How to Stop Negative Thinking

Sad woman sitting on sofa at home having negative thoughts

Many people in recovery from addiction continue to struggle with negative thinking from time to time. This is because you likely spent a good portion of your life indulging in negative thoughts – plus, just because you’re sober, it doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically gain a sunny outlook.

Luckily, breaking a negative cycle is possible. It just may take a bit of time, patience and practice to think more positively. These strategies can help brighten your perspective.

  • Reach out to a friend. Talking to a loved one (preferable someone who is optimistic) is the perfect healthy distraction to quiet the negative chatter in your mind. By the end of your conversation, you may even forget what you were upset about in the first place.
  • Step outside. Stuck inside with your negative thoughts? Put on those shoes and head outside. The sunshine and fresh air will automatically give you a sunnier outlook.
  • Meditate: Taking a minute to be still and focus on your breath will help you clear your head so you can control your negative thinking.
  • Exercise: This works by helping to release feel-good endorphins and by keeping you in the moment, where negative thoughts are less likely to thrive.
  • Help someone: An act of altruism is often the wake-up call needed to stop dwelling on the bad and start focusing on the good.

Self-Realization at 10 Acre Ranch
Many addicted individuals believe that they are on a dead-end road with no hope in sight, and no ability to solve their problems or fulfill their most basic needs. The credentialed 10 Acre Ranch team helps residents and outpatients separate personal potential from chemical dependency and learn to love themselves again. To learn more, call 877-228-4679.

Study: Beat Stress By Looking on the Bright Side

a photo of a stressed man

Unfortunately, stress is inevitable – from failed relationships to family conflicts to financial trouble — and uncontrolled stress can have a serious impact on your health and your new sober life.

But how do you calm yourself down after a stressful encounter or situation? Could it really be as simple as thinking happy thoughts?

According to a recent stress study, published in Nature Human Behavior, reminiscing about happy times can help shut down your body’s stress response. Acute stress compromises the neural circuitry that’s involved in emotion regulation.

Researchers Mauricio Delgado and Megan Speer from Rutgers University stressed out 134 study participants by having them submerge their hands into cold ice water. One group was instructing to spend the time thinking about a positive experience, like a past family trip to Disneyland, while the others thought about something mundane (like getting luggage and packing for the trip).

The group who recalled happy memories  felt better and the expected rise in their levels of the stress hormone cortisol was only 15 percent.

“Engagement of cortical regions previously linked to emotion regulatory functions may be significant for enhancing or sustaining pleasant feelings during positive reminiscence, thus dampening the physiological stress response,” the researchers concluded.

Indeed, learning to calm down physiologically soon after a stressful event has been shown to make you healthier (both physically and psychologically) over the long term. And, it’s certainly an important skill to cultivate in order to achieve lasting sobriety. Developing healthy stress relievers improves wellbeing and hastens recovery success, according to past studies.

Managing Stress at 10 Acre Ranch
Stress comes from a number of places, and is different for everyone. During our group therapy, members cultivate healthy coping habits to identify high-risk situations and manage stress more constructively. To learn more, call today: 877-228-4679.

Are You Eating the Salty Six?

photo of different foods, salty foods

On average, Americans eat more than 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day, which is more than double the ideal amount of 1,500 mg per day.

What’s more, over 75 percent of that sodium comes from processed, prepackaged and restaurant foods – not from the salt shaker, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). That’s why it’s important to read labels closely.

Sticking to a low sodium diet will help you maintain a healthy blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, osteoporosis, and stomach cancer. Plus, you’ll feel less bloated and may even experience fewer headaches.

As part of a heart-healthy diet, the AHA recommends watching out for what they call the “salty six,” or the surprising foods that add the most sodium to your diet.

  • Cold cuts and cured meats: Deli or pre-packaged turkey can have as much as 1,050 milligrams of sodium per serving!
  • Pizza: One slice may have up to 760 milligrams of sodium! 
  • Canned soups and vegetables: Anything in a can could be a potential sodium bomb; one cup of canned chicken noodle soup can have up to 940 milligrams of sodium. 
  • Breads and rolls: Even though bread doesn’t always taste salty, one piece can have as much as 230 milligrams of sodium. If you have toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a roll with dinner … well, you do the math! 
  • Chicken nuggets: Just 3 ounces of frozen and breaded nuggets (about the size of the palm of your hand) can add up to nearly 600 milligrams of sodium. 
  • Burritos and tacos: Two teaspoons of packaged taco seasoning can have 411 mg of sodium.

Nutritional Guidance at 10 Acre Ranch
A wide range of supportive programs are offered at the Ranch, including nutritional counseling and meal preparation. Learn more about how our customized residential and outpatient programs can help you live a healthy and addiction-free life! Call today: 877-228-4679.

