What Are Effective Strategies for Healing Conduct Disorders?
The iconic martial artist and actor Bruce Lee famously said, “If you always put a limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits; there are only plateaus, and you must not stay there; you must go beyond them.” This is also true of the limits that conduct disorders can put on an individual.
What Does It Mean to Heal at the Cellular Level?
Healing at the cellular level is all about healing all aspects of the “Self,” which includes the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components. Cellular-level healing also has to do with whole mind-body healing (“holistic” healing).
Many people think that recovery is all about adding new elements to one’s life. This is actually a fallacy. Healing at the cellular level is all about eliminating those components of the self that are getting in the way of one’s recovery. It is also about addressing the root/core causes of one’s issues.
The Importance of Getting to the Root/Core Causes of One’s Issues
Many people don’t realize that mental health and addiction issues are about more than one’s surface-level issues. As is often said in many recovery circles, “It is about the ‘thinking,’ not the ‘drinking.'”
When it comes to conduct disorders, it is certainly about a lot more than the behaviors that define them. It is also about the underlying issues that cause those negative behaviors. Many of these underlying issues are also related to trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
More individuals struggle with trauma than many people realize. According to the peer-reviewed journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, “The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines a traumatic event (TE) as exposure to threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Such exposure may occur directly or indirectly by witnessing the event, learning of the event occurring to a loved one, or repeated confrontation with aversive details of such event (e.g. emergency responders). Exposure to TEs is a prerequisite for the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is also associated with a wide range of other adverse mental and physical health outcomes.”
PTSD also remains very prevalent in the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Center for PTSD, “About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the U.S. population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives.” Also, “About 5 out of every 100 adults (or 5%) in the U.S. has PTSD in any given year. In 2020, about 13 million Americans had PTSD.” One of the ways to get to the underlying issues is by focusing on individualized mental health and addiction care.
A Focus on Individualized Mental Health Care
When it comes to addressing issues like conduct disorders, it is important that the individual is being “seen” rather than merely their diagnosis. As the father of Western medicine, 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.”
There are many recovery centers that only offer overarching “one-size-fits-all” treatment plans. Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we find that these types of plans rarely work. It is also important that treatment plans utilize as many means, methods, and modalities as possible, a multi-angled approach.
The Multi-Angled Approach: A Focus on Comprehensive Mental Health Care
A multi-angled approach to recovery is all about using as many effective treatment methods as possible. This includes modalities like psychotherapy, experiential therapy, and holistic healing practices.
Now, this approach is also ideal for treating mental health and addiction issues that are behavior-focused. There are mental health issues like conduct disorders.
Better Understanding Conduct Disorders
Many people have heard of conduct disorders but are unfamiliar with the exact details. According to the peer-reviewed thesis, Conduct Disorder, by Doctors Mohan, Yilanli, and Ray, “Conduct disorder (CD) lies on a spectrum of disruptive behavioral disorders, which also include oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)… CD is characterized by a pattern of behaviors that demonstrate aggression and violation of the rights of others and evolves over time. Conduct disorder often occurs comorbidly with other psychiatric conditions, including depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and learning disorders.”
There are also many behaviors that are specific to conduct disorders. According to the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, “Behaviors [of CD] include stealing and lying, excessive physical and verbal aggression, rule-breaking and violence. The persistence of these behaviors into adulthood leads to antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). As these behaviors are present in some children during the course of development, it is essential for the clinician to differentiate between normalcy and pathological behavior. Remote antisocial or illicit acts are not enough to support a diagnosis of CD.” There are many other signs and symptoms to look out for when it comes to conduct disorders.
The Signs and Symptoms of Conduct Disorders
While each individual is going to have a unique experience with conduct disorders, there are some universal signs and symptoms that many people will share. The following are just a few of those signs and symptoms:
- Being overly deceptive and repetitively lying
- Excessive stealing and cheating
- Exhibiting excessive mood swings
- Losing interest in activities once enjoyed
- Isolating away from family and friends
- Engaging in risky behaviors
- Struggling with authority
- Having issues at work or at school
- Feeling anxious or overly stressed out
- Having feelings of sadness, loneliness, and depression
- Using alcohol and/or substances as a coping mechanism for underlying issues
- Exhibiting self-harm
- Having suicidal ideations
As one can see, these are not insignificant symptoms, and if any, many, or all of these symptoms are present, it is highly recommended that professional help be sought as soon as possible.
What Are Effective Strategies for Healing Conduct Disorders?
The good news is that there are many effective strategies to help individuals heal from conduct disorders at the cellular level. These strategies come from all areas of recovery.
This includes a focus on nutrition, psychedelic therapies, nature immersion therapy, surf therapy, horticulture therapy, yoga and meditation, and psychotherapy. In fact, one psychotherapy that has been shown to be particularly effective with conduct disorders is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
Healing With Psychotherapy
Psychotherapies like CBT can be so effective because they get to the underlying issues of many of the negative behaviors associated with conduct disorders. As previously mentioned, getting to these underlying root/core causes is crucial for healing at the cellular level.
CBT is also particularly effective because it ensures that the client is the main “player” in their own recovery. According to the peer-reviewed journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, “Consistent with the medical model of psychiatry, the overall goal of treatment is symptom reduction, improvement in functioning, and remission of the disorder. In order to achieve this goal, the patient becomes an active participant in a collaborative problem-solving process to test and challenge the validity of maladaptive cognitions and to modify maladaptive behavioral patterns. Thus, modern CBT refers to a family of interventions that combine a variety of cognitive, behavioral, and emotion-focused techniques.” Another modality that can also be highly beneficial is psychedelic therapy.
