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How Does Substance Abuse and Addiction Affect Your Heart’s Health?

The heart is one of the most central and important organs of the body. So, of course, alcohol and substance abuse affects the heart, too. Your heart health can influence the way your mind and body function.

When these certain neurological and biochemical changes take place in a person’s body after prolonged alcohol and substance abuse, chronic disease occurs. One of these chronic diseases is cardiovascular, or heart, disease.

The impact that severe addiction has on a person’s longevity and overall health is significant. To start, it’s worth looking closely at the effects of substances and alcohol, and how these substances affect your heart health.

Your Heart, Drugs, and Cardiovascular Disease

A healthy and properly functioning heart is essential to your well-being. After all, your heart is responsible for carrying oxygen and nutrients to your brain and other vital organs. Without a consistent supply of oxygen, your vital organs shut down quickly. And without proper nutrients, these organs can become damaged permanently.

In short, heart disease can be described as a dysfunction or damage to the tissues of the heart. This can also apply to the heart’s blood vessels due to the lowered capacity of oxygen being processed in the body.

As many people know, heart disease (brought on by cardiovascular damage) is the second greatest cause of death in the United States. Heart damage, and cardiovascular disease as a result, can be caused by a number of things including:

  • Alcohol abuse
  • Substance abuse
  • Unhealthy diet and malnutrition
  • Lack of exercise
  • Lack or poor quality of sleep
  • Excessive stress

While it’s true that your heart health can be affected by many things, including genetic factors, alcohol and substance abuse amplify these factors. By far, prolonged addiction to harmful substances has a detrimental effect on your heart health.

Particularly Dangerous Substances for the Heart

While all alcohol and substance abuse addictions negatively affect your cardiovascular health, some substances are worse than others. For example, the American Heart Association calls cocaine “the perfect heart-attack drug.” A recent study showed that cocaine contributes to heart disease from a number of angles, including aortic stiffening, high blood pressure, and increased thickness in ventricle walls.

Other substances like alcohol and opioids, which may not be as damaging in the short term, can be just as harmful as cocaine when abused over a longer period.

The Tricky Part About Alcohol Consumption

“Live in moderation” is a common life recommendation but it’s easier said than done. Alcohol, for example, has a very fine line of health benefits and health detriments. According to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology light to moderate alcohol use can have positive effects on heart health. On the other hand, as consumption increases, what were beneficial factors become harmful ones.

For those recovering from addiction, it’s essential to acknowledge these facts while also staying firm on the boundaries of your healing journey. When a person is prone to addiction, the cardio-protective elements of light alcohol consumption just aren’t worth it—there are other ways to improve your heart health that don’t risk you falling into relapse.

Heart Diseases Linked to Alcohol and Drug Use 

There are a number of specific cardiovascular diseases that can be directly linked to substance abuse. When you introduce toxic substances to the body, such as excessive alcohol and harmful drugs, you make your body susceptible to heart damage. These eventually cause cardiovascular disease. The most common cardiovascular conditions brought on from substance abuse include:

  • Arrhythmias: These are irregularities in heartbeat, or the rate at which the blood is circulated around the body. Arrythmias can also cause sudden heart attacks.
  • Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction): In brief, a heart attack is an impairment of blood flow to the heart. Lack of blood flow can cause extensive damage to cardiac muscles due to the lack of oxygen. A person having a heart attack might feel tightness in their chest, lose consciousness, or even death.
  • Brain Hemorrhages: These describe disruptions of blood vessels in the skull, in some cases resulting in bleeding around and within the brain. Most hemorrhages are caused by high blood pressure and poor cardiovascular health. Both of these can affect the cognitive and sensory functions of the brain.

More Heart Conditions and What You Can Do About Them

  • Hypertension (High Blood Pressure): The condition known as hypertension requires the heart to work harder in order to continue sufficient blood circulation in the body. Hypertension affects over a third of adults over the age of 20, and, if left untreated, may result in life-threatening conditions such as brain hemorrhages. Of course, overall bad cardiovascular health should be enough of a motivation to address hypertension early.
  • Hypotension (Low Blood Pressure): On the other end of the spectrum, the condition known as hypotension is expresses itself by rapid and shallow breathing. This can result in a weak pulse. Opioid users, for instance, are especially vulnerable to this condition. As a result, it can further complicate their heart health by suffering a sudden heart attack.

Overall, alcohol and substance abuse are serious risk factors for cardiovascular disease. And since the heart is such a central part of the body, any damage done to it can result in life-threatening conditions. Don’t wait to contact your doctor if you think you’re experiencing any of these disease symptoms. Moreover, if you’re struggling with alcohol or substance abuse, the sooner you receive help, the better. Don’t hesitate to contact Impact Recovery today by getting in touch with a member of our team here.

