Books for Inspiration and Motivation

Books are a great way to inspire and continue to motivate someone in recovery. Reading about other people's struggles and success stories can help your loved one feel less alone and more determined to stay sober. Some of the best books for ex-alcoholics include:

"The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath" by Leslie Jamison

This book explores author's own experiences with alcoholism and recovery, while also examining the lives and works of famous writers and artists who struggled with addiction. Jamison's writing is both deeply personal and intellectually rigorous, making this book a must-read for anyone interested in addiction and recovery.

"The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober" by Catherine Gray

Gray shares her personal struggles with alcoholism and the realization that sobriety was the only way to live a happy and fulfilling life. The book includes practical advice on how to quit drinking, tips for staying sober, and insights into the benefits of living a sober life. Gray's writing is honest, relatable, and inspiring, making this book a great resource for anyone considering sobriety or looking to deepen their understanding of the joys of a sober lifestyle.

"Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget" by Sarah Hepola

A memoir about Hepola's journey to recovery and her experiences with blackouts and alcoholism.

"The Sober Diaries: How One Woman Stopped Drinking and Started Living" by Clare Pooley

How One Woman Stopped Drinking and Started Living" by Clare Pooley: A humorous and uplifting memoir about Pooley's decision to quit drinking and her experiences during her first year of sobriety.

"Drop the Rock: Removing Character Defects" by Bill P.

A guidebook for those in recovery that provides practical advice on identifying and overcoming character defects that can hinder progress in sobriety.

Sporting Equipment for Active Recovery

Physical activity is a great way to support someone whose recently complete treatment for alcohol addiction. Exercise not only helps your loved one stay physically healthy but also releases endorphins that can boost their mood and reduce stress. Some of the best sporting equipment gift ideas for alcoholics in recovery can include:

• A yoga mat and blocks for at-home yoga practice
• Running shoes and a Fitbit to track steps and progress
• A set of dumbbells for strength training at home
• A bicycle or bike accessories for outdoor cycling
• A gym membership or personal training sessions

Animal Care for Emotional Support

Pets can provide great emotional support for people in recovery. Taking care of an animal can also provide structure and routine, which is essential for a successful recovery. Consider these animal care gift ideas for your loved one:

• A pet adoption certificate for a shelter animal
• A personalized pet portrait or custom pet collar
• A pet-sitting service for when your loved one is away from home
• A donation to an animal rescue organization in your loved one's name
• A book on animal care or training

Online Courses for Personal Growth

Continuing education is a great way to support a former alcoholic's personal growth.

Online courses can be especially helpful because they can be accessed from anywhere and can be completed at your loved one's own pace. Here are some online course Christmas gift ideas you might not have thought of:

• An online course in meditation or mindfulness
• A course on nutrition and healthy eating habits
• A language-learning course for personal enrichment
• An online course in writing or another creative pursuit
• A course on budgeting and financial planning

Spending Time Together for Emotional Connection

Perhaps the most meaningful way you can celebrate Christmas with a person in recovery is to give them the gift of quality time together.

Someone in recovery may often feel isolated and disconnected from others, so spending quality time with them can be incredibly beneficial for their health.

Consider planning a fun activity that you can do together, such as:

• A cooking or baking class for you and your loved one to take together
• A spa day or massage appointment for relaxation and self-care
• A board game or puzzle for a fun and low-stress activity at home
• A day trip or weekend getaway to a nearby destination
• Tickets to a concert, play, or other event that aligns with your loved one's interests

Another great gift idea is to volunteer a charitable foundation or community event together. Many people in recovery find that helping others is an important part of their journey, and volunteering can be a great way to give back to the community. Look for local organizations that need volunteers, and find a cause that resonates with both you and your loved one.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the perfect gift for someone in recovery can be challenging, but it's important to remember that the best are those that show your support and love. Whether it's a helpful book, a piece of sporting equipment, or simply spending time together, the most important thing is to choose a gift that helps them feel valued and supported in their recovery.

Remember, recovery is a lifelong process, and your loved one will need ongoing support and encouragement. The holiday season can be a particularly triggering time for someone overcoming addiction, so take the time to show your love and support in whatever way you can. With the right gift ideas and a little bit of extra care, you can help make their holiday season a truly special and meaningful one.

