Author: VKM

Categories
Nutrition

Vegan Diet and Mental Health

Your mental health matters- and trying to support that in the everchanging uncertainty of a global pandemic alongside the catastrophic beauty of day to day life can feel a little bit like looking for a diamond in the dark. From the food you’re eating to the socks you’re wearing and the way you’re moving your body, everything comes into question when you’re grappling with the ways you can improve your mental health and flourish on your own terms. 

While it’s been suggested that a vegan diet can help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce diabetes risk and pain, did you know it also has many benefits to your mental health? We’re here to help support your interest in Veganism, guide your transition and illustrate the ways you can transform your mental health with plants. 

Cultivate curiosity and compassion 

Plant-based diets are rooted in excluding animal products and byproducts from what you eat, and they can feel a little overwhelming to begin. While veganism itself doesn’t enhance or alter your nature, it certainly has a way of provoking inner change. From considering the repercussions of removing animal products (and byproducts) in your life to sourcing new ideas for meals and snacks, veganism invites you to engage your mind in new and creative ways. Being vegan offers you an opportunity to exercise compassion in the small details of your life. You get the chance to choose not to contribute to the animal-sourced food industry while making space for you to get curious about the options you will choose. 

In one fell swoop, your new vegan meals will ask you to think outside the box and help you to get excited about potential as you do. Whether you’re reimagining your favorite meals or finding new ones, your mental health will benefit from the exercise of engaging with your daily meals in the curious way we engaged in play as children. The compassionate choice not to involve animals in that is a warm hug for the heart and mind on top of that. 

Viva la vitamins 

A common refrain when someone hears you are vegan, or considering veganism, is concern for your vitamin, iron and nutrient intake. Much of our society cannot fathom a balanced diet that doesn’t rely on animal products, which is understandable as less than 1% of Americans are vegan. 

Whether it’s your own uncertainty you’re trying to combat, someone else’s or just a new awareness of your nutritional intake, adding multivitamins, probiotics and supportive supplements may be a byproduct of your new vegan lifestyle. As such, your body may experience a more balanced micronutrient profile than you have before. The more commonly supplemented nutrients, like B12, Folate and Omega-3, are an important part of supporting mental health and adding them into your routine alongside your new vegan diet can have positive benefits on your wellbeing. 

Great for gut health 

Vegan diets can help to stimulate a more productive microbial colony in your gut, creating a more productive environment for your body to collect and store the nutrients it needs to nourish you through every day. While a vegan diet on its own can’t create this change, the creativity and new protein sources drive a natural encouragement toward new and more diverse whole food choices. 

When the gut is happy, so too is the mind. The Gut-Brain Connection is the link between what you eat and how you think- and it’s largely undervalued. By eating a vegan (and likely more versatile) diet, you can enrich your body’s connection to the mind and support a more productive exchange of information. Given that the Gut-Brain connection has been shown to correlate with anxiety, this is great news for supporting your mental health. 

Eating a vegan diet isn’t a miracle cure that will make you live forever, help your skin glow or give you superpowers. It isn’t always easy and the surprising list of limitations may feel frustrating as you begin a new journey. However, the benefits of being vegan can touch every corner of your life, from physical to mental health, and expand beyond you to making a difference in the ethical use of animals by the food industry. Supporting a cause you believe in through the choices you make will always benefit your mental health overall, but the day to day is yours to consider and cultivate. 

Our residential program is one of the very few substance abuse treatment centers that provides vegan meals and an emphasis on nutrition as a part of our holistic programming. Connect with us today to learn more about the way that we do treatment differently. 

Categories
Wellness

How to Nurture Yourself

Often when we are hurting, we find ourselves reaching past the healing we need toward means of comfort and distraction. It’s easier to distract from pain than feel it, and that distraction can move swiftly toward indulgence that becomes something more. Walking a path of distracting instead of feeling and indulging instead of healing, is a treacherous journey that often leaves you feeling worse after every redirection. 

So where do you go from here? When your impulse is to distract or indulge, how do you make choices that look or feel better for your wellbeing? Is self-care the way forward or self-nurturance? Will it require more pain for you to make a different choice? 

What does it mean to nurture yourself?

To nurture yourself does not mean to make yourself comfortable. In fact, it often means the opposite. Nurturing is a way of caring for ourselves in the challenging moments as much as the ones that come easy. We nurture ourselves in the moments we are afraid and push through; we nurture ourselves when we pursue something that we aren’t sure we will succeed at. We nurture ourselves especially beautifully when we allow ourselves to sit in emotions that are messy or situations that are uncertain. 

