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Author Stephanie Maitner Categories Uncategorized

Alumni Events in New Jersey

Addiction recovery is a lifelong process. This can make it difficult for people in recovery to find ongoing support and connection with others who share similar experiences. Alumni events can be a great way for you to learn from others, pursue new activities, and share your story.

At alumni events, you will get support from people who have completed treatment programs. Such support will help you learn more about addiction and recovery, make new friends, and stay connected to the community.

What Are Alumni Events?

Alumni events are gatherings for people who have completed treatment and are now on the road to recovery. These social events provide an opportunity to continue strengthening the connection between yourself and the recovery community.

Why You Should Attend Alumni Events

Alumni events are a great way to reconnect with other people who’ve been through the same things you have. You may even be able to find new friends and continue to strengthen your support system.

Benefits of Alumni Events include:

  • Getting support from peers that can offer advice on how to manage the challenges of recovery
  • Helping you to continue to participate within the recovery community and even help others in need
  • Continuing to develop focus, motivation, and accountability to stay on the path of recovery

Educational and Motivational Support

Alumni events provide ongoing educational and motivational support. Addiction recovery is a lifelong process, so there’s always more to learn. Alumni events can help you stay connected to your treatment center. It will also keep you connected to peers you met during treatment. Such an environment can also provide opportunities for growth and self-reflection.

Alumni groups are also great for staying motivated. Many alumni report that the community they helped build at their treatment center was the most helpful element in their treatment and recovery. This is because they were among others that shared similar experiences.

Sharing Experiences

Alumni events are another fantastic way to allow you the opportunity to share your experience with others who have been in your shoes. Sharing experiences is an important part of recovery because it helps you learn from others and continue to grow as an individual.

It also allows you to help others by giving back to the community. Hearing someone else’s story can be an eye-opening experience that can change your thoughts about yourself and your recovery. Further, giving back is a great way to continue cultivating awareness and support within the recovery community.

Finding New Hobbies and Activities

Finding things to do to keep yourself busy can be difficult in recovery. Attending alumni events can help you find other people with similar interests. You could find someone who shares a hobby you can do or practice with others in recovery.

Some things you might be able to start as a hobby with other alums might be:

  • Running, walking, or biking
  • Going to the gym
  • Volunteer work
  • Reading or book clubs
  • Painting or drawing
  • Learning to play an instrument
  • Taking classes to learn a new skill such as woodworking, or sewing

Finding people who share similar interests with you and who also live a sober lifestyle can help you stay successful in your recovery. So the next time you go to an alumni event, talk to other people. See if any of them would be interested in picking up a hobby with you. Surrounding yourself with positive influences can have a powerful impact on staying sober.

Alumni Events in New Jersey

Here at Excel Treatment Center, we are big on hosting alumni events as opportunities to engage in social activities and strengthen the recovery community. We understand that being in early recovery can be overwhelming, and It might be hard to start going to social events again. Therefore, going to events like this can help ease you into social gatherings while ensuring your recovery comes first.

Fall Events at Excel Treatment Center

This fall, we will host our “Fall Family Fun” event. This event is for all alumni, their families, and friends. This will be a great way to foster the community and make it comfortable to bring in a new community and expand. During this event, we will be creating committees for future events.

There will also be pumpkin carving and apple bobbing. So much fun for the whole family. It is much easier to return to a place where you are comfortable and bring your family and friends to experience it with you.

Holiday Dinner at Excel Treatment Center

We will also have a holiday dinner with the alumni this December. More is to be announced on this later. So stay tuned and keep a look out for more information on this dinner that will be coming out soon. We hope to see you there.

At Excel Treatment Center, we are more than just a program, we are a family. Alumni events are great opportunities to continue to help you develop meaningful relationships and experiences during recovery. They also help raise awareness and advocate for others that need help. Our biggest goal is to make sure you’re continuing to learn about your addiction and put your recovery first. These settings also allow family and friends to attend so that they can also continue to learn about addiction and the importance of staying sober. It is not always easy to reintroduce yourself to a community as your sober self; however, alumni events provide a safe and comfortable space for you to socialize with others. If you or someone you know is struggling to manage recovery then the time to get help is now. To learn more contact us today by calling (833) 883-9235.

