New Year, New You: Addiction Recovery at the Cellular Level

The iconic American author and philosopher Joseph Campbell famously said, “When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.” “Transformation” is truly what addiction recovery is all about. This is especially pertinent around the new year when it is customary to make choices about how one is going to change in positive ways. Yes, experiencing a positive transformation in addiction recovery is key.

What Does It Mean to Heal at the Cellular Level?

Healing at the cellular level is all about holistic recovery, which means recovering all aspects of the capital “S” Self. This includes one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components of the Self.

Healing at the cellular level is also about understanding the importance of “one day at a time” and the concept of a “new you.” But, how can one become renewed daily and still focus on long-term goals? The key is to set goals and then take positive momentary actions to meet those goals. However, the reality of addiction is that there are many factors that try to get in the way of that long-term recovery. This includes triggers and relapses.

The Realities of Addiction

There can be many “triggers” in addiction recovery. This is often instigated by the “people, places, and things” that have long been associated with one’s active addiction. This might include individuals that one used to use substances or drink with, places one used to drink or use at, or even seeing advertisements for a certain brand of alcohol. This can lead to a relapse.

Many people don’t realize just how prevalent relapses can be. According to the peer-reviewed Indian Journal of Psychiatry, “Addiction is conceptualized as a chronic relapsing brain disorder. Miller and Hester reviewed more than 500 alcoholism outcome studies and reported that more than 75% of subjects relapsed within 1 year of treatment. A study published by Hunt and colleagues demonstrated that nicotine, heroin, and alcohol produced highly similar rates of relapse over a one-year period, in the range of 80-95%.” Some of these relapses may be avoidable if one knows what to look out for.

The Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Now, it is important to understand that the signs and symptoms of addiction (and mental illness) are going to vary somewhat based on the situation and the individual. However, there are some more universal signs that can be looked out for. The following are just a few of those universal signs and symptoms:

• Isolating away from family and close friends
• Struggling with sleep cycles, including sleeping too much and not sleeping enough (hypersomnia and insomnia)
• Losing interest in activities and hobbies once enjoyed
• Feeling anxious, nervous, or overly “stressed out”
• No longer caring about appearance or personal hygieneEngaging in risky behaviors
• Exhibiting excessive mood swings
• Not being able to stop drinking and using once started
• Loss of appetite
• Having feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness (depression)
• Committing self-harm or harming others
• Having suicidal ideations

Unfortunately, people often minimize the signs and symptoms of addiction and/or mental illness. However, as one can see, these symptoms can be extremely serious. This is why reaching out for professional help sooner rather than later as signs appear is critical. Doing so could mean the difference between short-term side effects and long-term consequences. Again, this can be life and death. This professional help should also be individualized and comprehensive.

The Importance of Individualized and Comprehensive Addiction Care

What does it mean to receive individualized and comprehensive addiction care? As Hippocrates famously said, “It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has.” The only to utilize this philosophy is to intimately get to know the individual.

Unfortunately, there are many recovery centers that only offer broad overarching recovery plans that don’t focus on the individual. This is often because the recovery center is more focused on their financial bottom line rather than their client’s well-being.

Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we find that this type of recovery rarely works to help the individual heal at the cellular level. To help an individual heal at the cellular level one has to make sure that they are receiving care that utilizes multiple means, methods, and modalities. This includes psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), experiential therapies like nature immersion therapy and surf therapy, and holistic healing methods like yoga therapy and mindfulness meditation. It is also important to get to the underlying issues of addiction.

Addiction Recovery: Getting to the Underlying Issues and Root/Core Causes

To truly transform into a “new you,” an individual has to get to the underlying issues and root/core causes of their addiction. It is important to remember that addiction is about a lot more than the drink or the drug. It is about the behaviors that lead to the individual taking that drink or drug. This is why, in 12-Step recovery, it is often said that “it is about the thinking way more than it is about the drinking.”

So, where do these underlying issues come from? Often they are related to issues of trauma and/or post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). This often happens in younger populations and among veterans. According to the peer-reviewed journal Depression and Anxiety, “Exposure to traumatic experiences, especially those occurring in childhood, has been linked to substance use disorders (SUDs), including abuse and dependence. SUDs are also highly comorbid with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mood-related psychopathology. Most studies examining the relationship between PTSD and SUDs have examined veteran populations or patients in substance treatment programs.” One of the best psychotherapies to address these underlying issues is DBT. 

DBT was originally structured to treat borderline personality disorder but is now used to treat many issues like alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use disorder (SUD). According to the peer-reviewed Mental Health Clinician, “The term ‘dialectical’ means the interaction of conflicting ideas. Within DBT, ‘dialectical’ refers to the integration of both acceptance and change as necessities for improvement. Dialectical behavior therapy aims to address the symptoms of BPD by replacing maladaptive behaviors with healthier coping skills, such as mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance.” DBT can also help with goal creation.

Addiction Recovery: Making Short-Term Goals

As previously mentioned, it is important that one focus their addiction recovery on “one day at a time.” This is especially true with early addiction recovery.

Often, early recovery can feel overwhelming. This is why making short-term goals at first is ideal. These may even be as simple as making one’s bed in the morning and taking a shower. Checking these boxes can be crucial to building the necessary self-confidence in recovery. From there, one can begin to expand into setting more long-term goals.

Addiction Recovery: Making Long-Term Goals

Long-term goals are what recovery is all about. It is about understanding that recovery is all about the journey. There is no ultimate destination. There are just ever-increasing long-term goals that make addiction recovery worthwhile. Often, these goals are focused on rebuilding relationships and reestablishing successful careers.

