Once again the holidays are upon us, for many, is a time of year filled with happiness and joy. But for others, it is a time filled with sadness, self-reflection, loneliness, and anxiety. And it's no wonder. In an effort to pull off a perfect holiday, you might find yourself balancing a dizzying array of demands - shopping, parties, family obligations, cooking, and cleaning, which may contribute to feeling of being overwhelmed and increasing tension.

We're supposed to look forward to the holidays and hope that they will be a time of happiness, friendliness, fellowship, and harmony. However, unfortunately despite this, the holidays can also lead to depression and overall unhappiness rightfully known as the "holiday blues." The holiday blues can result when one experiences amplified levels of stress that often come with the anxiety of the usual expectations during this time. People may also develop other stress responses such as headaches, excessive drinking, over-eating and difficulty sleeping.

According to the National Mental Health Association, reasons for feeling blue around the holidays are numerous. They range from fatigue, a result of all of the increased holiday activity, to financial limitations and family tensions. Experts say one of the fastest routes to holiday depression is unrealistic expectations.

Don't let all of the pressures of shopping, coordinating social functions, negotiating family issues and missing lost loved ones overwhelm you this holiday season. There are a number of things you can do to keep stress, anxiety and depression at bay:

• Make realistic expectations for the holiday season.
• Set realistic goals for yourself.
• Pace yourself. Do not take on more responsibilities than you can handle.
• Make a list and prioritize the important activities. This can help make holiday tasks more manageable.
• Live "in the moment" and enjoy the present.
• Look to the future with optimism.
• Don't set yourself up for disappointment and sadness by comparing today with the "good old days" of the past.
• If you are lonely, try volunteering some of your time to help others.
• Limit your consumption of alcohol, since excessive drinking will only increase your feelings of depression.
• Try something new. Celebrate the holidays in a new way.
• Spend time with supportive and caring people.
• Reach out and make new friends.
• Make time to contact a long lost friend or relative and spread some holiday cheer.
• Let others share the responsibilities of holiday tasks.
• Make time for yourself.

If despite your best efforts to remain upbeat this holiday season, you find yourself feeling down for a sustained period of time, get help. Don't try to "tough it out" alone. Creative Care located in Los Angeles, CA would honor the opportunity to help you, please contact us today for more information on depression treatment centers.

Labels: Alcohol, Anxiety, Depression, Depression-Treatment-Centers, Excessive-Drinking, Holiday-Blues, Holiday-Depression, Loneliness, Los-Angeles, Over-Eating

Cocaine addiction and abuse is a major problem throughout the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 1.1 million people tried cocaine in 2001, and use has continued to increase since then. Cocaine addiction can start off by the person being introduced to the drug at a party. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug.

With drug experimentation and addiction so prevalent, chances are you know of someone who has dealt with the uphill struggle of addiction. If you have suspicions that someone you care for is using cocaine it is important to look closely at the warning signs, which may be financial as well as physical and emotional.

Cocaine is an expensive drug. Users are typically propelled into financial problems as a result thus justifying their decision to isolate themselves. They may repeatedly ask for money in order to finance their habit or sell personal belongings of sentimental value to feed their addiction.

The physical signs cocaine addicts frequently exhibit include nose bleeds, weight loss, high blood pressure, bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, constricted blood vessels, tremors, nausea, perspiration, chills, higher temperature, runny nose, sniffing, hyperactivity, as well as emotional changes.

The emotional changes include strange behavior, isolation, change in work or school performance, changes in friends, always needing money, talking quickly, suicidal, spending time away from family, missing work, stealing, financial problems, lying, withdrawn from normal activities, and no longer taking pride in personal appearance.

If you know someone who has all of a sudden changed and exhibits some or all of the symptoms above then they may be in the beginning stages of cocaine addiction. Please don’t hesitate to contact Creative Care today for cocaine addiction treatment in Los Angeles, CA. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer any questions you might have about cocaine addiction treatment.

Labels: Cocaine, Cocaine-Addiction-And-Abuse, Cocaine-Addiction-Treatment, Los-Angeles, Warning-Signs-Of-Cocaine-Addiction

Dual diagnosis treatment is an approach used by both medical and psychiatric clinicians to treat individuals affected by two co-occurring or coexisting conditions (substance abuse and an emotional or psychiatric illness) simultaneously. Illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Schizophrenia, etc., are treated along with drug and alcohol addiction through dual diagnosis treatment modalities.

Individuals suffering from dual diagnosis must be allowed to improve at their own pace. Every person responds differently to treatment or medications, and has different amounts of motivation. For these reasons, dual diagnosis therapies need to be tailored not only to patients' motivation levels but, just as importantly, to their impairment levels.

Therefore, each client should be given a psychiatric evaluation in addition to the psychological assessment along with medication evaluation, monitoring, education about the illness, symptoms’ management strategies, and increased individual therapy. In most cases the dual diagnosis treatment will focus on enhancing the person’s physical, emotional and spiritual recovery.

Dual diagnosis treatment can stabilize the symptoms of co-occurring disorders and provide the foundation for lasting recovery from substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. Ignoring a dual disorder problem can have frightening, tragic results.

For more information on dual diagnosis treatment please contact Creative Care in Los Angeles, CA today. 1-800-832-3280

Labels: Anxiety-Disorders, Bipolar-Disorder, Co-Occurring-Disorders, Depression, Dual-Diagnosis-Treatment, Los-Angeles, Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder, Schizophrenia, Substance-Abuse

The more you know about dual diagnosis, the more clearly you will be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of someone who is struggling with these life challenges, and perhaps help this individual to live a healthier or more fulfilling life.