Author Stephanie Maitner Categories Uncategorized

Family Systems: How Forgiveness Can Aid in Recovery

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces in restoring healthy relationships. Forgiving others can help you move forward, overcome pain and suffering, repair damaged relationships, and improve your physical and mental health. When addiction has touched your life, forgiveness is important to move forward and have successful relationships. So how exactly does forgiveness work? What are some ways you can incorporate forgiveness into your life? Is it possible to forgive someone struggling with addiction?

Forgiveness Soothes Shame, Regret, and Remorse

Shame is an emotion that can lead to addiction. A sense of insignificance or worthlessness can lead to feelings of guilt, regret, and remorse. Forgiveness helps you let go of negative emotions such as shame, so they don’t have control over your life anymore.

Guilt is another type of emotion that can lead to addiction. Feeling guilty about something may cause stress in your life, causing you to turn towards using substances to cope. Forgiveness allows you to let go of these negative feelings, so they don’t have control over what happens today.

Forgiveness Helps Repair Resentment

Forgiveness is often associated with the idea that we must forgive others, but in reality, it can be a useful tool for healing from addiction. Forgiving yourself is an important component of recovery. Allowing forgiveness to flow through your body can help repair the damage done by feelings of resentment and anger. Forgiveness has the power to enhance your health and increase happiness by preventing stress, anxiety, and depression.

Forgiving someone who has harmed you may seem impossible at times, especially when they continue to hurt you in other ways. However, taking small steps toward forgiving an individual or group can significantly impact your health. Forgiving yourself for past mistakes makes it easier to move forward without dwelling on resentments that keep you stuck in negative thought patterns. Forgiving another person will allow them space within your heart, so they no longer control every aspect of how you feel about yourself. Forgiving those who wronged you frees up energy previously used on anger management so you can use it more productively.

Forgiveness Helps Take Back Your Life

As you learn to forgive, you may find yourself gaining a sense of control over your life that you didn’t know possible. You can’t control what others say to you or the things they say about you, but forgiving helps end the anger and resentment that would otherwise be holding them in place. Forgiving is a way of taking back control of your life and focusing on promoting a healthy road to recovery.

Forgiving also allows you to move past painful experiences and start new chapters in your life. It permits you not only to let go of the past but also lets you look forward with hope instead of fear or regret. By forgiving others who have hurt you, you are no longer bound by those events. Instead, you can focus on moving forward into a brighter future with confidence.

Forgiveness Helps You Let Go of the Past

Forgiveness helps you let go of the past. Forgiving yourself and others can be a powerful way to move on from past mistakes and grow as a person. We all make mistakes, but if we don’t forgive ourselves for them, it can prevent us from moving forward. It can be hard to let go when we feel someone has harmed us. However, taking those steps to forgive can help let go of some of the hurt from the past.

Forgive Yourself and Others

Forgiving yourself is forward progress when it comes to recovery. Forgiving yourself also allows you to recognize that what happened was not your fault and that you are worthy of love even if things didn’t work out exactly as planned. When you forgive yourself for past shortcomings, it’s much easier for others in your life to do the same.

When it comes time to forgive someone else, this process may take longer than forgiving yourself. Understand that others may not immediately forgive you. Some may not be ready, while others may never be ready. Still, it is important to forgive yourself to move forward. You need to reach an understanding of who you are now that you are sober. When you lead with this person, others will take notice of how serious you are about recovery. In turn, this may help people come around to forgive you. Holding onto negative feelings only hurts you in the end. So don’t hold on. Focus on continuing to improve who you are now that you are sober.

At Excel Treatment Center, we believe in the power of forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the need to hold resentment toward yourself or others. It’s not about condoning the actions of others, but rather it’s about taking responsibility for yourself and knowing that you have the power to forgive and move forward with your life. Forgiving does not mean forgetting what happened. It means letting go of old wounds that are holding you back from living a full life today. Taking the steps to forgive can help you reconnect and nourish the relationships with someone who is struggling with addiction and we can help. If you are struggling with addiction, forgiveness can help you heal some of the wounds of your past. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please reach out to us by calling us today at (833) 883-9235.