From all of the team at Miracles Asia, we hope you and your loved ones have a safe and merry Christmas!

The post Finding The Perfect Christmas Gift for Recovering Alcoholics: Tips and Ideas for Supporting Sober Living first appeared on Miracles Asia.

The first step is awareness of the manifestations (ie symptoms) of the disease in you.

Here are some manifestations that may indicate that you are suffering from the disease of addiction today:

• You are using or thinking about using today
• You are obsessing about someone or something today
• You have given untrue reasons for your behavior
• You have blamed someone or something for your behavior today
• You are looking for an easier way than what is being offered
• You are afraid for no good reason today
• You are avoiding something you should do today
• You feel restless, irritable or discontent today
• You have behaved selfishly, dishonestly, fearfully or resentfully today
• You have been over-sensitive, taking things too personally today.

Step 2 - Understanding

The next step is understanding how to treat the disease on a daily basis.

Here is a checklist of some of the indications that you are treating your illness today:

• You are clean and/or sober today
• You have talked to someone about your recovery today
• You have been kind today
• You have bathed, eaten, rested, and taken care of basic needs
• You have read recovery literature or watched/listened to recovery media
• You have been Honest, Open-minded and Willing today (known as the HOW of the program)
• You are feeling content and peaceful today.

Get Help For your Addiction

Get the help and support you need from one of the best luxury drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres in Thailand.

With a 98% completion rate, your addiction treatment program and medial care is personalized to your individual needs in a way that ensures your addiction recovery is successful now and into the future!

The post 2 Things That Will Help With Addiction Awareness first appeared on Miracles Asia.

Let’s talk more about Signs, Symptoms, and the treatment for depression.

There’s more to depression than just being sad.

It’s a persistent mental health issue that affects the daily lives of millions of Americans as well as other nationalities from across the globe.

What is High-Functioning Depression?

• Also Known As: Persistent depressive disorder or PDD (not to be confused with postpartum depression) refers to a form of persistent depression where the patient can still function normally. Currently, it’s known as high-functioning depression but previously it was instead known as dysthymia.
• The Deal with Impairment: When you’re impaired with major depression, you’re unable to fully function in one or several areas of daily life. You might end up unable to hold down a job or fail to perform well in academics.
• Relationship Blues: You might even fail to manage healthy relationships or avoid social activities altogether, among many other dysfunctional behaviors. However, such a mental illness can be less severe as well.
• Muted Symptoms: With major depression, the symptoms hit you stronger but tend to be short-lived. With high-functioning depression, the symptoms end up less severe and you can function normally.
• Although You’re Functioning Normally: Even though you’re functioning normally it doesn’t make PDD the lesser type of depression. Living with such a mental illness and its symptoms for two years can have its own toll.
• A Persistent Illness: When you have a high-functioning depression or mental illness condition, you can live life normally most of the time. However, you’re not fully functioning necessarily. There are days that can get rough on you.
• Some Impairment: Aside from the danger of appearing okay even when you’re not, you’re also impaired when undergoing PDD. Even as you strive through the significant symptoms, it takes a toll on your mental health.

Signs and Symptoms

When it comes to high-functioning depression in particular, its signs and symptoms resemble those caused by major depression. However, they feel more muted or less severe.

However, it involves changes involving sleeping and eating habits, difficulty concentrating, low self-esteem, fatigue, and hopelessness. Symptoms of PDD persist on most days, thus giving you a persistent mellow mood that lasts until 2 years or more.

Unlike major depression that hits you hard from the onset, this depressive moody state will have you struggle internally, but you can still function and go about your everyday life.

Diagnosis of High-Functioning Depression

The mental health industry recognizes PDD or high-functioning depression as an actual health condition.

You thus require a diagnosis by a mental health professional like a psychiatrist in order to confirm that you have it.

In order for a diagnosis to be made, your behaviors and mental condition should meet a certain set of criteria that describes specific symptoms.

Your General Mood

You might have PDD if you experience a depressed mood for most days and most of the day on those days.

The 2-year period of PDD is actually a minimum period that confirms a PDD diagnosis.

The depressed mood must include two or more of the following symptoms:

Rate of Occurrence

How often does the depressed mood—as characterized by the abovementioned symptoms—occur?

