"Hope" by Erin

Hope, hanging itself like a drip from a faucet
Challenging me, taunting me
Daring me to let it fall
But if it falls, all is lost and I’m alone,
Alone with myself, my deepest fear
With no confidence of ever being well
Today is hard
And I need that hope to sustain me
So I sit on edge with eyes wide open
Staring
Clinging to the unsteady drip of hope
That may drop at any second
But for now
It’s all I have
And I need all I can get

Determination

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination. -Tommy Lasorda

Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe. -Gail Devers

You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction. -George Lorimer

Rapid or Not?: Opiate Detox

"The process of rapid detoxification to treat drug dependence and addiction has received much attention in recent years...[and]been criticized for potentially unsafe practices that have lead to complications and deaths...In an effort to offer an inexpensive quick fix, some rapid detox programs cut corners on precautions and safety, compromising patients’ health...[while] helping patients quickly detox from substances such as morphine, codeine, OxyContin, Vicodin, Tramadol, Suboxone, Darvocet, Percocet, Ultram, Norco and Fentanyl." (Opiates.com)

"Opiate detox that is not assisted by medical professionals can cause serious withdrawal symptoms that resemble the symptoms of a serious flu. These symptoms include: nausea and vomiting, hot flashes and cold chills, constipation, panic attacks and irritability. Opiate detox that is done without [proper] professional medical help can cause permanent cardiopulmonary system damage as well as death..." Cliffside Malibu) Surrounding yourself with professionals who have a proven track record of successful healing and patient recovery from opiate addiction not only is key to its success but comforting to know that you are in good hands. Your decision to enter into drug rehab was one of the most important ones in your life follow it up with choosing the best place to have it take place.

"When you start an opiate regimen, the first thing you will go through is opiate detox. Another part of your opiate detox regimen consists of learning about opiates...The chemical found in these drugs attach to the opiate receptors located in the brain and spinal cord. Once the body starts relying on the drug, the body stops functioning normally and then becomes physically dependent to the drug. At the time that the level of the drug falls below the normal amount that the body is used to, the withdrawal symptoms start occurring. The withdrawal symptoms are what show signs of a prescription drug addiction." (Cliffside Malibu) If you are ready to make that change in your life, give us a call at 1-800-501-1988.

The Truth about Depression

Beating depression, as you might expect, means understanding depression. No depression treatment program can be effective if its patients don’t know what they’re up against, and self-education is a key part of the depression recovery process. The most important lesson: Depression is a disease, and like all diseases it has clinical roots that can only be eradicated via clinical treatment.

But what does that mean, in a practical sense?: “Depression is a disease.” On the most fundamental level, it means that depression is not a function of will, or personal weakness; it is not something that patients in any sense “choose” to suffer from, and not something that patients can simply “choose” to overcome. That said, many people make the mistake of assuming otherwise: of assuming that depression victims somehow decide to be depressed, and that the ultimate solution to depression itself lies in patients simply deciding to be happy. Depression treatment, in the popular imagination, is no more complicated than simply resolving to smile.

Cliffside Malibu Rehabilitation Of course, such thinking isn’t even close to accurate, but it does speak to an important fact about depression and depression treatment: You’ll never beat what you don’t understand. People who misconstrue the scope and mechanisms of depression do so, simply, because they don’t know the facts about the disease, and their ignorance suggests the instrumental importance of education in the depression treatment process. Again, getting better means understanding what you’re up against. Depression treatment, if it’s going to work, has got to be grounded in a firm understanding of the truth.

And what of that truth? It’s important to note here that depression treatment is a jointly physical and psychological disease, one that results both from chemical imbalances in the human brain and from self-critical cognitive process which spring from and help sustain the imbalances themselves. In practice, those physical and psychological causes are inextricably bound up with one another, and so it is that successful depression treatment does and must address the disease in all its forms. If you or someone you love is suffering from depression, nothing less could ever be good enough.
(Article courtesy of Cliffside Malibu)

Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol abuse can happen to anyone. Too many people assume that alcohol addiction is a scourge uniquely by experienced by “somebody else.” It isn’t. Alcohol abuse cuts across all spectrums of American society; alcoholics are rich and poor, black and white, the children of broken homes and scions of otherwise apparently perfect families. Alcoholism, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, really can happen to anyone…and those who believe otherwise are in for the rudest of awakenings. The encouraging postscript to that story, of course, is that alcohol abuse treatment can work for anyone. If you or someone you care about has succumbed to alcohol addiction, there’s help out there…provided you seek it out, and provided you have the strength to see the healing process through to its conclusion. No, no one’s immune from alcohol addiction. At the same time, though, no form of alcohol addiction is immune to alcohol abuse treatment. For your own sake, don’t wait another to start putting your alcohol dependency on the run.

An alcohol treatment center is only as good as the rehab professionals who staff it. It’s an obvious point, maybe, but one that too often gets overlooked in the alcohol treatment center selection process: People matter. If your alcohol treatment center experience is going to be a productive, you’ve got to be comfortable where you are. And if you’re going to be comfortable where you are, you’ve got to be comfortable with the people you’re there with. The truth is that not all alcohol abuse treatment centers were created equal. Some alcohol rehab programs emphasize broad-based addiction cures, with a correlative inattention to individual detail that promotes a sort of impersonal distance among the facility’s staff. Obviously, such an atmosphere is deeply inimical to the alcohol abuse treatment process…and can be hugely detrimental to your prospects for long-term recovery as an alcohol treatment patient. In choosing an alcohol abuse treatment center, it’s incumbent upon to you to find a program staffed by sensitive, involved caretakers…by individuals who understand you as you actually are, and who are committed to treating you as you need to be treated. With so much at stake, anything less isn’t and can’t ever be good enough.

(Article courtesy of Cliffside Malibu)

Spring......Cleaning......Detox

Detox is an essential first step on the road to drug and alcohol recovery. Detox centers and their programs are both crucial components of the drug rehabilitation process, for the simple reason that addiction is at root a physical disease. Drug and alcohol detox helps recovering addicts get free of the physiological dependencies that underlie substance abuse, thus preparing them to face the emotional and psychological rigors of the drug treatment process. Detoxification that works, simply stated, is one that helps you achieve meaningful, lasting, and long-term sobriety. Detox matters because no addict can get better without it, and because detoxification from drug and alcohol addictions is crucial to your prospects for lasting health. At Cliffside Malibu’s exclusive detox center, we can make the detoxification process work for you. Our private estate on 20 acres in the hills above Malibu, California, provides you the ultimate in luxury in the most private and exclusive detox center in Malibu. A full team of medical doctors and medical staff will make sure your stay with us is effective and comfortable. Don’t wait another day to find that out for yourself. Please, call Cliffside Malibu at 1-800-501-1988. We’re here. We can help. All you have to do is say the word.