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We live in a culture where drinking is common and sometimes even expected. This can sometimes make it hard to know when our drinking is normal or excessive. We are particularly prone to misjudgment because our ideas about normal drinking are most strongly influenced by our immediate circle of friends and relatives. Unfortunately, this standard can be misleading. Furthermore, we are all different--we have different risk factors for addiction, different ability to metabolize alcohol, different states of health, and so on. Whether or not your drinking is excessive depends a lot on your personal situation and the following can help you determine if your drinking is a problem.

Yellow Zone

You don’t necessarily have to have an alcohol use disorder to have a problem with alcohol. Problem drinking comes in many shapes and sizes, including the following.

Moderately High Daily Drinking

When you get outside the green zone of moderate drinking--typically no more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women--you can get into problems pretty quickly. First, it suggests an escalation in drinking, which means your drinking might continue to escalate. Second, over years of mildly excessive drinking, you are still at higher risk of a number of health issues, including heart disease, liver disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Third, you can form a dependence more easily than you might think. For example, if you’re a woman, you may experience withdrawal symptoms after drinking five or six drinks a day for two months. 

Weekend Binge Drinking

You typically have to drink most days to develop a dependence on alcohol. A dependence is considered necessary but not sufficient for addiction. However, as noted above, problem drinking comes in many forms. If you don’t drink all week, but then go hard on weekends, you are still vulnerable to many of the negative effects of problem drinking, including alcohol poisoning, blackouts, accidents, fights, and DUIs. Even one such event can seriously affect your life.

Red Zone

The following are some of the clearer signs that your problematic drinking has become an alcohol use disorder.

Canceling Plans to Drink

One of the main indications of a substance use issue of any kind is if it takes priority over other things in your life. So if you’re making room for drinking, especially drinking alone, it’s a clear sign of a problem That includes canceling plans with friends, neglecting family responsibilities, missing work, and so on.

Lying About Drinking

When you’re lying about how much you drink or that you drink at all, it indicates at some level you either know you are drinking too much or you know other people will think you are drinking too much. Neither is a good sign. If you tell your spouse you’re running an errand so you have an excuse to go get a drink, if you’re “priming” before you meet up with friends, or if you’re hiding alcohol around your house or in other containers, it’s a pretty good sign you have an alcohol use disorder. Lying and deception are among the biggest reasons addiction is so harmful to relationships.

Borrowing or Stealing Money to Drink

Another clear sign of addiction is if you are violating your normal ethical principles, including borrowing or stealing money for alcohol. If you don’t have money for alcohol and you have to go to such lengths to get a drink, that’s a huge red flag.

Needing More Alcohol to Feel the Effects

Another word for tolerance is dependence. If you have to drink more than you used to feel the effects, it’s a sign that your body has adapted to the presence of alcohol. The flip side of that is that once you stop drinking--or try to stop--you’re going to experience withdrawal, which is often a major barrier to quitting.

Drinking to Relax

Drinking to relax can be a problem for two reasons: First, it can indicate that you are drinking to cope with stress, which is a problem in itself because it can mean drinking fills an emotional need. Second, it may indicate that you have developed a dependence and you are physiologically unable to relax without alcohol. You may even be feeling some mild withdrawal in the form of irritability, tension, headaches, and so on.

Legal Problems

For many people, running into legal problems is a clear sign their drinking has gotten out of control. It may be a DUI, a domestic violence call, a fight, or other problems that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t drinking. It’s possible that you just happened to get caught on the one night you drank too much, but that’s very unlikely.

Health Problems

Health problems can be another wakeup call for many people. Drinking may lead to heart disease, liver disease, obesity, diabetes, and various kinds of cancer, as well as other problems. Some of these may appear more quickly than you think. For example, you may have fatty liver disease with no symptoms and at a relatively young age.

Work Problems

Work is often the last thing to suffer when someone has an alcohol use issue. Not only do you need some kind of income to pay the bills, but many people tie their sense of identity and self-worth to their work. They often feel like they can drink as much as they want, as long as they still perform well at their jobs. Therefore, it’s often a sign of a serious problem if you are drinking at work or skipping out early to drink.

Trying to Quit and Failing

Finally, it’s a pretty clear sign of addiction when you think you should quit or you actually try to quit but you can’t seem to manage it. This may take several forms. Perhaps you can’t even get through withdrawal. Maybe you can make it a couple of weeks and then you say to yourself, “See. I proved I can do it so now I can start drinking again.” Maybe you decide to quit and somehow find yourself drinking again the same night, the way smokers sometimes light up without any conscious awareness.

There are many possible signs that drinking has become a problem. If you’re asking yourself the question at all, it’s probably time to take a break. If you are showing some of the more serious signs of an alcohol use disorder, such as lying, borrowing, stealing, needing alcohol to relax, having legal or health problems, and so on, it’s time to take decisive action, whether that’s going to an AA meeting, finding a therapist, or looking into treatment programs. If you have tried several times to get sober and failed, it may be time for something more intensive like residential treatment.

 At Foundry, we know that addiction takes a toll on nearly every aspect of your life, including your relationships, your finances, and your health. We also know that recovery is a holistic process, which is why we treat addiction from many angles, including psychotherapy, diet, exercise, and spiritual wellness. To learn more about our approach to addiction treatment, call us today at (844) 955-1066.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a condition that massively increases your risk of addiction. One study estimates that about 78% of people with BPD will develop a substance use disorder at some point in their lives, compared to only about 8% of the general population. However, BPD is a fairly obscure disorder. Major depression and anxiety disorders, for example, are far more common and although there are many misconceptions related to those conditions, people generally understand what they’re about and probably know at least one person who has struggled with them. On the other hand, a condition like schizophrenia is far less common but the sometimes extraordinary symptoms attract a lot of attention. BPD, by contrast, is less well-known and the name doesn’t offer much insight either. Insofar as people know about it at all, they often assume it’s similar to bipolar disorder, which isn’t really accurate. The following is a brief look at BPD, what it is, how it affects your life, and how it’s treated.

Who Does BPD Affect?

Roughly 2.7% of adults have BPD. Although it is often associated with women--perhaps because of stereotypes involving hyperemotionality--BPD affects men and women about equally. The perception that BPD mainly affects women has likely led to it being under-diagnosed in men so it’s important to be aware that men have about equal risk. Symptoms also appear to be more severe in younger adults and often get milder with age.