Does it occur on most days for two years or more without relief? Or does it occur for longer than two months instead?

In order for the diagnosis to be PDD, you should never experience a period of hypomania or mania, otherwise known as a period of time where you feel energetic and euphoric.

No roller coaster of extreme emotions.

No Other Causes

By process of elimination, the psychiatrist should conclude that your depression symptoms stem from PDD instead of substance abuse, another medical condition, or a separate type of mental illness.

High-Functioning not Fully Functioning

The depressed mood and its symptoms should cause you impairment in one or more areas of life and normal functioning, thus causing you significant distress and requiring treatment.

A Venn Diagram of Symptoms

There’s much crossover symptoms or symptomatic resemblance between PDD and major depression.

The main difference between the two involves symptom intensity, longevity, and the level of impairment.

What It Feels Like to Live with High-Functioning Depression

High-functioning depression’s diagnostic criteria gives you a better idea what it means to struggle with the mental illness in clinical terms.

However, it doesn’t paint the whole picture. It just uses a broad strokes approach to things.

In more practical terms relating to everyday life, the actual signs of PDD include the following.

• A Little Down Most of the Time: While suffering from PDD, you’ll feel a little down most of the time, as though you’re suffering from the blues. Other people might notice something’s wrong and refer to you as a downer, cynical, or gloomy.
• Ever-Present Low Mood: The issue with PDD is that the low mood doesn’t go away and it feels like relief is impossible. In contrast, the times when you feel happy feel fleeting. Your default seemingly is doom and gloom.
  Feelings of Exhaustion: High-functioning depression gets characterized by feeling tired all the time, even if you’ve gotten enough sleep or even too much sleep. This makes it seem like you’re being lazy or low energy.
• Self-Pity and Self-Loathing: When suffering from this type of depression, you’ll feel like you don’t deserve to be liked by others or be happy. You’ll feel bad for yourself and feel unworthy of good things.
• The High-Functioning Part of PDD: The high-functioning part of PDD allows you to do everything you’re supposed to do such as keeping the house clean, going to school, or doing the work. However, you feel like it’s a monumental effort.
• Weight Loss or Gain: Without meaning to, you might lose or gain weight. This might be because of you overeating without thinking about it or you having no appetite at all. Depression can stress you out in its own way.
• Utter Hopelessness: Often, as a PDD patient, you might feel hopeless. You might even cry a lot for seemingly no reason, but the real reason involves you feeling depressed but still functioning for the most part in spite of it.
• Partial Functional Impairment: Your impairment comes from you feeling like you can’t summon enough energy to do anything that’s more than necessary to function normally. You’re doing the bare necessities for social survival.
• People Might Not Notice: Because you do well enough at school or the office, most people will think you’re just naturally gloomy. However, it remains a challenge to focus on most tasks.
• Force Yourself to Function: Even though you’re a high-functioning depression patient, that doesn’t mean your depression is somehow easier to wave off. Many have to force themselves into engaging in social activities they don’t feel like doing.

You can also end up suffering from various seemingly unrelated complications from high-functioning like problems at school or work, relationship difficulties, chronic pain, and substance abuse as your coping mechanism.

Anyone with high-functioning depression can end up experiencing episodes of the more severe major depression.

In truth, many PDD sufferers should end up getting an episode of major depression once in their lives.

• Persistent Depression Can Become Severe: Low-level depression that persists can become a full-blown major depression in time, like how the constant crashing waves of the sea can crush rock. Such episodes can occur when you least expect it.
• Significant Differences: Although the two conditions may occur on the same person and have many similarities, they mostly differ in terms of severity and persistence. Major depression hits you stronger but fades away faster.
• Duration and Severity: Major depression and persistent depressive disorder share many of the same symptoms as seen on the above chart. However, PDD persists for at least two years while major depression episodes last about two months.
• From Bad to Worse: Long story short, the worse you’re able to cope with your PDD the more at risk it becomes full-blown major depression. Your tolerable mental illness suddenly turns into major depression where you can’t function at all.
• The High-Functioning Part Disappears: When you go from high-functioning depression to major (low-functioning or no-functioning) depression, you’ll end up so impaired you can’t perform well at work or school anymore.
• Withdrawn and Socially Impaired: You will become like an introvert while depressed, with you withdrawing into yourself and not interacting with others. This on top of neglecting your personal hygiene and self-care.
• Certain Responsibilities Become Unfulfilled: Certain responsibilities needed for normal function such as doing chores, completing assignments, and interacting with others become especially difficult while undergoing major depression.
• Symptoms of Major Depression: The shared symptoms between major and the persistent “minor” depression of PDD all become more severe or “extra” during a major depression episode. For example, you could suffer from the following.

