Our sexual identity matures over time, as do our political, cultural, and aesthetic selves. In all these areas, maturation demands attention and learning from mistakes. The deep consciousness and refined technique attained in any field can develop tools applicable to sexuality.
But unfortunately, the credits don't always transfer. So we see many brilliant artists, athletes and politicians utterly undone by sex and relationships. And many young adults who aspire to sexual maturity before their time dress to impress, assume the postures of popular culture, and mistake the playbook for the event. Further, while age and experience are key elements of maturation, there certainly are oldsters as immature as any teen. So at no social stage can the attainment of erotic intelligence be faked. Read Full Blog
0 Comments
Details on the Free Flight Offer
Admission must occur between November 1 and November 30, 2016. Offer is available for a one-way airline ticket for the patient to fly to Phoenix, AZ for inpatient treatment. Flight arrangements will be made through our corporate travel agent as coordinated by The Meadows Intake Department and are not to exceed $1,200. There is no monetary value to this offer. Return flight arrangements are the patient’s responsibility. Read Full Blog In a recently published Recovery Campus magazine article, Remuda Ranch at The Meadows Senior Fellow Jessica Setnick takes a closer look at the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) eating disorder program at Texas Tech University. It is one of the first communities of its kind to recognize the need for eating disorder support services among students who are also struggling with drug or alcohol addiction
“Reports from eating disorder treatment facilities suggest that up to half of all individuals in recovery from eating disorders also have a substance use disorder. Some individuals develop an addiction to stimulants or diet pills by way of an unhealthy desire to manage weight or control appetite. Others experience dysfunctional overeating or undereating as an inadvertent replacement behavior for drug or alcohol use.” Read Full Article By the Mother of a Past Claudia Black - Young Adult Drug Treatment PatientAs my daughter does her recovery work from drug and alcohol addiction and anxiety, I too work my recovery through Al-Anon.
I won’t go into details of how my daughter and I both came to this point because I’m guessing many of you are already familiar with the scenario— failing grades, arrests, court appearances, isolation, detachment, and on and on. I spent many fear-filled nights of insanity sleeping with my phone next to me waiting for that call parents fear most… Was she in jail again? Was she in an accident? Did she overdose? Was she dead? I received one of those calls. My daughter was in such a bad place that she couldn’t even finish her last semester of college. Finally, I gave in to my fear, checked my ego, and accepted the help of many friends and family. With mixed emotions of anger, pain, shame, and guilt, I put aside my resentment of being forced to face my daughter’s issues, and on a Sunday morning her intervention team showed up at her college rental house. To say things didn’t go as planned would be an understatement. The well thought out plan of getting her to agree to go to treatment failed; she would not go. I left the intervention feeling defeated and numb. What now? As hard as it was, I tried tough love and cut her cell phone service off and thus lost total communication with her. However, she still had our family dog, Bailey, at the rental house. Read Full Article Hip-hop artist and actor Kid Cudi announced yesterday that he is currently receiving treatment for depression and suicidal thoughts.
In a Facebook post he said, “It’s been difficult for me to find the words to what I’m about to share with you because I feel ashamed…” Shame and guilt are, unfortunately, emotions that often accompany depression. The illness takes a big toll on a person’s energy levels, often leading them to stop doing things they feel they should do, want to do, and need to do, and can leave them feeling “lazy” or “worthless.” As they struggle to complete day-to-day tasks and goals, their self-image may also start to suffer, and they may feel ashamed of not achieving their goals or living up to the expectations they have for themselves. Read Full Article Most psychiatrists and behavioral health professionals agree that addiction is a complex disorder caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. It can also vary in intensity; The DSM-5 defines addiction as a spectrum disorder that can be categorized as “mild,” “moderate,” or “severe.” Many other mental health disorders, like depression and anxiety, can be described in much the same way. Because there can be so much variation in the causes and severity of an individual’s disorder, there are varying levels of treatment to meet patients’ differing needs.
Generally speaking, behavioral health and addiction treatment programs can be described as inpatient, outpatient, or intensive outpatient (IOP). The biggest differences among each of the three are in the complexity and severity of the conditions they treat, the length of the programs, and the patients’ living arrangements. What Level of Treatment Do I Need Before you make a decision about treatment, it’s important that you are fully assessed by a qualified professional—a therapist, addiction counselor, psychiatrist, or maybe even one of our Intake specialists. They can give you feedback and help you decide what might be best for you. It is crucial that you make your decision based on what you truly need to be able to reach and maintain recovery. Entering a treatment program that does not match the level of severity you’re experiencing in your illness can put you at a greater risk for relapse and a greater risk of serious harm. Addiction and mental illnesses can be deadly diseases. What is Inpatient Treatment? Inpatient treatment programs, also sometimes called residential treatment programs, aim to treat the most severe and complex addictions and disorders. They are full-time programs that are usually anywhere from 28 days to 6 months long. They provide patients with a controlled environment in which they can begin untangling the web of physical, emotional, and interpersonal havoc that their out-of-control conditions have wrought. In an inpatient treatment facility, patients have no access to drugs or alcohol; so, the chances of them relapsing while they are in treatment are extremely low. They live at the treatment center—away from work, friends, and family— so that they can focus exclusively on working through their emotional trauma and behavioral and on developing new coping skills to help them succeed in their recovery. A good Inpatient Drug Addiction Treatment center will also offer 24-hour access to medical care. (The Meadows’ programs, for example, are certified by the Joint Commission, due to their commitment to excellence in providing medical services.) They also will have experienced well-qualified and credentialed psychologists, counselors, and psychiatrists available to assess patients, develop individualized treatment programs for them, and meet with patients individually and in group settings. Full Article Source September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Alarmingly, the CDC recently reported that the number of suicides in the United States has been on the rise since 1999 among both men and women and in all age groups, and is the 10th leading cause of death. Suicide and suicidal ideation are often misunderstood, especially by those who may have never struggled with mental illness or addiction—although some experts say that most people have at least though about suicide at one point or another. It’s important to understand the risk factors and warning signs of suicide and to intervene if you know someone who needs help.