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Risk Factors

BPD is currently not well understood but it appears that many of the risk factors that are relevant for other mental health issues are relevant for BPD as well. For example, there appears to be a genetic component, so if a close family member such as a parent or sibling has BPD, you are more likely to develop it at some point. Childhood environment appears to be another major risk factor as well, particularly any history of abuse or neglect. One central characteristic of BPD is an intense fear of abandonment, so any childhood trauma related to abandonment or neglect--either physical or emotional--may be particularly relevant.

Symptoms

The symptoms of BPD are mainly characterized by two factors: the intensity of emotions and all-or-nothing thinking. In other words, people with BPD tend to feel overwhelmed by their emotions, both positive and negative, and they have trouble coping with the complex gradations that characterize much of our emotional lives. This affects how they relate to themselves and others.

Unstable Sense of Identity

First, the difficulty dealing with emotional complexity, as discussed above, along with other factors make it hard for someone with BPD to form a stable and coherent sense of identity. Much of our identity comes from our relationships to others and if these associations are always fluctuating wildly, it’s hard to know where you stand. Your judgments of yourself are also subject to these kinds of fluctuations. And finally, if your emotional reactions to people, values, and ideas are always drastically changing, it’s hard to form a coherent sense of yourself and this can sometimes be extremely disorienting. 

Fear of Abandonment

As noted above, BPD is typically characterized by an extreme fear of abandonment. They may go to great lengths to avoid abandonment, either real or imagined. For example, they may escalate a relationship quickly or completely cut off contact suddenly if they are afraid they might be pushed away. However, like most people, those with BPD want to have stable, intimate, and meaningful relationships. The desire for close relationships and the fear of abandonment can create a lot of emotional stress.

Volatile Emotions

As discussed above, BPD is characterized both by very intense emotions and by all-or-nothing thinking. Therefore, to someone with BPD, someone or something may be either amazing or terrible, with little in between and these judgments may change from one day to the next. They often experience intense anger that they have trouble controlling. They may experience moods that are both intense and changeable and these moods may last hours or days. This is one reason BPD is sometimes mistaken for bipolar disorder, although bipolar episodes typically last something more on the order of weeks. 

Relationship Problems

Predictably, emotional volatility, intense anger, fear of abandonment, and an unstable sense of self often lead to relationship problems. Because people with BPD typically fear abandonment, they may adore someone one day and despise them the next for no apparent reason. Obviously, this can be confusing and stressful for the people in their lives. It also tends to confirm the worst fears of the person with BPD when the people they care about start to distance themselves because of this behavior.

Risky Behavior

Impulsiveness and risky behavior is another common characteristic of BPD, and it is especially common in those with a co-occurring substance use disorder. This might include excessive drug and alcohol use, unsafe sex, reckless driving, or spending sprees. This is another behavior that sometimes leads to BPD being confused with bipolar disorder since reckless behavior is also a common feature of manic episodes. Clearly, the mix of substance use with frequent feelings of intense anger and alienation puts someone at high risk for developing a substance use disorder.

Treatment

Treating BPD can be difficult. Not only is the condition poorly understood, but successful psychotherapy depends on a good therapeutic relationship, which is one of the central problems of BPD. However, dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT, has been shown to be pretty successful in treating BPD. DBT is based on the more common cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but it’s more intensive and places more emphasis on accepting and regulating challenging emotions as well as developing interpersonal skills to improve relationships. To those ends, DBT has both individual and group therapy components, as well as more frequent contact with the therapist between sessions.

BPD is one of the less well-understood mental health issues and it affects a relatively small percentage of people. However, for those it does affect, it is practically the perfect storm for creating a substance use disorder. It undermines relationships and causes a deep sense of alienation, it causes intense and rapidly changing emotions, including anger, and it often leads to impulsive behavior. If you or someone you love shows symptoms of borderline personality disorder, it’s crucial to seek help as soon as possible, whether or not substance use is also a problem. 

At Foundry, we know that substance use is usually only the most visible part of a bigger problem. Most people who struggle with addiction have a co-occurring mental health issue and BPD is one of the most challenging. We offer DBT as well as a range of other therapeutic options as part of our comprehensive approach to treating addiction. To learn more, call us today at (844) 955-1066.

No parent wants to see their child have problems with drugs and alcohol, whether those problems are short-term like bad decisions or long-term like an addiction. Although many parents worry about their kids using drugs and alcohol, they don’t always know how to talk to their kids about them. The following tips can help you talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol so they are less likely to make bad decisions and less likely to have substance use issues later in life.

Set a Good Example

The most important thing to remember about minimizing the risk that your children will have problems with drugs and alcohol is that whatever you actually say to them is not as important as other factors, including your own behavior. Your kids watch your behavior and assume that whatever you do is how adults normally behave. If you come home from work every day and immediately have a few drinks to relax, your kids will associate drinking with adult behavior. When they start wanting to assert their independence and act more grown-up, drinking will be part of that template. 

If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, the best thing you can do for your kids, especially when it comes to their own future risk of addiction, is to seek help. Having a parent with a substance use disorder is one of the biggest risk factors for addiction. There are genes related to addiction that you may have passed on, your kids learn your substance use patterns, and addiction makes it harder to provide a stable environment. By getting help for your own substance use issues, you set a responsible example and you show that your family is your top priority.

Create a Healthy Environment

As noted above, one reason a parent’s substance use puts their kids at greater risk for addiction is that addiction makes it harder to provide a safe, stable environment for kids. However, drugs and alcohol are only one factor in the home environment. Many studies have found that adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, significantly contribute to substance use issues and mental health issues later in life. For example, one study found that people who had five ACEs or more were seven to 10 times more likely to struggle with addiction as adults. ACEs are experiences of either emotional or physical abuse or neglect. Experiences such as not knowing whether you’ll get to eat, being abused, either physically, sexually, or emotionally, witnessing domestic violence, having a parent with a mental health or substance use issue, and other stressful experiences each contribute to later addiction risk as well as other mental and physical health issues.

You can hedge against these risks by creating the safest and most stable environment as possible for your kids. They should feel safe, supported, and loved. That means having regular routine and structure, especially for younger children, shielding them from violence, and giving them emotional support. As discussed, if you struggle with any substance use or mental health issues, seek help, and stick to your treatment plan. 