4 Ways to Boost Your Confidence

photo of a happy confident woman smiling

Let’s face facts: We can all use a confidence booster now and again – and it’s even more important to monitor your self-esteem during recovery. This is because when you’re feeling low or down on yourself, you’re more likely to relapse or struggle with co-occurring issues like depression and anxiety. To the rescue: Some simple and study-proven strategies to build yourself back up again and take control of your sobriety.

Practice self-care. Skipping a shower and dressing in day-old sweatpants is a surefire way to feed into low self-esteem. Instead, take extra time to get ready for the day ahead. Feeling proud of the person looking back at you in the mirror can really go a long way in boosting your confidence.

Write down your accomplishments. Taking the time to recognize and celebrate even the smallest successes can help you counterbalance any negative self-talk. It will also help motivate you to meet any future goals or upcoming challenges in your addiction recovery.

Offer a helping hand. Switching the focus from you to someone else can serve double-duty: It will distract you from any negative thoughts you’re experiencing and make you feel proud of a good deed done.

Pay attention to your posture. Mom was right: Sitting up straight and walking with your head tall (aka good posture) can really do wonders for your confidence. It will also give others a better perception of you, which never hurts! 

Become a Stronger Man at 10 Acre Ranch
At 10 Acre Ranch, we specialize in helping men who are battling an addiction to drugs or alcohol by using a variety of treatment services, including group therapy, individual therapy, disease education and more. By learning new life skills and healthy coping mechanisms, you can feel more confident about yourself and your sobriety. To learn more, call us today: 877-228-4679.

The Symptoms of Depression in Men

photo of a depressed man sitting on the floor

While depression has been found to be more common among women – likely due to certain biological, hormonal and social factors unique to females – men can certainly be depressed, too. In fact, roughly 20 to 25 percent of men dealing with depression will suffer from a drinking problem – and that number triples if you’re dealing with bipolar disorder.

The symptoms of depression are tricky for men, however. “They tend to show symptoms that aren’t typically what you would associate with depression,” John Greden, MD, executive director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center, told MensHealth.com. And, if left untreated, these symptoms can impact your career, relationships, finances and more.

You may need to seek professional help for depression if …

  • Your sadness becomes more severe and is accompanied by such symptoms as irritability, fatigue and loss of appetite.
  • Your negative mood lasts for weeks (or even months) and begins to interfere with day-to-day living.
  • You’re angry all of the time and for no reason – and your outburst are sparked by no other reason than the fact that you’re mad.
  • You find yourself becoming more reckless and making bad judgment calls, including abusing drugs or alcohol.
  • You feel physical pain, including joint pain, back pain or headaches. This is because neurotransmitters that affect your mood, like serotonin and norepinephrine, also play a part in pain regulation.
  • You are exhausted but have trouble sleep. According to a review published in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, three quarters of depressed patients have symptoms of insomnia.

Get Depression Treatment at 10 Acre Ranch
There’s no shame in seeking help for depression – and we’re here to help. Serving men 18 and over, our affordable depression treatment program will help you or someone you love get out of the darkness and into a full, bright life. To learn more, call today: 877-228-4679.

Study: Health Benefits of Bromances

help-friends-addiction-treatment-California-Riverside-detox

Male friendships, often mocked as “bromances” in movies, may have similar health effects as romantic relationships, especially when it comes to stress management, according to a new rat study.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, confirmed what past human studies have found: Social interactions increase the level of the hormone oxytocin in the brain, and oxytocin helps people bond and socialize. It also increases their resilience in the face of stress and has been found to lead to longer, healthier lives.

“A bromance can be a good thing,” said lead author Elizabeth Kirby, who started work on the study while a doctoral student at UC Berkeley and continued it after assuming a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford. “Males are getting a bad rap when you look at animal models of social interactions, because they are assumed to be instinctively aggressive. But even rats can have a good cuddle — essentially a male-male bromance — to help recover from a bad day.”

“Having friends is not un-masculine,” she added. “These rats are using their rat friendships to recover from what would otherwise be a negative experience. If rats can do it, men can do it too. And they definitely are, they just don’t get as much credit in the research for that.”

The research also provides insight for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), said senior author Daniela Kaufer, a UC Berkeley associate professor of integrative biology and member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.

“Social interactions can buffer you against stress, but if a trauma is just too much and there is PTSD, you actually withdraw from social interactions that can be supportive for you,” Kaufer said. “This research suggests that this might be happening through changes in oxytocin; that in the context of life-threatening stress, you lose its effect and you see less prosocial behavior. This really aligns well with what you see with pathological effects of stress on humans.”

Making Lifelong Friends at 10 Acre Ranch
Our Southern California rehab for men is built around a social treatment model that helps residents deal with addiction and/or co-occurring disorders like PTSD and develop healthy interaction patterns. To learn more, call today: 877-228-4679.