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What Happens After Recovery and How Can Aftercare Help?

What is Aftercare?

Aftercare programs are one of the most important parts of the recovery process. They include any type of care offered after the detox or residential treatment.

Now that you’re sober, aftercare programs focus on how to keep it that way. They offer tools, strategies, resources, and support networks to make sure you don’t relapse. If someone doesn’t have an aftercare program in place after their treatment, there’s a very high likelihood they’ll cycle back into their addictive pattern.

Aftercare is a lifetime commitment and will always be a part of your recovery journey. But this should be an encouraging thought, not an overwhelming one. If done right, aftercare can be the most helpful and enriching parts of living in recovery.

Why is Aftercare Needed?

According to an article in the Journal of Reward Deficiency Syndrome, there are over 14,500 drug treatment centers in the United States. Many use evidence-based treatments during treatment but “many facilities are missing a piece of the puzzle, especially during aftercare.”

Some of these missing “puzzle pieces” may include:

  • Mental health follow-ups
  • Education counseling
  • Child care resources
  • Vocational and employment training
  • Financial literacy advice
  • Housing assistance
  • Transportation assistance
  • Relationship counseling
  • Legal advice and support
  • Physical health monitoring

Substance abuse aftercare can also provide peer support to clients once they leave a rehabilitation facility. But before leaving the treatment center, you and your team should make an aftercare plan. This will paint a better picture of what things will look like as you transition back into day to day life.

How Important is Community Support?

Just like you didn’t beat the cycle of substance abuse on your own, maintaining your health and sobriety after treatment also requires the support of those around you.

When you leave your treatment program, it’s inevitable that difficult circumstances will come up. They might make you reconsider your dedication to a sober life, or might make you feel like a failure. Guilt, shame, and insecurities are often the tipping points for relapse; so, who can you turn to for help in these key moments?

Support networks can come in many forms. A study in the Journal for Addictive Behaviors, for example, has shown how social reinforcement drastically improved how long clients stayed in aftercare programs. According to their study, social reinforcement in therapy settings included:

  • Being verbally recognized by a group therapist in the first few weeks of attendance
  • Being presented with a certificate after six weeks of participation in group therapy
  • Being recognized by name on an honor roll on public display
  • Being presented with a medallion after eight weeks of participation in group therapy

Therefore, social affirmation and positive reinforcement by your therapists are a key part to continued participation.

This also goes for friendship groups and everyday community interactions. It’s worthwhile to ask yourself how your friends and loved ones contribute to this positivity in your recovery process. Who is a good influence? Who brings you down? When you realize how important the community element is, the more successful your aftercare recovery will be.

First Steps to Making an Aftercare Treatment Plan

A typical substance abuse aftercare plan often includes a good balance of professional and independent elements. Things like developing a relapse prevention plan, outpatient therapy appointments, attending addiction self-help groups, and periodic drug testing are all good things to consider when you make your plan. The below tips will also help you get started:

#1 – Consult a professional: You should make sure to discuss your aftercare plan with their doctors and therapists, especially right as you leave your treatment program. An expert eye can help you identify what types of aftercare will be most beneficial for you and your journey.

#2 – Map it out, write it down: Make sure to keep a documented copy of their aftercare plan. It may start off as sticky notes and outlines, but ultimately, it should include all the information you need: important phone numbers, locations of support group meetings, and therapy appointment times.

#3 – Share your Plan: Your friends and family should be aware of your aftercare treatment plan. That way, they can respect your values and help support you in staying on track. This is essential if you want to stay accountable and keep the straight path in your recovery.

What Should You Expect in an Aftercare Program?

The long-term aftercare plan you work so hard to map out will aid you in your journey that you’ve invested so much time and effort in building. It’s important to remember that long-term drug use can harm your mental health and alter the brain’s normal functioning. These harmful effects don’t automatically go away when you stop using alcohol and drugs—it’s a step by step process to regaining control over your life.

In order to address the physical toll that addiction has on your body, aftercare programs shouldn’t be too extreme in their regimens. Make realistic goals and stick to them. An aftercare program should address these issues and help you monitor them so that you don’t end up relapsing.

You should also expect to dig deep into the process of identifying your triggers. When you move back into your community after rehab, you’ll be faced with triggers from your past. These triggers can make staying sober difficult. This is why a good aftercare program will include talking through how to cope with and even overcome them.

So while residential treatment programs come with a graduation date, aftercare can (and should) continue for as long as you need. For many people, aftercare goals can extend into years—this is lifelong journey. What could be more important than continuing to grow, staying healthy, and avoiding relapse? Aftercare is the place to start.