Start Early

When it comes to talking to your kids about drugs and alcohol, most parents wait too long. They look at their 12-year-old, for example, and think, “They’re still too young to worry about that.” It may be true that most kids haven’t yet started experimenting with drugs and alcohol at that age but they are already approaching the age when they listen to their peers more than their parents. 

That means, if you want to get through to your kids about drugs and alcohol, you have to start much earlier than you think. Even four or five years old is not too young to begin the conversation. Of course, your approach should be age-appropriate. For example, if you give your child cold medicine, make sure to tell them they should only take medicine from a parent or doctor. As they get older and understand more, you can talk more about illicit drugs and alcohol. 

Continue the Conversation

Once you’ve broached the subject of drugs and alcohol, don’t just assume that now that you’ve had the drugs and alcohol talk, everything will be fine. Look for opportunities to keep the topic open. For example, if they ask why their uncle was acting strange at Thanksgiving, use it as an opportunity to talk about how alcohol affects your body and mind. Kids need to hear a consistent message over time so don’t tell them about how drinking too much is bad for you and can make you sick and cause accidents and so on but then talk about how much you’re going to drink on vacation. Consistency and repetition are important, as is behavior that’s consistent with your message, as discussed above. 

Be Honest

As your child gets older, your conversations about drugs and alcohol can get more in depth. It’s important to remember that you always want to be as honest as possible. Sometimes you have to explain things in age-appropriate ways but nothing should be false or misleading. Don’t try to scare your kids off of drugs and alcohol with exaggerations. That will only harm your credibility. You want them to see you as a reliable source of information on drugs and alcohol and they should always feel comfortable coming to you with questions. Keeping the conversation going, as discussed above, is much easier than trying to talk to your child about drugs for the first time as a teenager and getting them to trust you. 

On a similar note, make sure your kids know--at any age--that if they find themselves in a jam, whether they’re with a grown-up who’s drinking or at a party where there are drugs, that you will come to get them with no questions asked. Their safety is always the most important thing and they’ll be less likely to call you if they’re afraid of punishment.

There’s nothing easy about being a parent and teaching your kids about drugs and alcohol is one of the bigger challenges. They get all kinds of conflicting signals on the subject, perhaps even from their parents. Teens are also incredibly vulnerable to peer pressure, making good judgment around drugs and alcohol even more difficult. If you want to protect your kids and minimize the risk they’ll have substance use problems later in life, the most important things are to set a good example and create a safe, healthy, happy environment for them. Then, be sure to talk to them early about drugs and alcohol and keep the conversation going as they get older. Finally, be honest so they know you’re a reliable source. If you’re currently struggling with substance use, getting help as soon as possible may be the single best thing you can do for your kids. 

At Foundry, we know that mental health and good family relationships are both incredibly important for a strong recovery from addiction. Our program takes an evidence-based, holistic approach to mental health and involves families in the recovery process. To learn more about our approach to addiction treatment, call us today at (844) 955-1066.

Depression is both widespread and one of the most common risk factors for addiction. One study found that among people with a mood disorder such as major depression or bipolar disorder, 32% had a substance use disorder, while in the general population, only about 8% of people had a substance use disorder. Substance use helps people cope with the symptoms of depression in the short term, but in the long run, drugs and alcohol only make depression worse. An effective addiction treatment plan must include treatment for any mental health issues, including depression. Depression has gotten a lot more media attention in recent years but unfortunately, there are still a lot of misconceptions about depression. These misconceptions can prevent people from recognizing, acknowledging, and seeking help for depression.‍

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1.) Depression Mostly Affects Women

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It’s true that depression appears to affect women at a higher rate than men but the difference is largely overstated. For example, in 2017, about 8.7% of women had a depressive episode compared to about 5.3% of men. By comparison, only about 0.54% of men get schizophrenia, 2.9% of men develop bipolar disorder--which is also considered a depressive disorder--and about 4% of men develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That is to say, that even if men are slightly less likely than women to experience depression, depression is still one of the most common mental health issues men are likely to face. 

2.) Depression Is All-Or-Nothing

You may have an image in your mind of what depression looks like--perhaps someone who can’t get out of bed, can’t hold a job, doesn’t shower, has attempted suicide, and so on. This can be a fairly accurate picture of severe depression but depression can vary widely in both symptoms and severity. Most depression is mild or moderate. The problem with fixating on severe depression is that someone with moderate symptoms that are causing significant impairment might think, “Well, I’m not that bad, so maybe I should just stop complaining.” It’s important to keep in mind that just because someone has it worse, that doesn’t invalidate your own experience. If depression is affecting your life and your recovery from addiction, it needs to be addressed.

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3. If Someone Has Depression, It’s Obvious

As noted above, depression comes in all shapes and sizes. Certainly, there are cases of people who can’t function but the truth is that most people with depression still manage to get by. Often, you wouldn’t even know they’re depressed by looking at them. Many people with depression are good at keeping up a front, either because they fear being stigmatized or they feel like there’s no point in letting others know how miserable they are. High profile cases of suicide, like Robin Williams and Anthony Bourdain, are clear examples of how well some people can hide their pain.

4.) Depression Is a Kind of Prolonged Sadness

Another myth that keeps people from recognizing the symptoms of depression is the belief that depression is mainly just intense or prolonged sadness. Depressed mood is a symptom but it is not the only symptom and it may not be the most prominent symptom. You have to have at least five symptoms, including depressed mood and inability to feel pleasure, for a clinical diagnosis of depression. However, you may more often feel irritable or hopeless, wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble going back to sleep, feel unable to concentrate, or feel unusually fatigued. If you have these kinds of symptoms but wouldn’t exactly say you feel sad, you may be depressed and not realize it.

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5.) Depression Is All in Your Head

Similar to the misconception above, many people think depression is all in your head, that if you could just think a little more positively, you would feel better. While it’s true that fixing cognitive distortions is often a useful part of treatment for depression, recent research suggests that depression may be more of a physical problem than previously believed. In particular, inflammation has been implicated in about half of depression cases. In other words, people with depression often have some of the same markers of inflammation you would find in someone with an infection or autoimmune disorder, suggesting that the immune system may have a significant effect on the mind.