• Extreme feelings of guilt.
• Suicidal thoughts and behaviors
• Changes in emotional affectations
• Lack of interest in activities normally enjoyed
• Psychotic symptoms such as delusions and paranoia (only for rare cases)

Preparing for Treatment

PDD is an actual thing.

Quite a number of mental illnesses end up being severe enough to impair your ability to function.

Truth be told, for a lot of mental health conditions, the diagnostic criterion for them typically involves significant impairment.

To everyone around you, they might mistake you as having no problems, which might convince you that you have no problems even though internally you’re aware that you do.

• Getting a Diagnosis: Call a therapist to establish whether or not you’re suffering from a different kind of blues. You might be clinically depressed. Don’t underestimate PDD just because it’s less severe than major depression.
• DSM-5 PDD Test: You should take a high-functioning depression test as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Quite a number of symptoms resemble those to diagnose major depression but in a less severe state.
• Most People Won’t Get It: You’re more likely to get an intervention or support from friends and family from drug addiction or alcoholism than from this type of depression. This is because this high-functioning depression can be quite hidden and you can function normally on most days.
• Misunderstanding PDD: Many wrongly view gloomy or negative thinking persons who might be suffering from PDD as those who choose to be miserable, engage in attention-seeking behavior, or wish to play the victim.
• Difficult to Detect: Just because you’re able to function or appear normal that doesn’t mean your PDD is just something you should tolerate or handle without treatment. Not only other people but the patient himself might have difficulties detecting this condition.
• If You Feel Like You Have PDD, Speak Out: Because many people don’t have an idea you’re suffering internally, you should have yourself tested through a professional in order to get proper treatment from this silent killer of your mental health.

Major depression might offer more obvious symptoms but PDD might be worse in its own way because you might even ignore it until you’re pushed to the brink.

You don’t have to struggle with a below average quality of life.

High-Functioning Depression Treatment

Self-management, self-care, and treatment from a professional can help tremendously when it comes to living with PDD so that it doesn’t push you to the point of no return.

It’s like living with a long-term disease like asthma.

• Therapy and Medications: After getting a PDD diagnosis, you can treat it with a combo of therapy and medications. You can lift your mood with a proper dosage of antidepressants. However, they take several weeks to start working.
• Trial and Error: Your doctor might have you try out different medications to see which ones work and which ones offer the least problematic side effects. As for therapy, it assists in PDD treatment by teaching patients to become more self-aware of negative patterns then avoiding them.
• Dual Diagnosis: Certain drug rehab facilities also offer dual diagnosis for mental health issues like depression in case you’re an addiction patient. Of course, you can also go the therapist office route or at least get a counselor if you can’t afford therapy.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), mindful meditation, and many other therapeutic techniques work to actively promote self-awareness and change your way of thinking to prevent exacerbating your persistent depression.
• Outpatient Therapy: PDD can also benefit from outpatient therapy like the 12-steps system that also deals with drug and alcohol addiction. Most PDD patients recommend a focused, intensive, and well-rounded holistic approach in residential treatment programs like in Miracles Asia.

The Verdict

You should not take depression lightly.

Seek a therapist today ASAP or avail of online therapy in light of the current state of the world during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also, you might instead get prescribed for antidepressants.

If you’re an addiction patient and/or you’re suffering from the co-occurring mental illness known as high-functioning depression or postpartum depression, you can get help overseas in a calm and secluded place by availing of a rehab tourism package.

Go to Miracles Asia Rehab in Thailand

Get in touch with Miracles Asia today because its team of experts will take care of both your addiction, and your depression through dual diagnosis and various forms of psychotherapy methods.

They have CBT, DBT, individual therapy, group therapy, and 12-step programs available to treat PDD, major depression, anxiety, ADHD, ADD, and so forth.

The post High-Functioning Depression first appeared on Miracles Asia.