To learn more about our treatment options and aftercare services and how Numa Recovery can help, contact us here.

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Dealing with Stress in Recovery: 4 Tips to Building Healthy Stress-Management Skills

Since stress in an inevitable part of life, learning stress-management is essential to living a healthy life. If you’re recovering from addiction or substance abuse, building a stress-management strategy can help you maintain sobriety and a lifestyle of wholeness.  

What is Stress-Management?

Throughout our day-to-day lives, we all experience stress and stressors. But not all stress is “bad.” According to the Handbook of Stress and Health, “mild to moderate levels of stress, within a person’s coping range, can ultimately produce positive outcomes.” In other words, some stress can be helpful in situations when we need to complete a task, or are in a competitive activity such as sports. Feeling a bit of pressure can help us yield our optimal performance and efficiency.

But, as the Handbook explains, when stress becomes too much and “exceeds one’s coping capacity, [it] can result in threats to physical and psychological well-being.” In fact, unmanaged stress can become chronic and even lead to mind, body, and behavioral dysfunctions.

When stress becomes a threat to our well-being, it usually comes by way of these four types:

  • Physiological: Poor nutrition, lack of access to health care, threat of physical danger
  • Environmental: Noise and/or air pollution, unclean water or sanitation facilities
  • Social: Present interpersonal conflicts and dangers, or PTSD 
  • Cognitive: Negative thinking patterns that induce anxiety and depression

Why is Stress Management Important for Those in Recovery?

For those in recovery, learning to manage stress and situations that cause high amounts of stress is central to the healing process. It has been well-established that stress is linked to how the brain experiences addiction. Moreover, stress has a correlation to higher risks of relapse. The parts of the brain that regulate emotions and even chemical reactions are triggered by stress and how we cope with it.

One such response is the “fight-or-flight” response. This refers to the biochemical and physiological changes that happen in the body when an alarm response to stressors—real or imagined—goes off. When this triggers, the brain may turn to its craving or previous source of comfort, which for those in recovery are harmful substances.

The five stress-management tips below are intended to help you deal with stress that you face in your day-to-day life. Pursuing science-based and holistic treatments in professional settings can also help you analyze situations and people that trigger feelings of stress. As someone in recovery, you know that by making a plan and taking positive actions, anything is possible—even with stress!

Tip #1: Address Unnecessary Stress with Stress Management

Some stressors are out of our control. But some are well within our scope and can be easily avoided. This tip helps you address stress by removing it altogether. Once you begin to pay attention, you may be surprised by how easy it is to avoid recurrent stressful situations. It can be as simple as leaving 10 minutes earlier each morning so you are not stressed in traffic, or choosing to not talk to your high-maintenance friend right when you’re off work and have depleted energy. This doesn’t mean ignoring situations that actually need your attention though.

The key is to plan ahead and learn how to say “no” if you’re already at maximum capacity. If you know a triggering person is going to that party, you don’t have to go. If talking about the addiction recovery process is too much to handle alone, relegate these topics for your therapy sessions. Saying “no” when you need to is one of the best strategies for successful sober living.

Tip #2: Learn New Ways to Work With Stressful Situations

Never stop learning! For example, cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) teaches you to adjust your reaction to situations, including stressful ones. If you’re feeling like your stress-cup is full or that you have repressed feelings, pursue a type of talk-therapy you haven’t tried before. When we acknowledge stressors under the surface, we can then work through different scenarios to address or remove the stress.

Dealing with relationship stress may look like pursuing couple’s therapy. If a relationship can find a healthy compromise and path of communication, stress can’t remain in the shadows for long.

Tip #3: Changing Your Attitude

There are many ways to start changing our attitudes. The goal is to reframe the problem so that it allows you to logically process stressful situations with a positivity and agency. For avoiding substance use relapse, this is one of the best tools to work with.

If this is something you struggle with, dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT) might be right for you. Talk to your treatment center about this approach, which emphasizes emotion regulation, mindfulness, stress tolerance, and interpersonal stability. DBT can help you build emotional and cognitive strength while addressing the people, places, and situations that trigger stress.

On another level, taking care of your day-to-day needs can significantly improve your capacity to deal with stressors and change your approach to life. Some of these self-care strategies include:

  • Exercise every day: Even for 10-15 minutes of cardio can make a world of difference.
  • Eat a healthy diet: Avoid processed foods and eat fresh as much as you can.
  • Get enough sleep: Prioritize your rest. Stress is more stressful when we’re exhausted.

And finally, keep your sense of humor alive and well. Smiling, laughter, and joy are the strongest dispellers of stress.