6.) You Need a Good Reason to Be Depressed

As discussed above, you can’t always tell who is struggling with depression, and part of the reason is that some people just don’t seem to have a good reason to be depressed, such as the death of a loved one, losing a job, or getting divorced. However, you don’t need an immediate or obvious reason to be depressed, and sometimes you don’t need a reason at all. Childhood abuse or neglect can increase your risk of depression, years later, for example, and people who have had two or more episodes of depression may have recurring episodes for no reason.

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7.) Everyone Gets Depressed Sometimes

Everyone gets sad sometimes but not everyone gets depressed. About one in five people will experience an episode of depression at some point in their lives, which makes depression one of the most common mental health issues worldwide, but it also means 80% of people won’t experience it. It’s fairly common--even among people with depression--to assume that people with depression are just not handling normal emotions very well. This assumption can be frustrating for people with depression and their families who don’t quite understand the condition.

Depression is one of the most common mental health issues in the world and it is a major risk factor for developing a substance use disorder. Getting addiction under control requires integrated treatment for depression. Unfortunately, common misconceptions about depression, especially about who can get it and what the symptoms are like can prevent people from recognizing they’re depressed and prevent them from seeking help. Depression can be treated effectively in most people and even when it can’t be eliminated completely, the symptoms can be reduced. 

At Foundry, we know that mental health is the key to a strong recovery and a happier life. We use a variety of methods including cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT, family therapy, Alpha-Stim, as well as healthy lifestyle changes including diet, exercise, yoga, and meditation as part of a comprehensive approach to mental health and wellness. For more information, call us today at (844) 955-1066.

Most people with substance use disorders have one or more co-occurring mental health issues. Typically, the mental health issue comes first and drives addictive behavior, but drugs and alcohol also make mental health issues worse. Accurately diagnosing and effectively treating any co-occurring mental health issues is one of the most important parts of a strong recovery from addiction. Unfortunately, neither diagnosis nor treatment is as straightforward as one would hope. Mental health issues often come in clusters; symptoms overlap and present differently in different people. The following mental health issues are some that are both common in people with substance use disorders and are frequently misdiagnosed.

1.) Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder may be the most commonly misdiagnosed mental health issue. Furthermore, treating bipolar incorrectly may have the most adverse effects. A number of studies have looked at the misdiagnosis of bipolar. One study found that 69% of people with bipolar disorder were initially misdiagnosed and about a third of those remained misdiagnosed for at least 10 years. 

Bipolar disorder is most frequently misdiagnosed as unipolar major depression--commonly known as depression. This is because the symptoms of a bipolar depressive episode--depressed mood, inability to feel pleasure, sleep disturbances, irritability, fatigue, sudden weight changes, poor concentration and memory, aches, slow movements, and thoughts of suicide or death--are indistinguishable from unipolar major depression. What’s more, when people seek help for bipolar symptoms, they typically seek help for depressive symptoms and they may neglect to mention manic symptoms, especially if they’re relatively mild. Depression is also more than twice as common as bipolar disorder, so it’s often a reasonable diagnosis.

As a result, people with bipolar are often prescribed antidepressants such as SSRIs, which help with depressive symptoms but may trigger manic symptoms. If you experience manic episodes, such as high energy, little need for sleep, delusions of grandeur or paranoia, hyper-productivity, or starting lots of new projects that you never finish, it’s important to mention those to your doctor or therapist when seeking help for depression.

2.) Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder, or BPD, massively increases your risk for developing a substance use disorder at some point in your life. Although it affects only about 2.7% of adults, about 78% of people with BPD will develop a substance use disorder. BPD is typically characterized by emotional volatility, sudden changes in self-identity, relationship problems, mood swings, suicidal thoughts or behavior, feelings of emptiness, and impulsiveness. 

Because these symptoms seem to be a mix of both depressive and manic symptoms, BPD can easily be mistaken for bipolar disorder. Although bipolar is also characterized by unstable moods, the changes tend to happen over longer periods, typically weeks or months. Bipolar is currently treated with some combination of therapy, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers, whereas BPD is treated with an intensive form of therapy called dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT.

3.) PTSD

PTSD requires four kinds of symptoms for clinical diagnosis: re-experiencing symptoms such as nightmares or flashbacks, avoidance symptoms such as avoiding driving after an accident, changes in behavior such as becoming short-tempered or easily startled, and changes in cognition, such as becoming pessimistic or emotionally numb. There can be quite a bit of variation in the way these symptoms manifest and some kinds of symptoms may be far more prominent than others. It would be quite easy, for example, to mistake the behavioral and cognitive changes for symptoms of major depression.

While treating PTSD the way you would treat depression might help--some of the methods, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, and antidepressant medications often help with both--PTSD is a more complicated issue and typically requires reprocessing the trauma for recovery. Considering that as many as 50% of people seeking help for a substance use disorder have symptoms of PTSD, it’s crucial to get this diagnosis and treatment correct. As with bipolar disorder, it’s important to tell your doctor or therapist about any trauma you may have experienced as well as avoidance or re-experiencing symptoms related to that trauma.

4.) ADHD

ADHD is a strange case because experts seem to agree that it is over-diagnosed in children but under-diagnosed in adults. If you happen to slip through the net of ADHD diagnosis as a child, it could be causing you problems as an adult. Typically, as we age, the symptoms of ADHD become less apparent. People learn to control their fidgeting and impulsive behavior to some degree so it’s not obvious they have ADHD but the cognitive symptoms, such as racing thoughts persist. Somewhere between 10 and 24% of people seeking help for a substance use disorder have ADHD, compared to less than 5% of American adults overall. 

ADHD isn’t usually mistaken for something else--it’s typically not recognized at all--but occasionally, the symptoms are mistaken for manic symptoms of bipolar disorder. This misdiagnosis might be confirmed if the person happened to have a depressive episode in the past, which is not terribly uncommon. The good news is that controlling ADHD with appropriate medication makes it much easier to stay sober.

5.) Depression

Like ADHD, depression typically isn’t misidentified as something else but rather isn’t recognized at all. While most of us are familiar with some of the symptoms of depression like depressed mood, lack of motivation, fatigue, excessive sleep, and thoughts of suicide, other common symptoms such as irritability, aggressiveness, reckless behavior, substance use, physical pain, and poor concentration are less often recognized. If these are your primary symptoms, you probably wouldn’t think to seek help for depression or any mental health issue and your loved ones might not recognize it either. This is especially true of men, who are both less likely to recognize depressive symptoms and less likely to seek help than women. 