Healing With Psychedelic Therapy
Psychedelic therapy can be highly beneficial because it can change the negative way people view themselves and the world around them. It is also an ideal way to help one start to address the negative emotions that one often has buried deep down inside.
While psychedelic therapy has long been stigmatized, the good news is that much of that stigma is currently being lifted. According to the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology, “We are currently witnessing a growth in interest in psychedelic substances and their potential use for the promotion of mental health. After an early phase set between the ‘50s and the ‘70s of the previous century when applications were being tested in psychotherapy and, more specifically, for the treatment of neuroses, alcoholism, end-of-life anxiety, and chronic pain, psychedelic research almost got to a standstill.” Another essential component of recovery from mental health issues like conduct disorders is nutrition.
Healing With Nutrition
Nutrition and nutrition therapy have gained a lot of interest in recent years. According to the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Nutrition, “Applied psychopharmacotherapy and psychotherapy do not always bring the expected results in the treatment of mental disorders. As a result, other interventions are receiving increasing attention. In recent years, there has been a surge in research on the effects of nutrition on mental status, which may be an important aspect of the prevention of many mental disorders and, at the same time, may lead to a reduction in the proportion of people with mental disorders.”
Nutrition is also about a sustained plan rather than “fads” and “diets.” According to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), “[A]lterations in food choices or preferences in response to our temporary psychological state – such as ‘comfort foods’ in times of low mood, or changes in appetite from stress—are common human experiences. In addition, relationships between nutrition and longstanding mental illness are compounded by barriers to maintaining a healthy diet. These barriers disproportionality affect people with mental illness and include the financial and environmental determinants of health and even the appetite-inducing effects of psychiatric medications.” Like nutrition, nature can also be essential for recovery from mental illness.
Healing With Nature
Connecting with nature can be particularly beneficial for conduct disorders because it can be such a mood enhancer. According to the U.S. National Park Service, “5 minutes walking in nature improves mood, self-esteem, and relaxation. Frequent exposure to nature reduces anxiety and depression while promoting a sense of well-being and fulfillment.” Also, “Physical activity in a green space can reduce stress and lower cortisol levels by 15%.”
Nature and nature immersion therapy also offer many cognitive benefits. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Besides improvements to physical and psychological well-being, exposure to natural environments has been shown to bring about positive impacts on cognitive functioning… While cognitive restoration and physiological well-being are the prominent and renowned benefits of nature exposure, there is one important construct that is often overlooked in environmental psychology research studies – that is, the human-nature relationship; also known as connectedness to nature (CN). This ”CN” can also be gained in aquatic environments.
Healing With Surfing
Water activities can be highly beneficial for individuals looking to recover from issues of addiction and/or mental illness. According to the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology, “One environmental context that has received less attention is water-based physical activity, with researchers suggesting that swimming and other water-based activities (e.g., kayaking, surfing) may provide superior benefits for the promotion of human well-being due to greater affordances. These activities have heightened the psychological benefits (e.g., reduced anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, increased positive affect, and increased quality of life) associated with exercise and nature among US war veterans. Further, there is increasing evidence suggesting that participation in action and adventure sports, such as surfing, is meaningful and life-enhancing.”
Surfing and surf therapy offers a myriad of benefits. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Carefully planned water activities tailored to the needs of the individual can contribute to correct psychosocial and cognitive development. The International Surf Therapy Organization summarizes the benefits of adequately indicated surf therapy as follows: improved physical health and mobility; improved mental health, including reduction of specific symptoms, such as posttraumatic stress and depression; improved well-being (strengthening of trust and confidence, encouragement of independence, resilience and protective coping strategies) and improved social skills.” Another optimal modality for recovery is horticulture therapy.
Healing With Horticulture
Horticulture has been utilized for thousands of years as a way of meditating and finding an essential balance within oneself. This same premise is now being utilized in the recovery realm.
The benefits of horticulture therapy are vast and varied. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “People’s interactions with plants, through goal-orientated horticultural activities in the form of active gardening, as well as the passive appreciation of nature, could be therapeutic to people with mental disorders in many ways. First, horticulture could have emotional benefits, such as reducing stress, reducing psychiatric symptoms, stabilizing mood, and increasing the sense of tranquility, spirituality, and enjoyment. Second, it could help people to reduce fatigue and restore attention and cognitive ability.” Another highly effective treatment for helping people recover from conduct disorders is yoga therapy.
Healing With Yoga
Like horticulture, yoga practice has long been used as a method to establish physical, emotional, and mental wellness. Initially, yoga was utilized solely as a religious/spiritual practice, but it has since moved into the world of recovery.
The benefits of yoga can be hard to quantify because they are so individualized and plentiful. According to the International Journal of Yoga (IJOY), “Therapeutic yoga is defined as the application of yoga postures and practice to the treatment of health conditions. Yoga therapy involves instruction in yogic practices and teachings to prevent reduce or alleviate structural, physiological, emotional, and spiritual pain, suffering, or limitations. Yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life.”
Healing at the Cellular Level With Exclusive Hawaii Rehab
Bruce Lee also famously said, “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” This love of life is also what we practice here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab.
Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we believe in healing at the cellular level via individualized and comprehensive treatment plans with a focus on the future. The future is bright. Recovery is just over the horizon here on Hawaii’s Big Island. It’s time to go and grab it.
Conduct disorders are more common than many people may think. It is, therefore, critical to better understand what conduct disorders are, who is most likely to struggle with them, and how one can heal from them at the cellular level. The good news is there are many effective strategies and therapeutic interventions tailored to heal conduct disorders, which include many holistic healing methods. If you feel like you or a loved one are struggling with issues of addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring disorders, we can help get you on the right road to recovery right away. For more information about how to best heal from conduct disorders, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.