Comprehensive Care in
a Compassionate Environment

Sage Neuroscience Center

A Mental Health Clinic in Albuquerque, NM

Essential Oils For Everyday Life

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Essential Oil, Oils, Aromatherapy, addiction, disease, essential, oil
Essential Oil Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy has been around for the last 6,000 years but has seen its rise in popularity around 2015 for the United States. Essential oils may relieve anxiety, boost memory, support circulatory systems, and a gamut of other functions. In today’s market, there are over 90 oils that are available for purchase and many people report benefits from their use. Some include peppermint, lavender, and sandalwood. These scents may stimulate the limbic system which is heavily involved in forming memories.

Most popular essential oils like lavender, peppermint, tea tree oil, and eucalyptus are distilled or extracted and can be placed directly on the skin or in a nebulizer or diffuser.  A variety of options are on the market to help people decide how intense, enduring or gentle they want the experience of interacting with the extract to be.

Some essential oils are used as a pesticide to deter rodents, insects, and fungus from invading your home or workspace!  With rodents and insects, the oil can and may overload their senses, causing them to be deterred from entering or interacting with whatever you have placed the essential oils on. Fungi need an almost entirely sterile environment to be able to germinate or grow due to the nature of how they develop. The oil prevents the spores of fungi to bind themselves to the substrate material that has been doused in the liquid.  Fascinating!

Overall essential oils are on the rise in popularity due to just how powerful they are and the variety of application they have to offer.  Also, people have shared that using natural options for health make more sense to them.

If you are interested in learning more about essential oils, go ahead and click this LINK!

What is IOP and How Can It Help?

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Group, Therapy, IOP, Healing, Journey, Recovery, Addiction
Group IOP

IOP stands for “Intensive Outpatient Treatment”. During the duration of an IOP program, individuals attend group therapies and individual counseling above and beyond the traditional cadence of classic once a week therapy. The primary focus of this service is to encourage people to actively practice implementing a host of skills in a supportive, didactic environment.

People enter an IOP program when overcoming substance abuse or have already overcome major hurdles and need help adjusting to life without that substance. The program lasts 12 weeks and sessions are generally 3 hours long, 3-4 days a week for optimal results. People that deeply involve themselves in the program gain the greatest benefit. Sharing personal stories, triggers, and conflict resolutions allow not only the person sharing to heal and grow but also the people around them to do the same.

IOPs are usually covered by insurance. Families and loved ones are encouraged to be a part of the program to generate support and motivation. Highly trained providers work closely with IOP participants in the groups and in the individualized private sessions to ensure that their healing is as beneficial and long lasting as possible. 

In 2014, approximately 21.5 million Americans struggled with addiction, as published by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). This makes addiction one of the most common diseases for people in the United States. IOP programs have been helping people create long-lasting habits and safety nets that prevent them from relapsing back into the crippling arms of substance abuse. We would like to take the time to show gratitude and appreciation for not only the providers and doctors that help clients through their program but also the people who have recovered and are now living rich and fulfilling lives.

 

If you would like to learn more about IOP please click the LINK.

AA and The 12 Step Program

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AA, Abuse, Drug, Alcohol, Group, Anonymous, Therapy, alcoholics
AA Group

 

The first 12 step program was created by the founders of “Alcoholics Anonymous,” AA for short. It was incepted in 1935 by Bill Wilson, a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob Smith, an Akron surgeon. They started as hopeless alcoholics in a mostly nonalcoholic fellowship that emphasized universal spiritual values in daily living. They successfully were able to become sober through surrendering themselves to a higher power and then by helping other alcoholics.

Their program was so successful for treating alcohol dependency that it was implemented with the treatment of abused substances thus creating “Narcotics Annonymous.” The 12 steps were founded around spirituality, but many nonreligious people have benefited immensely from their practice. Recovery is a process that takes time and effort to get through but by following the 12 steps a tremendous amount of people have finally been able to break the chains of substance abuse.

