VistaTaos

According to American comedian Mike DeStefano’s website, he’s a “stand-up comedian.” Before that, he was “a drug counselor.” Before that, he was a “drug addict.” Before that, he “was 12.” Sadly, DeStefano passed away on March 6th 2011, leaving behind his entertaining demeanor of making addiction seem comical, but serious in his own, special way. The cause of death has not been released, but reports are suggesting that it could have been a heart attack. He was assumed sober at the time of his death, but spent many years battling a heroin addiction. He lost his wife just a few years back, also a former drug addict. She died from complications surrounding her advanced form of AIDS, a result of sharing dirty needles.

After Mike DeStefano found his sobriety, he decided there was a calling for him in the world of addiction counseling. He worked hard to help others. It was during an anti-drug convention that he found a spot for himself in the world of comedy. As it poured rain, the event-goers were forced into a tent. He decided it was time to entertain the crowd, so he hopped on the microphone and starting ranting about drugs. They loved it and soon, his addiction counseling career was pushed aside as he pursued a career in entertainment.

Even when a drug addict becomes sober, the health risks can still be a reality. It is possible that DeStefano’s long battle with heroin addiction could have weakened his heart, causing him to suffer an attack. The sooner you quit, the better your chances of snuffing any health-related illnesses in your sober years after rehab. If you’re ready to seek addiction counseling and expert treatment from a New Mexico clinic just north of Santa Fe and a short trip from major southern cities like Austin, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: contact Vista Taos Addiction Treatment Center to learn how 12-step programs and inpatient therapy can help you get your life back.

If you’re wondering how a horse can help you on your journey to addiction recovery, you aren’t alone. Many people find the concept of equine therapy--in which you work with horses as part of your treatment plan--a little strange at first. More and more drug and alcohol treatment centers are offering equine therapy as part of a comprehensive, holistic rehab program, and their clients are quickly discovering the remarkable benefits of working with horses.

Benefits of Equine Therapy:

• One of the greatest benefits of equine therapy is that you have the opportunity to work closely with a creature who is not judging you. Your horse does not care about your past, only about how you act in the present.
• Taking care of a horse helps you to relearn the importance of responsibility.
• Interacting with your animal is like looking into a mirror--your horse will react immediately and honestly to your behaviors and emotions, teaching you about yourself and how your actions and state of mind affect others.
• Riding and caring for a horse is a positive and soothing activity that can take the place of your former negative activity of drug use.

If you think equine therapy sounds like something that can help you, look for drug and alcohol treatment centers that offer complementary therapies in addition to more traditional addiction treatments.

Addictions to substances—like alcohol, recreational drugs, or prescription medications—are widely recognized by society and the medical community as genuine medical problems that require specialized treatment. But in recent years, a number of behavioral addictions have started to become well-known. For example, sex addiction was made famous by celebrities like David Duchovny and Tiger Woods, and Internet addiction is widely discussed in the media and everyday conversation. Who hasn't heard someone profess to have a “Facebook addiction,” or something similar?

Are these behavioral addictions the real thing? Is sex addiction as legitimate a problem as cocaine addiction? Opinions vary, but science is beginning to provide evidence that addictions can go beyond drugs and alcohol. Gambling addiction has been recognized as a diagnosable disorder for some time, and recent studies show that even behaviors like eating junk food and tanning can be addictive.

It is not uncommon for people with an addiction to one substance or behavior to have other addiction problems as well. Vista Taos is uniquely suited to treat people with multiple addiction issues—including those who are struggling with addictive behaviors—thanks to our commitment to providing every client with an individualized, multidimensional treatment program that focuses on healing the individual as a whole.

Recovering addicts know that relapse into former addictive behaviors is always a possibility. The residential treatment program at Vista Taos aims to teach recovering addicts coping strategies and new lifestyle habits that will maximize their chances of successful recovery and minimize future relapses. Complementary therapies like massage, yoga, acupuncture, and meditation are all offered at Vista Taos’ residential treatment program as innovative ways to address aspects of the addiction recovery process. One aspect all these complementary therapies address is stress--something recovering addicts are certain to feel before, during, and after their stay in a residential treatment program.

Vista Taos knows the importance of controlling stress in safe, natural ways, and a new study indicates that this focus plays an important role in successful recovery. Researchers found that recovering substance abusers who dealt with stress through avoidance reported twice as many substance cravings during a stressful day as those who used coping skills to deal with them. It makes sense, then, that addicts who know and use coping skills to deal with stressful situations have a better chance of staying in recovery and avoiding relapse.

The holistic drug addiction treatment offered at Vista Taos includes a number of complementary therapies that have long been used to treat both physical and emotional problems. We know therapies like meditation and acupuncture can be essential parts of a holistic drug addiction treatment program because we've seen how they have helped clients. Now you have even more reason to consider our holistic drug addiction treatment program—two new scientific studies show that meditation and acupuncture are effective at alleviating pain, a common symptom of drug withdrawal.

Meditation:
Researchers recently found that people who habitually practice meditation find pain less unpleasant and are less likely to anticipate pain. Instead of focusing on negative events that may happen in the future, meditators train their brains to focus on the present. Reducing pain caused by drug withdrawal symptoms and learning techniques that help change the way your brain responds are ways that meditation can be a key component of holistic drug addiction treatment.

Acupuncture:
A new study found that acupuncture relieves pain by stimulating the naturally-occurring compound known as adenosine. Adenosine helps regulate sleep, acts as an anti-inflammatory, and is a natural painkiller. Research on acupuncture suggests that it can help ease physical drug withdrawal symptoms and improve sleep, especially in combination with other holistic drug addiction treatment methods.