It’s crucial to recognize that addiction isn’t only about substances. Most of the time, people with substance use issues have at least one mental health issue to go with it. Drugs and alcohol are often coping mechanisms. If you want to have a lasting recovery from addiction, then it’s vital to identify and treat the underlying causes, especially when those causes include a serious mental health issue. While we expect mental health professionals to diagnose and treat us correctly, it’s important to understand how murky the realm of mental health can be. Your doctor or therapist only knows what you’re willing to share with them. It’s important to be open about all of your symptoms so they can better help you. 

At Foundry, we know that addiction is complex, which is why we approach treatment from many angles, including DBT, 12-Step facilitation, family therapy, lifestyle changes, and more. We know that mental and physical health form the foundation of a strong recovery from addiction. To learn more, call us at (844) 955-1066.

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There are many options on the spectrum of care for addiction treatment. For example, on one end, you could attend local 12-Step meetings. They are free, open to everyone, and provide structure and support to people trying to stay sober. However, that level of care isn’t always adequate. Many people, for example, are unable to detox safely or they may have co-occurring mental health issues. Those people might need a higher level of care, perhaps working with a therapist who specializes in addiction. A higher level of care might be entering an intensive outpatient program (IOP). 

The highest level of care is a residential treatment program, which may last anywhere from 30 days to six months or more. Since a residential treatment program is a fairly substantial investment of time and money, it’s a big decision whether to go for it. The following considerations can help you decide if a residential treatment program is right for you or your loved one.

You Anticipate a Difficult Detox

Residential treatment programs typically include medical detox. You don’t necessarily have to do medical detox and treatment in the same place, but it does streamline the process. There is more continuity and less opportunity to back out. Also, if you need medical detox, you are probably using drugs and alcohol at a level that could be considered a serious addiction.

While it’s not always possible to predict how detox will go, there are some factors that indicate medical detox is the wiser strategy. The biggest indicator is if you’ve had trouble detoxing before. Perhaps you experienced severe symptoms, such as DTs, or perhaps you only managed to make it a few days before giving up and returning to substance use. Detoxing in a facility helps keep you safe, increases the likelihood that you will complete detox, and helps ensure you will proceed directly to treatment after detox.

You Have a History of Relapse

Another solid indication that it’s time for a residential treatment program is if you have a history of relapse. Perhaps you have tried other options, such as 12-Step meetings, therapy, or IOP and nothing seems to stick. There are many reasons people relapse and it’s not certain that a residential treatment program is the only solution, but it also doesn’t make sense to keep trying the same thing if it hasn’t been working. 

A residential treatment program offers far more protection, structure, and support than even an IOP. You live in a place where drugs and alcohol are kept out, you are largely insulated from the everyday stresses of life, and you have a structured daily routine that helps you focus on recovery and wellness. This kind of program can help you break the unhealthy habits that keep you sliding back into substance use and replace them with healthier habits that not only make it easier to stay sober but make you happier and healthier overall.

You Have Co-Occurring Conditions

Co-occurring conditions are extremely common among people with substance use disorders. For example, mental health issues like depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, PTSD, ADHD, and schizophrenia significantly increase your risk of addiction. For some conditions, like mild or moderate depression or some anxiety disorders, therapy or outpatient treatment might be enough to get the co-occurring condition under control. However, some conditions are much harder to treat and some of those contribute most to addiction risk. For example, about 56% of people with bipolar disorder develop a substance use disorder at some point in their lives and as many as 75% of people with a borderline personality disorder will develop a substance use disorder at some point in their lives. 

These conditions often require more intensive forms of treatment than a weekly visit with the therapist. Borderline personality disorder, suicidal depression, eating disorders, and other serious mental health issues are often treated with dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), an intensive form of treatment that is more easily done in a residential setting. Other conditions may require medication and observation early on and a residential setting is better for that too.

Also, people recovering from substance use disorders sometimes have medical issues that complicate treatment. Long-term drug and alcohol use can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, risk of stroke, liver disease, malnutrition, and other issues. Detox can put a lot of stress on the body, so it’s often a good idea to have easy access to medical treatment. Inpatient treatment can also go a long way to correcting any problems caused by lifestyle issues, such as malnutrition or sleep deprivation.

Your Environment Contributes to Your Substance Use

As noted above, there may be many factors contributing to your pattern of relapse. Dysfunctional family dynamics, job stress, peer pressure, exposure to triggers, and so on can make it very hard to make a good start in recovery. A residential treatment program is a chance to make a clean break. You are shielded from those negative influences while you learn new recovery skills and establish positive lifestyle habits. Insofar as you need friends and family to support your recovery, they can participate in the treatment process too. Getting the family involved is ideal because everyone can learn to communicate better, maintain healthy boundaries, and better understand how to support your recovery. 

There Are Few Treatment Options in Your Area

Generally speaking, you want to have the appropriate level of care to suit your needs, but sometimes you just have to make the best choice available. For example, some people need residential treatment but for economic or family reasons, they have to go with outpatient treatment instead. Similarly, many areas of the country--and many of the areas that have the most need of treatment--have few if any treatment options. There are more and more options becoming available but if you live in an area where there are few options and you need a fairly high level of treatment, your best strategy might just be to find a residential program rather than trying to manage a long commute or setting for too low a level of care. 

Entering a residential treatment program for addiction is a big decision. It probably won’t be the first thing you consider when you first notice you’re drinking a bit too much or relying too heavily on pills. More likely, you will have tried some other routes to recovery and had a hard time sticking with it for whatever reason. Maybe you’ve never even made it past withdrawal. Maybe there’s something in your environment that’s making it harder for you, such as a loved one who can’t seem to say no. Maybe you have a serious co-occurring condition that requires intensive, integrated treatment. Whatever the reason, residential treatment is the most intensive option. 

At Foundry, we know that entering residential treatment is not a decision anyone takes lightly and we’ll use every means at our disposal to help you start your recovery right and make a smooth transition home after treatment. We treat difficult conditions using proven therapeutic methods, including DBT, and we emphasize overall wellness to support long-term recovery as well as physical and mental health. To learn more about our holistic addiction treatment program, contact us at (844) 955-1066.