When one is “taking action” in their recovery, there is no knowing how far one can rise. The key is to set goals and slowly work toward them by “taking the right next step.” It is also important to understand that not meeting goals right away is okay. The point is to keep moving ahead and realize that addiction recovery is all about “progress, not perfection.” This can be especially true around the new year.

Addiction Recovery: Staying Safe and Sober in the New Year

Many people in recovery can feel “triggered” around the new year. This is because the holiday has long been associated with excessive drinking. However, that does not mean that one cannot enjoy the new year.

The key is to make a plan when it comes to New Year’s Eve. If one plans on being at a party with alcohol (and substances), one should always have a preset plan on how to leave if one starts to feel uncomfortable. It is also important to know that it is okay to simply leave. One’s sobriety is more important than how one feels and how one may be perceived if one leaves an event early. It can also be very helpful to attend or throw a party that includes other people in recovery.

Connecting to others in recovery is critical for long-term success. There is even a chapter in the primary text of 12-Step recovery (commonly referred to as the Big Book) entitled “Working With Others.” The chapter states, “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking [and using] as intensive work with other [people in recovery]. It works when other activities fail…. You can help when no one else can.” Another important aspect of recovery is nutrition.

Addiction Recovery: Nutrition Therapy

When one walks onto the luxury 30-acre property at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, one will see some of the most amazing and beautiful vegetation on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. This includes rows of coconut and citrus trees, beautiful guava bushes, and packed pineapple patches. There are also full vegetable boxes that clients cultivate as they engage in horticulture therapy.

Many of these fruits and vegetables are also used in the tailor-made nutritious and delicious meals that are offered at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab. These meals are also prepared by world-class chefs to ensure the highest quality of cuisine that satisfies every client’s needs. It also follows the tenets of nutrition therapy.

Nutrition therapy is more complex than many people may realize. According to the Committee on Nutrition Services for Medicare Beneficiaries, “Nutrition is the science of food, the nutrients, and other substances therein, their action, interaction, and balance in relation to health and disease and the processes by which the organism ingests, digests, absorbs, transports, utilizes, and excretes food substances. In addition, nutrition must be concerned with certain social, economic, cultural, and psychological implications of food and eating.” Also, “The practice of dietetics/nutrition has been defined by the American Dietetic Association as ‘the integration and application of the principles derived from the sciences of nutrition, biochemistry, food, physiology, management, and behavioral and social sciences.…’”

Addiction Recovery: Psychotherapies

As previously mentioned, “traditional” psychotherapies can be critical in helping people experience the transformation required to heal at the cellular level. This is because psychotherapies get to the underlying issues previously mentioned. For example, CBT and DBT help an individual get to the underlying issues that were previously mentioned. They help one to see the negative way that they view themselves and the world around them. Once an individual addresses these views then they can start to address the negative addictive behaviors associated with them. Trauma-informed therapy can also help with this.

Trauma-informed therapy is a modality that can often be underused in the recovery realm. This is not the case at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “Many individuals who seek treatment in behavioral health settings have histories of trauma, but they often don’t recognize the significant effects of trauma in their lives; either they don’t draw connections between their trauma histories and their presenting problems, or they avoid the topic altogether. Likewise, treatment providers may not ask questions that elicit a client’s history of trauma, may feel unprepared to address trauma-related issues proactively, or may struggle to address traumatic stress effectively within the constraints of their treatment program….”

Addiction Recovery: Experiential Therapies

Experiential therapies can also be a critical component regarding one’s addiction recovery. This includes nature-based therapies and creative-output-based therapies.

On the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, it is also important to utilize the beautiful weather to heal in experiential ways. This includes a focus on physical activities. According to the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, “Epidemiological studies reveal that individuals who report risky substance use are generally less likely to meet physical activity guidelines (with the exception of certain population segments, such as adolescents and athletes). A growing body of evidence suggests that individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) are interested in exercising and that they may derive benefits from regular exercise, in terms of both general health/fitness and SUD recovery.” Holistic healing methods can also be critical for transformation and healing at the cellular level.

Addiction Recovery: Holistic Healing Methods

Yoga and meditation have been practiced for thousands of years. Originally they were solely practiced for religious or spiritual purposes, but they have now moved into the realm of recovery.

Yoga can be particularly beneficial. The iconic yogi and spiritual leader B.K.S. Iyengar famously said, “We must create a marriage between the awareness of the body and that of the mind. When two parties do not cooperate, there is unhappiness on both sides.”

Yoga offers a myriad of benefits. This includes offering a critical sense of mindfulness, and the ability to find serenity and balance. Increased strength and flexibility, and help with breathing.

Healing at the Cellular Level With Exclusive Hawaii Rehab

Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we believe in long-term transformation over short-term “fixes.” This is also why all of our recovery plans are individualized and comprehensive with a concentrated focus on the future.

At Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we also believe in goal setting. This includes “one day at a time” goals and ever-expanding long-term goals.

Recovery and the future are now. As Joseph Campbell also famously said, “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” There is a new life waiting. The key is to go out there and get it.

It can be critically important to set goals in recovery. This is both in the short and long term. Also, it is vital to choose the right recovery center so that one can ultimately heal at the cellular level. Yes, recovery is “one day at a time,” but there must also be goals and hope for the future. If you feel like you or a family member is struggling with issues of addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring disorders, we can help get you on the positive path toward recovery right away. You don’t have to go through this alone. For more information about setting goals in recovery, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.