Author Stephanie Maitner Categories Uncategorized

Setting Boundaries With My Loved Ones

Addiction recovery is a long and challenging process. Learning to manage your addiction requires learning how to set boundaries with loved ones. When managing addiction, you may find it difficult to set boundaries because you don’t want confrontation. However, setting boundaries is imperative to ensuring that your recovery always comes first.

What Are Boundaries?

Before you can set boundaries, it’s important to understand what you need. Boundaries are the limits we set for ourselves and others. They define what is acceptable or unacceptable within a relationship. For example, if you have a friend who always wants you to pick up their slack, it could be helpful to establish a boundary that says: “I will help you with your work now and then, but only if it doesn’t interfere with my other commitments.”

Boundaries give you power by allowing you to protect yourself from people or situations that aren’t good for your recovery. Healthy boundaries also allow you to take care of yourself properly so you don’t exhaust yourself emotionally or physically.

In healthy relationships, everyone has their own unique needs and desires. However, when someone feels like they’re being taken advantage of or manipulated by another person’s demands, these become “boundary issues.”

Understand Your Needs

You may have been so focused on your loved one’s needs while managing your addiction that you forgot to consider your own. Part of setting boundaries with them is establishing your needs and then asking for them to be met.

Here are some examples of things you might need:

  • To feel safe and sound in your own home
  • To not be around other individuals that trigger you to want to use
  • To take care of yourself and make sure you’re getting enough sleep, eating well, and practicing daily exercise that helps your recovery
  • Keeping alcohol and other substances out of the home or in a place where they won’t be easily accessible

Learn to Say “No”

Learning how to say “no” is a vital skill in recovery. It can be difficult when managing addiction and saying no to loved ones because you may be used to always giving in and doing what others want you to do. Often this is because you feel guilty or obligated by other people’s needs. If you manage an addiction, it is important not to slip back into patterns that promote substance use. You need to understand that your recovery comes first. Therefore, learning to set boundaries with others will help you and your loved ones focus on managing your recovery.

Use “I” Statements

In order to successfully set boundaries, it’s important that you express how you feel about a situation in a calm manner. It is essential not to use “you” statements since they can be accusatory and cause conflict between yourself and the person you are communicating with.

A good example is if your loved one is always late or missing events or occasions you planned together. For example, you may ask them to join you at a meeting or appointment that is important to you. Instead of blaming them by saying, “You forgot my appointment. What am I supposed to do? This isn’t fair at all.” Focus on expressing yourself. Instead, try using an “I” statement such as “I am disappointed because this meeting was important to me.”

Make It a Habit

You might be thinking, “I don’t want to hurt them.” While you value the relationship and don’t want to hurt a loved one, you need to remember that your needs need to come first – especially when you have already tried setting boundaries with those around you, but they are overstepping these boundaries. Soon your rules and needs become meaningless. It is important to say a firm “no” and stand your ground if your loved ones are not respecting your boundaries.

It’s time to take a step back and start over with some new strategies that help rather than hurt the relationship. The following tips can help you set healthy boundaries with your family member or friend:

  • Make sure you’re not isolated from other people during recovery
  • Don’t enable other people’s behavior
  • Make sure you take space when you need it

Boundaries Create Healthy Relationships

Setting boundaries is one of the most difficult and necessary things to creating a healthy relationship with your loved ones. While telling someone that their behavior is affecting your life may be uncomfortable, it’s an act of self-care and protection. Setting boundaries helps you build healthy relationships and prevent relapse by ensuring you are not living in fear or taking on responsibilities for others.

Recovery is an ongoing process. As you continue to work on your recovery, it’s important to remember that setting boundaries can be integral to maintaining healthy relationships. By being aware of your needs and triggers, learning how to say no, and making boundary setting a habit in all your relationships, not just with family members or partners, you will be able to maintain a healthy balance between yourself and others while still having room for compromise. As you follow through with setting healthy boundaries, your relationships will become more functional and respected. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, give us a call, and we would love to help you in your first steps towards recovery. We can help you through this process of creating healthy boundaries as well. Please reach out for more information. Call (833) 883-9235.