Therapy is a central feature of any addiction treatment program. The majority of people with substance use disorders have co-occurring mental health issues such as anxiety disorders, major depression, personality disorders, PTSD, ADHD, schizophrenia, and others. Even those without a co-occurring disorder can benefit from discussing their thoughts around substance use and stress as well as learning new behavioral and coping strategies. Getting emotionally healthy is indispensable for a strong recovery. The following tips can help you make the most of your therapy sessions.

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1.) Find the Right Therapist

If you are entering an addiction treatment program, there are probably only a few therapists but they should all have experience treating co-occurring addiction and whatever your particular challenge is. If you are choosing your own therapist out in the world, you have to be a bit more selective. Find someone near you--ideally within half an hour travel time--to make it easier to attend appointments consistently. Find someone with experience treating the issues you struggle with. Most therapists have some experience with depression and anxiety but fewer specialize in addiction. When you have narrowed down the field to maybe three candidates, see if you can talk over the phone or have a sort of trial session with each of them to see who you connect with most easily.

2.) Understand That Therapy Is a Collaboration

When you’ve found a good therapist, keep in mind that therapy is a sort of collaboration. Your therapist is like a professional consultant. They need a lot of cooperation from you. It’s not the case that you can walk in, tell them what’s wrong, and expect them to fix you. In fact, it’s a bad sign if your therapist does too much of your work for you--telling you exactly what to do, dictating your goals for therapy, and so on. 

3.) Have Some Idea of What You Want to Accomplish

When you go to therapy, it’s a good idea to start out with some idea of what you want to accomplish. What’s bothering you that you decided to seek help? For most people, substance use is only a symptom of other problems but reducing or eliminating your substance use is a good objective to start with. You can work with your therapist to come up with other, more measurable objectives. You want to have some idea of whether you’re making progress in therapy and progress will look different for everyone.

4.) Don’t Censor Yourself

In normal conversation, we hold things back. Sometimes we don’t want to be too honest about our feelings or reveal too much about our past. Sometimes we just don’t want to say something that’s not relevant to the conversation. However, in therapy, it’s typically better just to say whatever is on your mind, even if you think it might be embarrassing or irrelevant. Honesty is essential, and it’s hard for your therapist to figure out what’s going on with you if you’re always being polite and curating your own thoughts and emotions. Furthermore, those odd, seemingly irrelevant thoughts that pop into your head may be more relevant than you think. Don’t worry about your therapist judging you; they’ve heard things you probably couldn’t imagine. And unless you make a credible threat against yourself or others, they are legally prohibited from sharing anything you say in a session.

5.) Ask Questions

Related to the point above, it’s good to ask questions. Indulge your curiosity. Ask questions about therapy, ask questions about psychology, ask questions about your therapist's experience with certain problems, ask questions about whether other people have the same problems as you, and so on. If there’s something your therapist isn’t allowed to reveal--such as information about other clients--they will make that determination. There’s no harm in asking if you’re curious.

6.) Talk About Therapy‍

It’s also good to talk about the process of therapy in your sessions. There may be times when you feel like you’re not making progress, you’re not really connecting with your therapist, or perhaps your priorities have shifted. It’s good to talk about these issues as soon as possible. They are often easy to fix. It takes a while to create a good therapeutic relationship, both in terms of sharing information and building trust, so if you’re in a situation where therapy was going well for a while but now it’s not, it’s certainly worth a conversation before quitting therapy or changing therapists.

7.) Do Your Homework

Your therapist will often ask you to do something between sessions. It may be a practical assignment like asking you to do at least one thing that makes you slightly anxious. Or it could be a written assignment, such as keeping track of times you feel angry during the week and what caused it. It’s important to take these assignments seriously since they are the bridge between your sessions and your life. If your therapist doesn’t give you homework, it’s still a good idea to keep a therapy journal. Write down briefly what you talked about, how you feel about it, and any thoughts or questions you have for next time.

8.) Keep an Open Mind

We all assume we know ourselves better than anyone else. That’s true in some ways, but we all have biases, blind spots, and patterns we’re not aware of. Much of therapy is about becoming more aware of your own behavior. This task is much harder when you cling to preconceived ideas about who you are, how other people see you, and how a person should act. Be open to at least considering suggestions that initially seem off base. Never forget that your best thinking is what got you into this mess to begin with.

9.) Set Boundaries

Finally, it’s usually a good idea to set boundaries around therapy. Some people in your life may be a little too interested in what you discuss in your sessions. They may be afraid they’ll get blamed for some of your problems or they may just be eager to give their own advice. Neither is really helpful. Be careful who you discuss your therapy sessions with. What goes on there is for you alone.

Therapy is central to addiction recovery because so much of addictive behavior is driven by challenging emotions that arise because of mental health issues. Although 12-Step meetings like AA and NA have helped many people, they aren’t designed to treat mental health issues, and so their benefit will be limited for many people. When participating in therapy, the most important thing to remember is that engagement is key. Your therapist may be best thought of as a sort of guide. They can help you get where you want to go, but you have to tell them where you want to go and you have to do the walking. 

At Foundry, we know that mental and physical health form the solid foundation of recovery from addiction. We use cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT, family therapy, group therapy, and other methods to treat co-occurring mental health issues. We also emphasize healthy lifestyle changes as a way to support mental health and addiction recovery. To learn more about our comprehensive approach to treatment, call us today at (844) 955-1066.

What fills your cup?!

I recently read an article about getting rid of toxic things in your life.  It made me think about what ACTUALLY fills my cup. And, on the flip side, what drains it.  A few things that have filled my cup recently:  sunshine, tea date with Aloha, trying a new Pilates class, ice cream with Theo, the gang back together, my sister’s smile, watching Kara get her first muscle-up, a side country hike with the boys, an extra workout with Jaime.  And the list goes on…

People ask me ALL the time why I do CrossFit.  There are more than one hundred reasons why but the single unparalleled authentic reason, is the family, the community, the squad.  This is what keeps everyone coming back for more.  Sure, you look fantastic, you feel amazing, you can pull cars off of small children, you can do hundreds of push-ups and pull-ups, you accomplish new things every day, youPR, you try new things, you become better at the things you do outside the gym, and you have one hell of family that would do just about anything for you.