Tip #4: “Letting Go” Helps You Reduce Stress

Since we know that some stressors can’t be avoided, sometimes the best strategy is the practice of letting go. With a network of support around you, acceptance of painful situations is one of the most effective ways to move forward. Such situations might include the death of a loved one or the dissolution of a marriage. A posture of letting go combined with grief management therapy can help you see the present clearly and imagine a brighter future.

Many relapses happen when a person attempts to control a situation beyond their capability. Substance abuse and addiction are not the answer to the pain. Instead, reach out to someone you can trust for help and practice the wisdom of letting go at the right time.

To begin or continue your recovery journey, get in touch with a professional at Numa Recovery today. We’re here to help get you on track toward healing and the fullest version of yourself.

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For the Loved Ones: How to Support Someone Struggling with Addiction

Watching someone you love struggle with addiction can feel like standing in a storm. You want to help. You want to fix. But often, you feel lost—pulled in multiple directions, carrying guilt, anger, confusion, exhaustion. If this is your place right now: you’re not alone. And there are ways to care for your loved ones—and still care for yourself.

What Addiction Feels Like for Those Who Have Loved Ones Trapped in Addiction

You might be:

  • Walking on eggshells—never sure when anger, withdrawal, or crisis might surface
  • Worrying constantly: about their safety, their shame, whether they’ll relapse
  • Feeling responsible for their behavior, or fearful you’ve done something wrong
  • Sacrificing parts of your own well‑being: sleep, relationships, peace of mind
  • Isolating yourself because you don’t want to be judged or because nobody seems to understand

These experiences are real. They’re also common among the families, partners, parents, children, and friends of someone facing addiction. Understanding that what you’re going through is shared by many can bring relief—and is the first step toward setting healthy boundaries.

What Support Looks Like (for Both You and Your Loved Ones)

Supporting someone in addiction doesn’t mean carrying their weight alone. It means walking alongside—with care, with limits, and with your own needs in view. Here are ways you can help—without sacrificing yourself:

  1. Learn about addiction & recovery
    Understanding the science (how addiction rewires the brain), recognizing common triggers, knowing what treatment options look like—this knowledge gives you clarity. It also reduces fear, shame, and judgment.
  2. Set and maintain healthy boundaries
    Love doesn’t mean enabling. Deciding what you can tolerate—financially, emotionally, physically—is not “giving up.” It’s protecting your well‑being. Boundaries help provide structure and safety—for both of you.
  3. Communicate with compassion & honesty
    Choose times when emotions are quieter. Use “I” statements (“I feel worried when…”). Avoid accusations. Let them know you care about who they are, beyond the addiction.
  4. Seek support for yourself
    Whether through therapy, support groups (such as Nar‑Anon, Al‑Anon, or Families Anonymous) or trusted friends, you need a space to process what you’re going through. Talking helps. You deserve help too.
  5. Take care of your mental & physical health
    Dealing with addiction in a loved one is stressful. You’ll have better clarity, patience, and resilience if you sleep well, eat well, move, and give yourself moments of calm—even if they’re short.
  6. Explore professional options together
    Treatment centers that include family therapy or loved‑ones programs can help. A luxury rehab setting often offers family counseling, groups, education sessions, all designed to repair or rebuild understanding, trust, and communication.

Why Therapy and Support Groups Make a Real Difference

Therapy isn’t just for the person with addiction—it’s for the family, friend, partner too. Shared or individual therapy helps everyone:

  • Learn healthier ways of coping with guilt, shame, fear
  • Heal past wounds that may have contributed to the addiction cycle
  • Understand patterns of enabling, enabling that often stem from love or fear
  • Build tools to support recovery without becoming overwhelmed

Support groups—places like Nar‑Anon or Families Anonymous—offer connection with others who are walking similar paths. It’s often in those shared stories you discover you’re not isolated, and that relief is possible.

When to Get Involved — & When to Step Back From Your Loved Ones

Sometimes, you’ll feel torn between pushing too hard and doing nothing. Here’s a guide:

  • Step In when they express readiness for help, or when their safety is at risk
  • Offer Options, not ultimatums—many people resist when they feel bullied or shamed
  • Respect Their Autonomy—they must choose recovery for it to last
  • Step Back when your emotional or physical health is suffering

Stepping back doesn’t mean giving up—it can mean preserving your strength, which in turn makes you more available and helpful long‑term.

You Matter Too

Your life needn’t revolve around someone else’s addiction. Your own happiness, mental health, purpose—it all matters. Loving someone doesn’t require losing yourself. In fact, the more whole you are, the more powerful your presence becomes.

At our luxury rehab in Los Angeles, the team at Numa Recovery recognizes that healing is not isolated. We offer programs not only for clients, but for their loved ones—therapy, education, family sessions, support groups—so everyone can find peace, clarity, and hope. Get in touch with one of our staff today.

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