If you are currently in a crisis and feel that you have no reason to keep living, please call 1-800-273-TALK or go to http://www.suicideprevention.org to chat with someone online now. The Mind of a Suicidal PersonIn his book, The Suicidal Mind, Edwin Shneidman describes 10 commonalities among people who attempt or commit suicide.
Read Full Article Young adult women at the Claudia Black Young Adult addiction treatment Center now have the opportunity to experience a Personal Safety and Empowerment Workshop led by the center’s wellness instructor Tracy Jones. The workshop is offered on an ongoing weekly basis throughout the patient’s stay.
Many of the center’s patients come from a history of being immobilized in their fear; have often been victimized, and today engage in a host of self-defeating behaviors. These behaviors range from the abuse of substances, self-harm, and attachment to unhealthy partners, to succumbing to states of defeat and hopelessness. Lacking the skills to protect themselves, they set themselves up for re-victimization and the perpetuation of self-destructive defenses. “These young women are walking out of this class having garnered an embodied sense of empowerment, feeling an inner strength and confidence that has previously been nonexistent. It is inspiring to see them embrace their courage and to stand in their power,” said Dr. Claudia Black. Full Article Here Untreated Depression Costs Lives Each new day brings rays of sunshine that invite life’s pleasures – the enticing scent of freshly brewed coffee; the warmth of embracing young children as they scurry off to school or savoring simple bowls of delightful berries in all of its sweetness. Unfortunately, life’s splendors are no longer in reach for suicide victims. There are no more tomorrows and no options to change course. No more laughter. No more aha moments. No more tender hugs from loved ones. Nothing can reverse the loss of a life to suicide. It’s finite. Over. There are no second chances. Unfortunately, suicides on college campuses have been accelerating at an alarming rate. Paul Soutter, a sophomore at the College of William & Mary, recently took his own life. A once high-achieving young man, his death has brought increased attention to this epidemic of sorts. His death will forever leave a mark on his family, friends, teachers, and everyone else who knew this young individual who was once so full of life. This was the fourth student death at the college this year. Full Article Here: Claudia Black Center Blog When bystanders pulled Stanford University swimmer and Olympic hopeful Brock Turner away from the woman he was sexually assaulting behind a fraternity house dumpster, he laughed. When the judge in the resulting sexual assault trial handed down a sentence much more lenient than the recommended six years of jail time, citing the “severe impact” he feared a harsher sentence may have on the 20-year-old, many felt that he might as well have laughed. Both reactions to Turner’s crime make light of the traumatic and often devastating impact that rape and sexual assault has on its victims. The Brock Turner case opened up many fraught and painful discussions about rape culture and the way that society tends to blame victims of sexual assault and normalize sexual violence. Many of those same wounds are being reopened this week with the news that Turner will be released from jail after serving only 3 months of a 6 months sentence. The news is not surprising—most expected him to only serve part of his sentence on a presumption of good behavior—but, for many, it’s serving as an unwanted reminder of their own sexual traumas and the ways in which their pain was silenced, ridiculed, or ignored. The Long-Lasting Impact of Sexual Assault Researchers aren’t sure why, but rape seems to have a more severe impact on a person than other types of trauma. It’s normal to feel some symptoms of traumatic stress for a few weeks after any experience with violence. Those who develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), however, can continue to experience problems with sleeping, nightmares, panic, severe anxiety and depression that last for months or years. As time goes on, if the person does not receive Treatment for the Disorder, the symptoms can get worse and worse, and even become debilitating. People can develop PTSD after any number of horrific events including combat, car accidents, and life-threatening injuries, but rape victims have been found to be more likely to struggle with long-term psychological and physiological issues. They also have a higher risk of developing PTSD and related disorders. In addition to PTSD, women who were raped have also been found to be more likely to suffer from sexual dysfunction, pain during intercourse, menstrual problems, and inhibited arousal. Why Does Rape Have a Stronger Impact Than Other Types of Trauma? Though no one has yet been able to determine the reason why rape has such a heightened traumatic impact, some theorize that both brain chemistry and rape culture play a role. Cortisol, a hormone that is released in times of stress, was reported in a 2011 study to be found at higher levels in rape victims than in those of people otherwise traumatized. The exact reason is unknown, but some researchers believe that it could be that the physical closeness of rape prompts the body to respond differently to rape and sexual assault than it does to other types of trauma. Another possibility is that rape victims’ levels of cortisol are elevated due to the level of shame they experience—shame has been found in some studies to be linked to higher levels of cortisol. If the shame theory holds true, it further illustrates the importance of changing the way we treat rape and sexual assault victims as a society. Recovery from Rape and Sexual Trauma Many women who are traumatized by rape experience a secondary traumatization through the harsh scrutiny, blaming, and shaming they receive from law enforcement, family, peers, and others are often reluctant to ask for any further help. Men who are raped or sexually assaulted may be even more unlikely to report the crime or ask for help from the resulting trauma, due to stigmas related to men, sex, and powerlessness. More must be done to help lift the burden of shame from both male and female victims of sexual assault, and raise awareness about treatment options for PTSD and other mental health issues that often result from the emotional trauma of sexual assault. If you’d like to talk to us about treatment options for sexual trauma and related disorders, please give us a call at 866-286-0105. Our specialists are glad to answer any questions you may have and understand the importance of keeping your call strictly confidential. Reference Source: Addiction Rehab Centers in Arizona |