So, my challenge to YOU this month is to search high and low for what fills YOUR cup, big or small.  It could be a morning meditation or an afternoon dog walk.  It could be a random act of kindness or a phone call to your mother.  I suggest surrounding yourself with like-minded people and get rid of the ones that drain you.  Replace the negative with positive.  And, by filling your cup first, you can be abetter person, friend, spouse, co-worker, parent to those around you.

Here are a few tips to help you fill your cup, and in turn, fill someone else’s:

1.      Take care of yourself-Eat well, sweat daily, get good sleep, and have a glass of water every once in a while.  Find the things that make YOU feel healthy and do them!  This will allow to show up better in your every day.

2.   Say no-Stop saying yes will when you REALLY mean no.  Go with your gut instinct and stick to your decision.

3.   Try something new-You will be amazed at how great you feel by the challenge, the accomplishment, and the “good” hurt.  Plus, change is good, right?!

4.   Meet up with a friend and have a genuine face-to-face conversation-I can’t begin to tell you how simple this seems and how hard it is to schedule. Just do it.  Make the time.  It is WAY worth it.

5.   Get outside-It is a funky time of year no doubt but make yourself get at least a few moments of fresh airEVERYDAY.  It is like a breath of fresh air…. HA!    You will feel instantly full.

Stop and smell the roses. Don’t worry be happy.  Stay present.  Say thank you.  Look around you, find the simple joys in life, and remember that if it doesn’t fill your cup, dump it.  Happy Spring.

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People want pets for many reasons. They’re cute, they’re friendly, and they can keep you company. If you are in your first year or so of recovery, there may be ways that having a pet can actually help you out and make your recovery stronger. However, it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. If you’re not in a good place, a pet may be an unnecessary liability. It may be better to wait. Here are some things to consider if you’re thinking about getting a pet.

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How a Pet Can Help

Pets Are Good Companions

One of the most common reasons people want a pet, especially a dog or a cat, is that a pet is a good companion. They don’t judge, they’re affectionate, and they’re always around. Loneliness is a common problem early in addiction recovery because people often cut ties with old friends who drink and use drugs. However, making new friends can take time and meanwhile, people often feel lonely. Loneliness isn’t just unpleasant; it can worsen issues like depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues that commonly occur with addiction. Finding ways to feel connected is essential to recovery success and having a pet around is one such way. It’s not a substitute for human companionship, but it’s certainly an improvement over isolation.

Pets Can Make You More Conscientious

We typically don’t think of responsibility as a selling point but for people recovering from a substance use disorder, it can be. Conscientiousness is a personality trait that appears to protect against substance use disorders. Conscientiousness includes things like being responsible, being organized, following rules, following a regular routine, and so on. While personality traits are inherently difficult to change, conscientiousness is more related to action than other personality traits are, which means you can become more conscientious by behaving more conscientiously.

Having a pet exercises your conscientiousness muscles in mainly two ways. First, having a pet is quite a bit of responsibility. You have to feed it, make sure it gets plenty of exercise, and make sure it has basic things like toys, a carrier, and somewhere to sleep. You have to make sure your pet is vaccinated and you have to take it to the vet when it’s sick. You’re responsible for the well-being of another living thing, which means you will get plenty of practice doing mildly annoying and unpleasant things. While this doesn’t seem very appealing, learning to care for a pet can help you cultivate compassion and get you outside of your own head, which may not always be a nice place to be.

The second way a pet will help you be more conscientious is that it will help you have a more regular routine. You have to feed a pet regularly and a cat, dog, or bird will even wake you up when it’s ready to eat. You are aware that you have to be home at night to feed your pet, so you’re less likely to stay out late or stay over with friends. This routine can help with other things like having a more regular sleep schedule and generally keep you tethered to the normal rhythm of the world.

Pets Are a Way to Connect With Others

Having a pet means you have an easy conversation topic most of the time. Everyone wants to talk about their pets because they love them, it’s rarely a controversial topic, and it’s more interesting than the weather. Having a dog is especially good for promoting social connection because you have to walk them and you are much more likely to meet and talk to your neighbors. Even people without dogs will be more likely to strike up a conversation. While most of these interactions will be superficial, it’s good to have more points of contact, especially with the people who live around you. As noted above, loneliness is a common problem in early recovery, and having a sense of social connection is one of the best ways to ensure your recovery lasts.

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Pets Encourage You to Be Active

This is mainly true of dogs, who have to be walked. Some dogs need a great deal of exercise, which means you’ll get plenty of exercise, whether it’s walking them, running with them, playing fetch, and so on. Having a dog usually means you get more activity spread throughout the day and it means you will be less likely to skip exercise if the weather isn’t perfect. While a short walk with the dog doesn’t seem like a big deal, many short walks throughout the week add up to quite a bit of exercise. Not only is that good for your health, but it’s also good for your recovery. Many studies have linked regular exercise to less stress, lower anxiety, better mood, and even longer periods of sobriety.

When You Might Want to Wait

Pets Can Be Expensive

Pets are a lot more expensive than you think. There are sometimes adoption fees, vaccinations, accessories like beds, carriers, toys, grooming items, and so on, vet bills, and food. A lot of people aren’t in the best shape financially when they start recovery and the financial stress of taking care of a pet certainly won’t help. 

Pets Entail Responsibility

As discussed above, responsibility can be a good thing for recovery, but it can also be too much. Keep in mind that if you drop the ball, it’s your pet who will suffer. It’s also possible that the responsibility of caring for a pet will be too much stress too soon. Stress is a major cause of cravings, so it makes sense to only increase your responsibilities gradually to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Pets Can Be an Emotional Liability

The emotions involved in having a pet aren’t always positive. Animals have much shorter lifespans than people. They get sick and they have accidents. If you’re attached to a pet, its death can be devastating. If you feel like that’s not an emotional shock you’re prepared to handle--meaning you’re not sure you could stay sober if your pet dies--then it might be better to wait until you’re in a more stable point in your recovery.

Pets can be great companions. They can help us learn to be more compassionate and responsible, both of which improve your recovery and make you happier and more fulfilled in life more generally. However, once you adopt a pet, you’re responsible for its welfare. If you think there’s any chance that you will forget about it, neglect, or not be able to afford to care for it, it’s better to wait. You can always get a pet later. It’s also important to remember that as emotionally rewarding as caring for a pet can be, it creates an emotional vulnerability as well. Getting a pet is just one of many life choices that will affect your recovery from addiction and your overall well-being. 