Here are the individual steps listed 1-12.

1). We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.
2). Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3). Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4). Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5). Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6). Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
7). Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings
8). Made a list of persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9). Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10). Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11). Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12). Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

As you can see, there is a heavy emphasis on religion as a driving factor for recovery in the program. Some people have reported that instead of using God as their higher power they employ the idea of their loved ones or their future self in place of God. The two most important steps reported by successful program members are; admitting you have a problem you cannot solve and being vocal with your group about your struggles. Both of these have the same psychological effect in the way that when you admit you have a problem you then allow yourself to be open to healing in the form of suggestion and personal growth. Overall the AA programs of today report a 36% success rate for recovery.

 

If you are more interested in how Alcoholics Anonymous was created and how it helps people click HERE!

Habits For 2019 To Develop

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Exercise, Habits, Habit, Develop, Clinic, Sage, Brain.
Exercise

2019 is finally here and we would like to share some habits we think would help you to triumphantly get through this year. It is time to get to be where you always dreamed you could be but have maybe strayed from the path. In times of great difficulty, you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training. The more training you have the more opportunity you will achieve. Luck is a series of two things coming into fruition at one time, opportunity and preparation. These habits will prepare you for the opportunities that will appear in this New Year.

Say yes more often than saying no. Saying yes to something you previously would have been uninclined to do will move you out of your comfort zone and into new territory. In this landscape, we learn so much more about ourselves and how our insecurities hold us back from the life we were destined to live. The more frequently we can be out of our element the more we will grow. Say yes to asking out your crush, taking on more than your share at work, getting up earlier to go to the gym. We are all so much more capable than we think.

Make your bed in the morning. By performing this simple task you start the day off by having a win. You performed a task that you did not think to be important or having much merit, but in contrast, you have actually trained yourself to go the extra mile. This behavior also gives you ownership over the situation you have created and take pride in rectifying them. The U.S military makes their boot camp soldiers make their bed every morning and is where this philosophy has been developed from.

Take ownership of your problems in life. When you own the problem you also own the win you get from the solution. Playing the victim of your life will not develop any form of success, only hardship, and sorrow. Take some time out of your day whether that be in the shower or in the car on the way to work and state, out loud, 5 things you are thankful for. We all get caught up in the problems that affect us each day and somehow forget the things we have that are positive in our life. Hate your boss? Be happy for your home, your family, or any other sort of benefit you have. No matter what circumstance you find yourself in, just remember how good you actually have it.

A powerful perspective and growth fueled mindset will propel you farther into a more well-developed character than carrying on in the mundane trenches of fear.

Need more motivation? Check the LINK here.

How To Set Goals And Motivate

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Setting Goals

 

When you plan a road trip, do you just get in the car and start driving? No, of course not! You determine a place you want to go, the route to get there, and necessary supplies you’ll need to get there. This is the same philosophy we need to have for goal planning. The reason that so many of us feel like a passenger to our life is due to the fact that you are living like that! When you go through your journey without a concrete vision of where you want to be and the goals it will take to get there you end up living the classic American life of monotony and unfulfillment.

It’s time to take hold of your life and be the captain of your ship and not the person rowing someone else’s. Goal planning starts with a vision, where or what do you want to have or to be. This process is sometimes the most difficult because we don’t always know where we want to be and we definitely don’t know how to get there. Start by asking yourself simple questions, when you close your eyes and see the premiere lifestyle you want to live, start with that. Now, what does it take to get there? It’s going to be hard work and many hours of struggle but the feeling of achievement will rival almost any adversary.

Set a few easy goals to get going and build that momentum and motivation for yourself. When a boxer takes a hiatus from bouts and training they usually come back to fight a couple of easy matches to build their confidence and reacclimate to the lifestyle. Think of this as yourself, maybe set a goal of not eating fast food for a month and feel that power you get once it’s complete. There will be moments where your self defeating tendencies rear their ugly faces to you, but just know that you are infinitely powerful and when you are ready to give up, success is just on the other side.

