Nontraditional Rehab

One of the common misconceptions about sleep deprivation is that you achieve a heroic feat when you don’t get enough sleep.

Some people may try to pride themselves in the fact that they don’t regularly get enough sleep because they want to achieve something. However, it is important to mention that our bodies need enough rest from time to time for them to function optimally.

Sleep deprivation comes with some adverse effects that affect our physical and mental health. Hence, paying attention to the signs of sleep deprivation will help you know if you’re getting enough sleep or not.

You’re moody

One of the ways to tell that you are sleep deprived is when you are mostly moody. Sleep is greatly connected to our emotional health, so if you’re not getting sufficient sleep, it would tell on your mood.

Ultimately, it can affect your relationship with other people because your mood is not at its best. If you’re deprived of sleep, you might feel irritable, anxious, depressed, and cranky.

Your performance and productivity slips

Another way to know that you are not getting enough sleep is when it begins to affect your performance and productivity.

You might find it hard to meet your milestones and goals because you are not your best self. If you’re very good at something, you will discover that you may begin to record average performances. Creating more time for sleep will make you step up your performance over time.

You have an insatiable appetite

You can find out if you’re sleep deprived or not when you discover that you always want to keep eating even if you’re filled up. Most times, you might end up eating some particular foods or snacks because of the gratification that comes with it.

You feel sleepy during the day

One of the major signs of sleep deprivation is when you feel drowsy during the day. You might be working on something, but all you want to do is fall asleep. When this happens to you regularly, it is a sign that you need to get more sleep.  

The American Society of Medicine defines addiction as “a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences”. Simply put, an addict will repeatedly use substances or engage in behaviors that are detrimental to their physical and psychological health.

People can develop an addiction to alcohol, Marijuana, PCP, Opioid pain killers, such as codeine and oxycodone, heroin, sedatives, hypnotics, Cocaine, and other stimulants.  Addiction isn’t only restricted to substance abuse; it can also be behavioral, for example, gambling, food, the internet, gaming, cell phone, sex, and pornography.

Addiction and mental illness have been proven to be mutually inclusive situations. That is, many people who are addicted to drugs are most likely to be diagnosed with other mental disorders and vice versa.

Chronic use of some drugs can lead to both short and long-term changes in the brain. They affect areas that relate to judgment, decision making, learning, memory, and behavioral control.

These defects lead to mental health issues like paranoia, depression, anxiety, aggression, hallucinations, mood swings, and other problems. 

When you have both a substance abuse problem and a mental health issue such as depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety, it is called a co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis.

A desire for drug consumption for feelings of pleasure is usually an early sign of one of the kinds of mental illnesses.

For example, someone who is depressed might turn towards alcohol to feel better. Likewise, a sex addict might experience feelings of shame, social isolation, inadequacy, and emotional distress.

To make the situation more complicated, the co-occurring disorders also affect each other. When a mental health problem goes untreated, the substance abuse problem usually gets worse. More so, stopping the substance or behavior often leads to withdrawal symptoms indicative of poor mental health.

Fun fact, did you know that mental health and sleep are strongly related? Ever heard the nursery rhyme “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man strong, healthy and wise”? You never did think about it right?

You are strong and healthy if you sleep well. Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and alert when you wake up.

Poor sleep can increase the risk of having poor mental health and poor mental health can, in turn, make it harder to sleep. Mental health issues, such as depression, are strongly linked to poor sleep quality and sleeping disorders. It’s been estimated that 90% of people with depression complain about sleep.

Poor sleep is even associated with an increased risk of death by suicide. In the same guise, people with sleeping disorders like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea also report significantly, higher rates of depression than those without.

So, why is good quality sleep important for positive mental health?

Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function. This includes cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance.

Studies have shown sleep deprivation leaves people vulnerable to attention lapses, reduced cognition, delayed reactions, and mood shifts. These are all indications of poor mental health.

Sleeping helps us to recover from mental, as well as physical exertion or exhaustion. Sleeping helps us feel more alert, more energetic, happier, and able to function better. Good sleep also enhances your ability to recognize important social cues and process emotional information which is an indication of strong mental health.

It is imperative as humans to have the right amount of good quality sleep. Doctors recommend 7-8 hours of sleep daily for adults. So, sleep longer, don’t give up on your dreams so soon.

Not everyone has deemed it fit to pay good attention to their mental health. This is one of the major reasons why people are hit with anxiety, depression and a host of others.

Perhaps, if they had taken proper care of their health, they would not have a poor mental health.

It would interest you to know that taking care of your mental health is equally as important as caring for your physical health.