At Foundry, we know that drug and alcohol use is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to addiction. Mental health issues, trauma, stress, and isolation are often the real driving forces. That’s why we emphasize a comprehensive approach to recovery, one that doesn’t just emphasize abstaining from drugs and alcohol, but also addresses the root causes of addiction and gives clients the skills they need to live happier, more fulfilling lives. To learn more about our addiction treatment program, call us today at (844) 955-1066.

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health issues in America and they are a common route to developing a substance use disorder. Panic attacks may be a symptom of a panic disorder or perhaps of post-traumatic stress disorder. People who experience frequent panic attacks are often prescribed a fast-acting benzodiazepine such as Xanax to cope with their symptoms or they may self-medicate with alcohol, marijuana, or other substances. If you have struggled with panic in the past, the thought of having to give up these crutches may sound intimidating but it’s possible to learn to control panic without them. 

If you have experienced panic attacks in the past--which are characterized by shortness of breath, racing heart, confusion or disorientation, squeezing in the chest, feeling of impending doom, or feeling like you’re about to “lose it”--then you should certainly seek professional help. In the meantime, the following tactics can help you weather a panic attack.‍

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Understand What Panic Is

‍Part of the reason a panic attack is so frightening is that people who experience them are often not aware of what’s happening. The symptoms are similar to a heart attack and, in fact, many people go to the emergency room because they think that’s what’s happening. If you believe you’re having a heart attack, that will clearly make you more anxious, which will only increase your panic. It’s actually pretty hard to distinguish between a panic attack and a heart attack based on symptoms alone. Context makes a big difference. For example, if you’re under 40 and you have had panic attacks before, your symptoms are more likely panic. Symptoms such as squeezing in the chest, pain that radiates to the jaw or arm, or a ripping sensation in the chest or back is more likely a heart attack. When in doubt, it’s better to err on the side of caution and seek medical help.

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More generally, it’s important to understand that panic is what happens when your fight-or-flight system gets out of control. Perhaps something causes a bit of anxiety--a test or a confrontation--and that bit of anxiety signals a threat, and then you get stuck in a sort of feedback loop. The first step in controlling panic is to realize that anxiety, in appropriate amounts and in appropriate circumstances, is a useful emotion. The next step is to understand the role your own mind plays in escalating anxiety.

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Identify Catastrophic Thoughts

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The next step is to identify the thoughts that are amplifying your panic. These aren’t typically hard to spot, but the trick is to remember to be aware of them when you’re under stress. For example, when you feel anxiety or panic coming on, you may be thinking something like, “Oh, I’m having a panic attack--or a heart attack!--this is awful, I’m going to die, I’m going to go crazy, why can’t I stop this?” and so on. These kinds of thoughts only make things worse. 
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When you find yourself thinking these thoughts, there are two ways to respond. First, you can challenge your catastrophic thinking. For example, if you’re thinking, “I’m having a heart attack! I’m going to die!” think instead, “I’m only 25, so it’s probably not a heart attack, there’s no radiating pain or other symptoms. If I still feel this way in half an hour, I can go to the hospital. It’s probably just anxiety and anxiety can’t hurt me,” and so on.

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The other way to cope with these kinds of thoughts is to step back and be an objective observer. This takes a bit of practice and regular mindfulness meditation might help. When you do this, instead of trying to guess what every sensation might mean, you just observe it. “Oh, I’m feeling anxiety and now I’m feeling short of breath, which is making me feel more anxious. I mainly feel it in my stomach,” and so on. By accepting your anxiety and experiencing it without trying to suppress it or push it away, you avoid compounding your distress. 

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Breathe Deeply

‍As noted above, an anxiety attack comes when your sympathetic nervous system or your fight-or-flight system gets out of control. The fastest way to get it back under control is to take some slow deep breaths. Since constricted breathing is often a symptom of panic, this may be challenging but if you can manage it, it will calm you down pretty quickly. The exhale is especially important for stimulating the vagus nerve, which activates the rest-and-digest system. 

Try taking 10 to 12 breaths with a regular rhythm such as inhaling for three seconds, exhaling for six seconds, and pausing for a second before repeating. Research suggests that a rate of about six breaths per minute is ideal for relaxing and synchronizing your pulmonary and cardiac rhythms. Again, it can be challenging to slow down and breathe deeply when you’re having a panic attack, so just do what you can; even if your breathing rate isn’t perfect, it’s the aspect of your physiology that you have the most control over.‍

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Pay Attention to Your Environment‍

Another good strategy during a panic attack is to connect with your immediate environment using a grounding strategy. The idea is to use sensory input to connect to the here and now. Panic is always about what might happen--you might pass out or lose it, and so on, and wouldn’t that be awful? The initial anxiety likely stemmed from worries about potentially catastrophic outcomes from failing a test or interview or whatever. Grounding yourself with sensory input allows you to forget about all of that stuff and focus on the present. 

One common grounding technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique: Identify five things you can see around you, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Take a moment to really experience each thing you identify. If you’re in a hurry, figure out which sense helps ground you the fastest and focus on that. It’s generally a good idea to practice this technique--and the other techniques, such as breathing as well--regularly, at least once a day, so you are more comfortable using them when you need to.

Panic is not an easy problem to deal with. The essence of panic is that it undermines your ability to think clearly and regulate your emotions. The best approach to treating a panic disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder is to work with a professional therapist to uncover the roots of the problem and develop comprehensive solutions. These typically involve a mix of behavioral and cognitive strategies, possibly with the aid of non-addictive medications, such as SSRIs. The strategies outlined above can help in the moment, but it’s also important to practice them in advance. If you need to use a grounding technique, for example, you don’t want to be thinking, “What was that technique again?” You want to recognize the onset of symptoms and automatically use a strategy that works for you.

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‍At The Foundry, we know that emotional regulation skills and treating any co-occurring mental health issues are major factors in long-term recovery success. We emphasize the treatment of trauma, including PTSD, as well as other anxiety disorders. We know that mental and physical wellness is key to recovery success. To learn more, call us today at (844) 955-1066.‍