Author Stephanie Maitner Categories Uncategorized

Impacts and Negative Effects of Codependency in Addiction

In a codependent relationship, one partner will take on the role of caretaker. This person may have substance use or mental health issues that require professional help, but they refuse to get it. Instead, the other partner takes over their responsibilities and provides for them in unhealthy ways. Living with codependency can be detrimental to many people’s lives. Learning the negative impacts of codependency can help you understand why it is dangerous, especially for those struggling with addiction.

Taking on the Role of Caretaker

When you are the primary caretaker of a loved one struggling with addiction, you may feel like your life has become unmanageable. Your loved one’s substance use can have a huge impact on your physical and mental health and the quality of your relationships with others. Additionally, if the person you love is addicted to alcohol or drugs, they may harm themselves in other ways.

The negative effects of codependency can be even more pronounced when it comes to being a caretaker for someone with a severe addiction. Such behavior puts both parties at risk physically, mentally, and emotionally. The impact on self-esteem should not be underestimated. Codependent people often lose sight of their own needs and goals in order to focus on those around them first instead.

Signs of Codependency

A person in a codependent relationship could have difficulty making decisions, expressing feelings, and spending time alone. The following are traits that a person in a codependent relationship may exhibit:

  • Difficulty making decisions
  • Difficulty expressing feelings and emotions
  • Low self-esteem, low self-worth, low self-awareness, and lack of insight into how they feel
  • Poor impulse control or difficulty controlling emotions, anger, sad feelings, or sexual urges

It’s Not Healthy

While it is easy to fall into codependent relationships, it is also easy for them to go unnoticed. Codependent relationships are not healthy. They are one-sided, imbalanced, and unsustainable.

In a healthy relationship, both parties care about one another equally. Both parties have their own lives and interests in addition to their relationship. In a codependent relationship, however, one person puts all of their energy into taking care of someone else while the other person becomes dependent on this behavior as they lose any motivation or desire to take care of themselves.

The codependent person generally does all the giving but does not get anything back. They give and give but never receive anything in return. A person may feel that their loved one is taking advantage of them and using them for their own needs. Sometimes this can lead to abuse or manipulation by the other person.

The codependent person is often unable to make decisions or express feelings. They may also have difficulty spending time alone, expressing anger, and sometimes feel helpless without the presence of their loved ones.

Can Create Resentment

Resentment is a natural response to being treated poorly, but it can also lead to anger. Resentment may lead to depression or cause a feeling of helplessness. This can eventually lead the codependent person to detach from their partner to protect themselves.

As a codependent person in an unhealthy relationship with a loved one struggling with addiction, you may feel helpless and resentful. If you have fallen into this pattern, it’s important to realize that enabling is not a healthy relationship. The codependent person will often feel helpless and resentful about being unable to help the addict get clean.

This feeling of powerlessness can lead you to enable your loved ones by making excuses for their behavior or covering up their drug use so that they don’t suffer consequences at work or school. When enabling takes place over time, it can create a vicious cycle where both parties continue to engage in destructive behaviors that are harmful not only to themselves but also to their loved ones as well as those around them.

Creates Negative Effects

You may be thinking, “If my loved one is a codependent and I am not, then how am I affected by their behavior?” It’s true that you are not the codependent person in this situation. However, codependency can have serious negative effects on all parties involved.

In addition to the consequences explained above, when someone is codependent in an unhealthy way, it can also lead them to engage in behaviors such as:

  • Isolating themselves from others
  • Becoming depressed or anxious
  • Behaving differently than they would normally behave due to trauma caused by their partner’s addiction

Seek Professional Help

It is important to manage your health needs. Seeking help will allow you to work through challenging situations and could help you find help for yourself and your loved one.

Codependency is a dangerous relationship that can lead to physical and mental harm. It is not healthy to be in a one-sided relationship where one person takes on all the responsibility while being controlled by another. At Excel Treatment Center we understand that codependency can create resentment and anger towards your partner. It creates an unhealthy relationship that is not good for either party. If you or someone you love has been affected by codependency, it is important to seek help immediately. Our services work to help you overcome your addiction and strengthen your relationships, including coming out of a codependency relationship. If you or someone you know is struggling and could benefit from help with their addiction and improving their relationships, please reach out to us. We want to help you through this process. For more information, please call us at, (833) 883-9235. 