Nurturing is the act of giving the whole self holistic care. Much like parenting is to a child, nurturing yourself is the persistent and compassionate belief in your ability to overcome. 

Self-care vs Self-nurture

The much-lauded practice of self-care is everywhere in one form or another. That bath? Self-care. A pedicure? Definitely self-care. Yes, read that book, watch that show, indulge in that chocolate- it’s self-care, after all. But self-care is so much more than we are often shown. It is not all easy, and it’s certainly not the indulgent picture painted so often in media. Self-care can be difficult, rigorous work. The acts of care that help us move forward and progress in the world—like rising to a challenge—is self-care just as much as taking a shower often enough to feel clean and productive. 

Self-care is the verb to the self-nurture’s noun. Care is what we do, and nurturing is how we frame our thoughts about it. We nurture our thoughts, our needs and our worth. We care for them too, but first, we must nurture them into the certainty that they are valid and deserve to take up space. Though we need self-care to self-nurture, we must learn to nurture before we can offer ourselves true care. 

Are you prone to self-indulgence? 

Ah, indulgence. To sink into the wanting instead of the needing, and allow yourself to truly know decadence. It’s something special to be able to appreciate the finer things in your world- from small brief delicacies to extravagant ones. 

When indulgence becomes a form of coping instead of confronting, it becomes a substitute for nurture and care. Emotional pain may be difficult or confusing to feel. Often, it’s not clear what we’re meant to do with those feelings, and as society sweeps the messy things under the rug, we may want to as well. Indulgence can be something benign like an extra show, an extra scoop, or an extra hour- or it can seep into substances or habits that can become dangerous. Indulgence may become addiction if it’s not curtailed when it moves past an occasional treat into a daily habit. 

Re-writing your healing 

Stepping into the uncomfortable spaces to shape the way you nurture yourself can be difficult, but you are more than capable. Spend some time with yourself, considering the ways you approach your inner child. Give yourself the space to think about what would feel best in a variety of situations or emotional experiences. 

What would feel best when you’re afraid? When you’re angry? How can you celebrate your wins? Where do you look for clarity when you’re confused? 

Focus on these feelings and the authentic places you react and then apply them. Listen to your intuition for what you need, and move toward the nurturing habits that will allow you to give yourself those things. 

Ways to shape your nurturing 

The hows of nurturing yourself are always going to be highly specific. Just like your fingerprint and your self-care, it’s entirely unique to you. Shaping the nurturance you offer yourself is a delicate dance of identifying the unconscious needs that drive your emotions and sitting with them long enough to hear what they’re really saying. 

You can shape your nurturing through: 

  • Meditation 
  • Journaling 
  • Inner-child care 
  • Affirmations 
  • Moving your body 
  • Practice radical honesty 

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it never could be. You are so beautifully unique that the chances for nurturing yourself will bend and extend as often as you do. No matter where you are on your healing or recovery journey, it is never too late to learn to nurture yourself, and we’re always here to help. 

Categories
Mental Health

The Link Between Stress and Mental Health

Stress is an everyday part of most of our lives. Just getting through life—dealing with work, kids, family struggles, financial issues, relationship hurdles, and more—requires some serious stress management skills. Often, it seems impossible for absolutely every area of our lives to be in perfect harmony all the time. 

So, how do we make it through? We deal. We find ways to deal with our stress enough so we can get through the day and do what we need to do to survive. But, is stress healthy for us? When does everyday stress become too much stress? And what can all this do to our mental health? 

Believe it or not, there is a link between stress and mental health, and in the face of stressful challenges, some women might turn to substances to cope. This can eventually lead to addiction and negatively impact your health. If you find yourself turning to substances for stress relief, it may be time to explore the benefits of joining a holistic healing program.

Chronic Stress

Daily stressors keep us on our toes. Deadlines at work, kid’s science fair projects, the family dog grubbing on the couch, and so forth. These moments add a little splash of cortisol into our bloodstream that gives us that added boost to get through whatever the stressor is. This is normal. And healthy, even. 

Chronic stress is an entirely different thing. During these times, stress levels are high, and they remain high—constantly. Maybe it is due to a bad relationship or dysfunctional marriage. You could be unhappy at your job, dealing with a dire financial situation, have an out-of-control teenager, etc. Any one of these things can lead to chronic stress. Put a couple of them together and you will likely find yourself heading for some serious health issues. 

