentically as we commit to our overall health and well-being. Wellness is rebuilding our lives to be able to unlock our full potential.

Start your own journey to find wellness. Heal your body, mind, and soul. Call AToN Center at (888) 813-5928 to make wholesale changes in your life and live with purpose.

Concerns About Coronavirus (COVID-19)

March 13, 2020 // by Aton Center

There is no higher priority at the AToN Center than the health and safety of our residents, and employees. We’re keeping a close watch on the developing global and local health situation surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and are taking precautionary measures to minimize risk.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the situation we are cancelling all March Events, and limiting access to campus. For a full list of canceled events please scroll to the bottom of this page.

During this outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), we remain committed to safeguarding the well-being of all AToN Center residents and employees. Please be aware that we are taking the following safety precautions in response to recent concerns and events:

Strengthening sanitation measures throughout our facilities with frequent sanitizing of workstations, computers, phones, all common areas and surfaces.
We will be prescreening all possible intakes to limit exposure.
Advising staff to prioritize their health and refrain from entering our facility if they have exhibited fever symptoms.
Empowering our residents and staff to stay informed regarding best practices in preventing the virus’s spread, including frequent hand-washing, frequent reminders to avoid touching your face, and more. See the CDC’s full list of Prevention Measures.
For staff, putting official protocol in place for overall sanitation and prevention measures (as mentioned above), as well as instructions for reporting of symptoms and travel.

Please be advised that in order to continue to provide a safe and therapeutic atmosphere for all who walk through our doors, visitation has been impacted in light of new developments regarding Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

If there are any urgent updates we need to make, they will appear at the bottom of this page.

For more information and national updates on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. For your convenience, please find some CDC quick-reference links below:

Update | Canceled Events

Saturday Aftercare Group will be suspended until further notice based on CDC guidelines. We will provide access to an online platform for this meeting ASAP.
No tours of AToN are available at this time.
Spring VPD is cancelled.
No visitation for current residents.
The Recovery Ride – Sunday, April 19, 2020

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