Author Stephanie Maitner Categories Uncategorized

Setting Realistic Expectations During Recovery

Setting expectations in any part of your life can help you achieve your goals. However, when you set unrealistic expectations, it can hinder your progress. Recovery is a process, and it takes time. Set the expectation that recovery will take time and be incremental. Setting goals for yourself can help you track your progress and stay motivated on the road to recovery.

Expect to Feel Vulnerable and Uncomfortable

It’s normal to feel vulnerable during treatment. You will be vulnerable to negative feelings, experiences, and people. You will also be vulnerable to negative feedback, thoughts, and self-talk.

It’s important to realize that the feeling of being vulnerable does not mean that you are weak or unable to handle difficult situations. It simply means that you have become more aware of what is happening in your mind and body, which can make things seem harder than they are. Once you begin your treatment and recovery from drug and alcohol use, you may feel uncomfortable as you learn to self-soothe without drugs. It’s common to feel stressed out or anxious during early recovery.

It takes time to learn new ways of coping with these feelings. This is why it’s important to keep in mind that we are all different, and each person recovers at their own pace. Some people will be able to cope with these feelings quickly, while others might have a more difficult time adjusting their thought patterns and behaviors around dealing with uncomfortable emotions without necessarily having difficulty coping with them at the moment.

Expect It to Take Time

One of the most important things to remember when recovering from addiction is that it takes time. Change doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s important not to expect too much too soon. It takes time to change habits, rebuild relationships, and rebuild your life. Have realistic expectations and focus on progress instead of perfectionism.

Recovery is a lifelong process, not an event. It takes time for the brain to heal from trauma and for old habits to be replaced with new ones. Recovery is not about getting back to your old life or even getting back on track. It’s about learning how to live with changes that have happened in your life since you fell into addiction.

Expect a Lot of Ups and Downs

Recovery is not a linear process. You will have good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks, good months and bad months. We all have moments when our recovery seems to be going in the wrong direction, or we even think that our recovery isn’t working at all. Then there are moments when it seems like we’re getting better every day for weeks on end, even though those things happen much less frequently than many people wish.

It’s important to keep this idea in mind when you’re expecting your life to change overnight. Recovery from drug addiction isn’t going to be easy or smooth-sailing all of the time, and that’s okay. What matters most is having realistic expectations about what will be involved in recovery so you can set yourself up for success by training yourself mentally and emotionally for what lies ahead of you once treatment ends.

Take Small Steps

Establishing goals is a critical part of recovery, but it’s important to remember that goals need not be perfect. For example, if you want to return to work and pursue a certain career opportunity in six months, then breaking down the goal into smaller steps could help keep things manageable. First, set an initial date for when you will get back on your feet at work. Then break down what needs to happen between now and then so that those small pieces are more manageable.

You may find yourself losing motivation if you don’t achieve every step along the way. Remember, don’t give up. If one step doesn’t go as planned, focus on what went well and adjust your plan accordingly. You may find yourself starting over from scratch multiple times before everything fits together perfectly, but with practice comes permanence.

Set Goals

Setting goals is a great way to stay motivated and stay on track in recovery. Goals help you focus, push yourself out of your comfort zone and make progress with your recovery.

Here are some examples of goals that may be good for you:

  • Go to a support group every week. Doing so will help you meet other people who are also in recovery.
  • Journal when you’re feeling a lot of emotion instead of turning to drugs or alcohol.

At Excel Treatment Center, we believe that with the right mindset, recovery can be a journey that empowers you to live a healthy life full of new experiences. Setting realistic expectations and taking small steps forward each day, you’ll be able to take on the challenges of recovery with confidence. Recovery from drug addiction is a process, not an event. It requires that you be honest with yourself and others about your struggles. You have to keep up with the work, even when things are good, so you don’t fall back into old habits. However, this is all part of what makes recovery so rewarding. It gives us an opportunity to live our lives in a truly fulfilling and meaningful way without having to rely on substances or other destructive behaviors as crutches along the way. To learn more, call us today at (833) 883-9235. 

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