Getting Healthy Is the Real Pursuit of Happiness

The pursuit of happiness is a shared goal among all of us. Each of us strives to achieve a pain-free life in our various ways. However, sometimes we get sidetracked by health problems, including substance abuse, and the consequences can be devastating.

Physical Health

Medical science is making great strides toward diagnosing and treating many challenging illnesses. However, some diseases remain challenging and unresponsive to treatment. A positive mindset can be a tremendous asset in dealing with a difficult diagnosis and working through a variety of treatment options. Even as hope for recovery dwindles, sometimes we get an inexplicable medical miracle. That is why we should never surrender hope and find ways to celebrate each day of life by giving thanks for all we have despite an uncertain prognosis.

Mental Health

Mental health issues are reaching record-breaking numbers in the U.S. More people than ever before are reporting serious levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger. Strong emotions need to be balanced so that a person can express them in ways that are not damaging or destructive. When someone holds in their emotions, the negative feelings and inner pressure build up, leading to increasing discomfort. Sometimes a seemingly small trigger can cause a person to explode, causing serious damage to the individual or those around him or her. Mental health treatment is widely available to treat conditions related to emotional distress as well as possible underlying causes, such as a genetic predisposition, lifestyle circumstances, or other conditions like bipolar, personality disorder, or schizophrenia. A comprehensive exam and appropriate treatment that may include cognitive therapy and/or medication can help improve mental health and make it easy to experience life more normally and find happiness once again.

Substance Abuse

Abusing drugs or alcohol is one way the individuals struggling with physical or emotional pain try to self-medicate themselves to tolerate their difficult conditions. However, this can be problematic when they misuse legal or prescribed substances, like alcohol or prescription medication, or illicit substances like street drugs. Often, substance abuse can grow into an addiction, which can be difficult to treat. Addictions of this type typically affect many areas of a person’s life. Happiness may seem more elusive than ever.

Healing and Recovery

However, drug addiction and alcohol abuse can be professionally treated through a community recovery program. For example, a residential drug treatment southern California residents can benefit from has the potential to turn their lives around. Participating voluntarily in a substance abuse recovery program is the first step to admitting to having an addiction problem and getting the necessary help to move through a recovery process. Recovery programs provide a supportive environment where clients can learn how to identify the triggers that cause them to start using drugs or alcohol inappropriately. The program often includes professional therapy by those trained to treat this particular problem. Support groups enable participants to help each other through peer support and involvement. Aftercare programs offer follow-up support for program clients when they return to their regular lives.

Although a serious health condition can push happiness out of reach temporarily, it is good to know that effective treatment and strong support can help us work through any situations that threaten mental or physical health. By committing to a healing process or a recovery program, we can begin to experience improvement almost immediately. This is soon followed by long-term success that can put us once more on the road to happiness with our lives under control.