One of the basic steps of caring for your mental health is placing value on yourself. If you check people who have a poor mental health, most of them have written themselves off.

They find it difficult to believe that they can amount to any good in this life. This is one of the reasons why they have a low self-esteem.

People who do not place value on themselves need to understand that for them to be treated with kindness and respect, they must first see themselves in that light.

Also, it is also vital to mention that learning new things and developing skills makes people to place value on you. When this happens, your mental health becomes better because some of these people will look up to you.

Another way to care for your mental health is ensuring your physical health is intact. The fact is, they go hand-in-hand but people do not know about this.

For instance, for someone who is obese, he or she would regularly be a victim of derision. However, if he or she can work on their physical health, they become okay in time and they regain confidence.

So, you need to take care of your physical health by implementing these measures. Also, taking balanced diet, ample water and sleeping well all contribute to a good mental health.

Conclusively, it is important to move with people who have a good mental health. These people must be certified to be sober and good people. Finding yourself in a community with such people would help you stabilize your mental health and bring out the best in you!

Anyone who is in addiction treatment will attest to the fact that addiction is a worthy expense. It is a matter of life and it is worth spending on.

Although on the average, addiction treatment is not expensive except if you are opting for the executive rehab that is for top professionals and public leaders.

Someone who is addicted and not yet in treatment will not see sense in spending money on treatment. In addition treatment, the first phase of cost is with the counselor.

This stage cannot be skipped because it is the stage of revelation. Series of sessions with the counselor shows you the root cause of your addiction and gives you feasible steps on how you can help yourself.

Then, the next phase is the rehab stage. If you advised to go for the inpatient rehab, it implies that you would have to spend more.

The inpatient rehab requires you to remain within the treatment facility till your addiction problem is over. So, you would pay for accommodation, diet and the therapy services you will undergo.

• 

The diet of an individual is important at this phase because he or she would need to eat nutritious meals that would boost recovery. All these and more are possible expenses that an individual would possibly incur in addiction treatment.

For the outpatient rehab, the individual would not incur cost for accommodation and feeding possibly. People who go for outpatient rehab do not have severe forms of addiction.

So, they will either come from homes or offices to receive treatment and attend therapy sessions. The only expense they would incur is the treatment service fee.

To wrap it up, addiction is a disease which requires the best of treatment. Spending on it has both its short term and long term effects.

People who do not pay attention to their addiction problem might have themselves to blame for it later. The addiction treatment is a worthy expense that you need to pay attention to.

Oftentimes, an alcoholic will seek Alcoholics Anonymous – also known as A.A. – meetings as their first form of treatment. It is a way to be open and let others know what is going on while also getting some support and advice from other people like them who are also suffering.

However, A.A. meetings do not always work – especially not when they are the only form of treatment being used.

So, this often leaves addicts feeling as though they won’t be able to recover or like they are a failure, but in reality, they just need more help than what a simple A.A. class can offer them.

While A.A. meetings are great, they still need to be combined with another form of treatment such as an addiction recovery program.

Addiction is more than just putting the bottle down – it also entails getting over the emotional symptoms felt after giving up the alcohol, it is overcoming the withdraws and separating yourself from those who tempt you and who might lead you the wrong way (back into addiction).

The benefits of seeking out an addiction recovery program include:

1. Stable environment. A treatment facility is regulated and will offer a stable environment where patients are monitored and are all actively receiving equivalent care.
2. Counsellors. The moral support of the A.A. group leader and members is great, but sometimes it takes just a little bit more. The counsellors at a recovery facility do it for a living – they can offer some of the best mental treatment for their patients.
3. Learning. Not only do they discuss addiction at a recovery facility, but they also teach you about it. In order to overcome it, it is important that you have a thorough understanding of the disease.
4. Peer support. Of course, peer support is also found in A.A. meetings, but an addiction recovery program will just give you an additional group of people supporting you.
5. Daily Routine. Part of recovery is getting back into a routine that no longer includes drugs and alcohol. By participating in a recovery program, you will be given a set daily routine that will teach you how to overcome the cravings and withdraws.
6. Zero Tolerance. Recovery programs have a zero-tolerance rule meaning no one can bring drugs or alcohol onto the premises. This is incredibly beneficial as it gives patients a drug- and alcohol-free place they know they are welcome.
7. Privacy. There are recovery facilities that you could go to in private. By law, they cannot share you are a part of the program and if you choose one in a private location no one will ever see you.
8. Aftercare. Sometimes, getting over the addiction might actually be easier than staying clean. After being clean so long, you might find yourself thinking that one drink won’t hurt. Recovery programs offer plenty of options for continued care.