In fact, chronic stress has been known to lead to things like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a weakened immune system, and even cancer. It doesn’t stop there, though. Chronic stress also leads to mental health issues. 

The Connection

For years, mental health clinicians and researchers have been convinced that there exists a link between stress and mental health. Patients would seek help and would be bogged down with all these major issues in life – or, at the very least, a lot of compounded small ones. They would find themselves unable to get out of bed in the morning, even after happy or expected life transitions. Depression, anxiety, panic—all of these things were making their way into the lives of these stressed-out patients. But no one could prove why until now. 

As researchers have studied the brains of those with stress disorders (including PTSD) and those without, they have found one main difference—the brain of those with stress disorders has a higher ratio of white matter to gray matter than those who don’t. 

So, people who have chronic stress tend to have more white matter. What does that mean? Today’s blog is an important exploration of the scientific connection between these topics. To learn more, get ready for an in-depth look at the brain. 

Gray Matter and White Matter

Gray matter is commonly found in the brain, and it is made up of two types of cells: neurons and glia. Neurons have the job of processing and storing information. And glial cells support them.  

White matter, on the other hand, is made up of axons, which work to form a network of fibers that connect these neurons. White matter is referred to as such because of the white, fatty covering of “myelin sheath” that acts as insulation for the nerves. This white matter actually increases the transmission speed of signals between the cells. 

Researchers wondered – could the cells that produce this white myelin coating be impacted by stress, thus creating more myelin and leading to more white matter? 

The Hippocampus

Your brain has a hippocampus that handles all your emotions and memories. Researchers studied this in rats and found that something different was happening with the neural stem cells found there. It was always understood that the neural stem cells will eventually become a type of glial cell (gray matter). Though the more researchers did experiments, the more they were able to discover that – under stress – the cells became a different type of glial cell – oligodendrocyte – one that is myelin-producing. 

The findings have led researchers to determine that chronic stress leads to more myelin-producing cells and fewer neurons, throwing off the balance in the brain, disrupting the communication between brain cells, and even leading to mental health issues. 

Oligodendrocyte Cells and Mental Health

This brings us to these oligodendrocyte cells. Since they are the ones that fill up the white matter in the brain and lead to mental health issues, they require a more in-depth understanding. What are they? How do they work? 

Neurons are necessary for learning and memory skills. When the communication is disrupted, then there are red flags for cognitive functions. The more chronic stress is allowed to take over, the more issues will arise with the transmittal of information. 

It is very clear that all of this is impacted due to the changes caused by chronic stress within the brain. Researchers are still in need of more studies – and those focused on humans rather than rats – to gain a full understanding.

Chronic Stress, Mental Health, and the Brain

Our mind is incredible and it can do some miraculous things. But when we overload it with stress at a too-constant level, things can happen – as evident with all these new findings. Sadly, the more stressed we get, the more we risk dealing with mental health and cognitive issues, and we often turn to negative vices for relief. As a result, we may be doing even more harm. 

Our interconnected body needs to be able to function healthily as a whole. And that means that when it comes to finding stress relief and healing, we need to treat the entire body — not just the symptoms or some of its parts. After all, chronic stress has thrown everything off-balance in the brain.

Finding Balance

Our bodies and minds work in balance. So whether you are dealing with chronic stress, addiction, a mental health disorder, or any combination of the two (or more), everything needs to be addressed to bring the body back in balance. 

Stress is not going to go anywhere, but learning how to handle it and making changes where we can reduce its impact can also reduce the chance of mental health issues arising. 

Stress is a normal part of life. However, a constant state of stress can have a negative impact on your mental health and even lead to substance abuse and addiction. If you or someone you love has turned to substance abuse as a way to ease stress, help is available. Learn more about the benefits of joining a holistic healing program today.

Categories
Trauma

Trauma and Addiction: An Unfortunate Connection

Addiction happens for many different reasons. But, all too often, there is something deeper below the surface – most often trauma – that draws an individual into a life of substance abuse. 

Whether your trauma stems from something that happened in childhood or as an adult, the mental and emotional impact of these events can be powerful – and they don’t just disappear. That is why many who have suffered through trauma turn to substance abuse as a means of self-medicating or coping. Unfortunately, addiction follows. To break this cycle, both the addiction and the trauma need to be addressed. 

What is Trauma?