Dual Diagnosis, also known as a co-occurring disorder, is used to describe a person who suffers from a psychiatric condition and a substance abuse problem. Dual diagnosis can be difficult to identify because the symptoms of one disorder often mimic the symptoms of the other disorder. Many of the symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse, such as extreme anxiety, depression, paranoia, delusions and hallucinations are nearly identical to symptoms of mental illness.

Dual diagnosis can cause a great deal of problems for the individual, the family and for friends. The consequences of these disabling conditions vary according to what addictions, disorders, pains or traumatic experiences are involved. The common signs and symptoms which arise out of the struggle with dual diagnosis include:

• Persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, or helplessness
• Thoughts of death or suicide
• Increase or decrease in energy levels
• Sleep disturbances
• Poor performance at work or school
• Loss of interest in activities that were once pleasurable
• Difficulty with concentration or making decisions
• Changes in appetite
• Stealing from friends and family
• Increased agitation and/or restlessness
• Continuation of negative behavior despite known risks
• Change in Hygiene or grooming habits
• Distorted thinking
• Increased feeling of fear and/or anxiety

Acknowledgement of a dual diagnosis and/or a co-occurring disorder allows for awareness, understanding and the opportunity for change. If you or someone in your family is exhibiting any of the characteristics above, they may have a dual diagnosis and need to receive professional help immediately. For more information on dual diagnosis treatment, please contact us at Creative Care in Los Angeles, CA today.

Labels: Anxiety, Co-Occurring-Disorders, Delusions, Depression, Drug-And-Alcohol-Abuse, Dual-Diagnosis, Los-Angeles, Mental-Illness, Paranoia, Psychiatric-Conditions, Signs-And-Symptoms-Of-Dual-Diagnosis

Treatment for bipolar disorder can help you live life on your own terms, without the interference of mood swings. Effective bipolar disorder treatment relieves symptoms, reduces the frequency and intensity of manic and depressive episodes, and restores your ability to function.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. From high to low. From mania to depression. From recklessness to listlessness. These symptoms are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time.

People with bipolar disorder experience unusually intense emotional states that occur in distinct periods called "mood episodes." An overly joyful or overexcited state is called a manic episode, and an extremely sad or hopeless state is called a depressive episode. Sometimes, a mood episode includes symptoms of both mania and depression. People with bipolar disorder also may be explosive and irritable during a mood episode.

Bipolar disorder tends to worsen if it is not treated. Over time, a person may suffer more frequent and more severe episodes than when the illness first appeared. Also, delays in getting the correct diagnosis and treatment make a person more likely to experience personal, social, and work-related problems.

If you suspect that you or someone you know are suffering from bipolar disorder, seek help right away. The earlier you catch bipolar disorder and begin treating it, the better your chances of getting and staying well. An experienced bipolar disorder treatment center like Creative Care in Los Angeles, CA can get you the treatment you need. Hope starts with a phone call. 1-800-832-3280.

Labels: Bipolar-Disorder, Bipolar-Disorder-Treatment, Bipolar-Disorders, Creative-Care-Inc, Los-Angeles

Don’t relapse after rehab. Sober living usually serves to help those individuals, who are in the process of transitioning from a residential drug and alcohol rehab, back into their daily lives. For some individuals, returning home to their old environments would be stressful and a trigger old habits. Sober living serves as a way to help those individuals transition back into daily life while helping them to maintain their sobriety and recovery.

Sober living homes provide a more seamless transition to the real world. The individual will live, side-by-side, with other individuals going through the same process as they are. This support structure provides encouragement and a sounding board for one another during the period when relapse is still a very real concern.

Alcohol and drug addiction studies have shown that the chances of achieving long-term sobriety are greatly increased by an extended stay in a sober living home. If a client forgoes a sober living home, the result is all too often a return to the same self destructive behaviors that landed them in drug and alcohol treatment in the first place.

A sober living environment provides the opportunity for a recovering addict to move on to the next step in creating the life that they are meant to be living. This, over time, will help to build up the self-esteem and confidence needed to go into the world, and continue to live a drug and alcohol free life.

Are you or a loved interested in finding more information on sober living homes in Los Angeles, CA? If so, please don't hesitate to contact us today.

Labels: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcohol-And-Drug Addiction, Drug, Drug-And-Alcohol-Rehab, Los-Angeles, Rehab, Sober-Living, Sobriety

Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse. I cannot believe that any person starts out drinking or drugging with the intention of becoming an addict. However, people obviously do become addicted.

What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction - that it is a disease that impacts the brain and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), addiction is defined as a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and to those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain.

No single factor can predict whether or not a person will become addicted to drugs or alcohol. Risk for addiction is influenced by a person’s biology, social environment, and age or stage of development. The more risk factors an individual has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction.

Drug addiction is a preventable disease. Results from NIDA-funded research have shown that prevention programs that involve families, schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. Although many events and cultural factors affect drug abuse trends, when youths perceive drug abuse as harmful, they reduce their drug taking.

Are you wondering if you or a loved may be struggling with an addiction? Please, don't hesitate to contact us for assistance with getting addiction treatment in Los Angeles.

Labels: Addiction, Drug-Addiction, Los-Angeles, National-Institute-Of-Drug-Abuse