Do we help with anxiety and depression at Pacific Shores Recovery?
Yes! That is primarily what we do. This is one of the biggest misconceptions that we see so often. When it comes to treatment for drugs, alcohol and pills we want to find out why we start using them in the first place. Not all but the majority of all addictions come from some form of anxiety or depression or trauma. Most people think they come in to get off the drugs or the alcohol. And that is one of the first things we do so we can clear the space so that we can figure out what’s really going on underneath. And at the base is the depression, the anxiety, the trauma, all the different mental health issues, the things going on with the brain chemistry and the void that we feel in the heart.
Our full team is here to help
So once you get sober, physically off of the drugs and alcohol (we do detox here as well), that is when the actual work starts. We don’t just say “Let’s just get you sober, good luck see you later…” No, now we get to deal with the stuff that’s been driving these issues the entire time. This is why our treatment team of doctors, therapists, psychologists, case managers and counselors really get in and help you identify the stories, the beliefs, what has been going on, what may have happened to you, and to identify what has been driving this behavior. The cool thing about this is that the organic byproduct is that afterwards we no longer want to use those substances.
The Refrigerator Analogy
To use an analogy, it’s like when we had something that stunk in our refrigerator but we couldn’t find it and what did grandma say? “Oh, grab baking soda, put it in, the smell goes away.” It worked for a little bit. Here’s what happened – we didn’t remove the core thing that’s causing the smell, we just masked the smell. So it took care of it for a little bit but then it got worse and worse and worse. Once we finally said just masking the part that we don’t like isn’t working, we started pulling everything out, and it was the leftover food that had fallen behind the drawers – it was gross! Once we removed that, that’s what actually removed the smell. We didn’t have to keep using more baking soda and we didn’t have to deal with the horrific smell that wafted out every time we opened the refrigerator.
The reason why we’re using this analogy is because it is very similar. Because if you just tried to mask the issue by removing the drugs or alcohol from the system it’s still going to be what’s driving that behavior.
So to answer the question – Do we help with anxiety or depression? That’s mainly all we do.
Life after treatment
If you’re struggling with anxiety or depression, some form of trauma, whatever is going on that is driving this desire to numb and sedate, that is specifically what we do address. So by the time you complete the 90 day program you’ve dealt with that. There’s a part of you that’s able to look at that and to recognize that and to pull the lesson from that to actually make you stronger moving forward. So it’s not something that continues to tank you but where you actually find power from.
With client after client after client sharing that once they go through the experience, how much stronger they feel recognizing what caused it, why they thought that way, and the changes they made and now they’re so much stronger and more powerful than before. The addiction part is minor compared to the level and depth of the anxiety and depression.
If you want to learn more about how we can help you with your recovery as well as the underlying anxiety or depression, we’re here to help: 1-888-435-7750