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is “any disturbing experience that results in significant fear, helplessness, dissociation, confusion, or other disruptive feelings intense enough to have a long-lasting negative effect on a person’s attitudes, behavior, and other aspects of functioning. Traumatic events include those caused by human behavior (e.g., rape, war, industrial accidents) as well as by nature (e.g., earthquakes) and often challenge an individual’s view of the world as a just, safe, and predictable place.” 

A few common traumatic events are: 

  • Bullying
  • Car accidents
  • Fires
  • Domestic violence
  • Sexual assault or rape
  • Verbal/emotional abuse
  • Parental neglect/ unstable home life
  • Natural disasters
  • Chronic medical issues or pain

Immediately following trauma, feelings of shock, denial, and even anger are quite common. But, the impact of trauma will extend much further than just today, tomorrow, or next month. In fact, the impact of trauma can last a lifetime — especially if it is not appropriately addressed and treated. 

Some long-term effects of trauma are: 

  • Broken or strained relationships
  • Headaches
  • Flashbacks
  • Out of control emotions
  • Nausea

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), traumatic events are experienced by at least 51% of women and 61% of men at least once in their lifetime. 

Childhood Trauma

Childhood trauma is one type of trauma that many people feel the effects of, but many don’t even realize why. Sometimes things happened in the past that we actively repress and try to forget, and others, we have allowed our subconscious mind to push the painful memories aside without our conscious awareness. Regardless of how we have tried to help protect ourselves from these painful memories, childhood trauma is powerful. And it can impact survivors for a lifetime if not addressed. 

Childhood trauma, according to the Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services, and Interventions, is “a scary, dangerous, violent, or life-threatening event that happens to a child (0-18 years of age). This type of event may also happen to someone your child knows and your child is impacted as a result of seeing or hearing about the other person being hurt or injured.”

Trauma Symptoms: Behavioral and Psychological

Whether you have experienced childhood trauma or a traumatic event in more recent years, the behavioral and psychological impact is still there. And, believe it or not, there are many short-term and long-term symptoms that can occur. It is important to remember, however, that trauma is very personal and it affects each person differently. 

Here are a few behavioral and psychological symptoms of trauma: 

  • Chronic irritability and aggravation
  • Fear and nervousness – even when it seems unfounded
  • Avoiding things that are reminiscent of the trauma
  • Uncontrolled – and excessive – emotions
  • Shy, social awkwardness
  • Lack of confidence
  • Major mood swings
  • Replaying the traumatic event over and over

Impact of Trauma on Life

Trauma can impact all areas of your life. It may have been something very personal that happened — and there may not be another soul on this planet who knows about the trauma. But the internal damage that the event/s caused can severely and negatively impact all areas of your life. 

Your work/career/professional life can be affected by your trauma. That’s right – it can follow you into the workplace. It controls how you relate to others, the level of trust you have, how you handle adversity and responsibility, and more. 

Relationships and friendships are also impacted by the lasting effects of your trauma. Again, trust issues play a big role in disrupting relationships. Understandably, intimacy can also be especially tough for those who have experienced sexual assault, abuse, or trauma. Overall, confidence, self-worth, sexual identity, unhealthy boundaries, all seem to surface. 

Living a quality life dealing with these effects of trauma can be incredibly difficult. 

The Link Between Trauma and Addiction

Now that you have an idea of just how powerful trauma can be — and how great of a hold it can have on your life, it is easier to understand how the search for relief can lead someone down the road to addiction. Whether it is the right or the wrong answer, the substance provides a moment of relief from the horrific trauma symptoms. 

It is usually never the intention of the individual to use a substance as a means of coping with the heavy emotions from trauma. But it is the lack of healthy coping skills that can allow the unhealthy coping skills to take over. And this momentary reprieve brought by drugs or alcohol abuse can very easily turn into a compulsion or habit and, eventually, an addiction. 

Trauma that is left untreated can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And both can make life rather difficult. Before you know it, treatment needs to be sought for both – the addiction and the trauma. 

Approach to Treatment

As you can tell, the effects of trauma don’t just disappear. They require you to work through them, slowly learning how to cope with the effects of the trauma. This means addressing the event itself and any triggers that may go along with it. And while you can’t just erase, you can learn to handle what happened to you — without having to turn to a substance to do so. 

Learning about habits and addictive behaviors, as well as how to manage your addiction is also crucial for a successful recovery. So, in other words, these situations can only be handled in a treatment program that addresses both issues.

If you find yourself dealing with addiction and an underlying trauma of any type, your best course of action is to seek a holistic women’s treatment center that will help you find healing for your whole body. 

 

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