So go out and become the captain, become the person you were always meant to be. Nothing breeds more regret and self-loathing than an unfulfilled life that sits on the foundation of wasted potential. We all have greatness within us, the only difference between someone who has succeeded and someone that hasn’t is that they were more willing to realize it than you were.

 

Still need help with goal planning? Check out this LINK!

The History and Roles of Vitamins

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Vitamin, Nutrition, Clinic, Behavior, Brain,Vitamins
Vitamins

Your brain is so vastly complex that is hypothesized to be able to store 100 terabytes of information, that is 100,000 gigabytes! The average computer can only hold 500 gigabytes of storage. When it comes to being able to recall all of this information it is vital for you to have the appropriate amount of vitamins and minerals for healthy development of this massive hard drive. Vitamins were discovered around the late 1800s and popularized in the 1920s by Casimir Funk and originally called “vitamine” before vitamin.

The reason that vitamins benefited humans so radically is due to most humans on Earth not getting the enough essential; vitamin C, B12, D, along with many others. It has been shown that a lack of B12 in the body can cause the early onset of Alzheimer’s, a debilitating disease that strips you of your memory and currently has no cure. The mechanism of action behind this correlation is that B12 has been shown to decrease levels of homocysteine which is one of the main factors for the loss of memory. Most people get their daily allotment from various forms of fish, poultry, and meat products. This can be a problem if you are a vegetarian or live in a lower economic country that does not have access to higher quality meals.

Arguably one of the most important vitamins has to be Vitamin C. Vitamin C is peculiar in the way that the body does not store it, it only comes from foods that we consume. It is vital for maintaining the production of neurotransmitters, tendons, ligaments, skin, and helps to metabolize proteins. When someone is at a high level of Vitamin C deficiency they are very susceptible to the condition called scurvy. Someone that has this ailment would exhibit signs of swollen bleeding gums, the opening of healed wounds, and can be fatal if left unchecked. Scurvy primarily affected sailors due to their lack of being able to consume meats on their long voyages. Most one a day vitamins contain enough Vitamin C to be able to combat these issues.

We have a tremendous amount of gratitude that we owe to Casimir Funk and his team of scientists that made vitamins an easy to consume product. Without his hard work the number of malnourished people would be dramatically higher and along with that an increase in mortality rate.

 

Interested in Casimir Funk still? Here is a link with more INFO.

Mindfulness And How It Empowers You

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Mindfulness

 

The dichotomy of life is that in order for there to be light, there must be dark. It is vital to understand that if everything were to be great all of the time then the appreciation for it would dissipate entirely. When darkness is around us we will always have one thing to keep us affixed to help us with struggling through the journey, hope. The practice of mindfulness shows you that there are a tremendous amount of things in your life that are going well, this will help you to center your current perspective.

Starting your journey to living a mindful life will be arguably the hardest part. Shifting your train of thought from only seeing the negative to positive can be achieved in various matters. One is meditation, this will help you identify with your problems in a more objective sense. When ideas enter your mind pretend like you are observing clouds moving in and then out of your mind. Recognize they are there but just let them pass through and out making way for others to enter and pass. Meditating can be performed adequately with only 5-10 minutes and you will be surprised how many thoughts you actually have in that time span.

Intimately knowing the cause of your emotions is important for you to deeply understand on your journey to mindfulness. Anxiety is the response of being too caught up in future events, depression is caused by being too worried about past events. When you are at peace, you have achieved clarity of being in the moment. It is important for us to learn from our previous mistakes and have some ideas of goal planning for the future but it is vital for our mental health to appreciate what we have going for us now. When moving into this state of mind look at your surroundings; see the trees for all their beauty, feel the clothes on your body, and focus more of your vision out of your primary focal point and into your peripheral vision. This state of being pulls anxiety out of your life and centers you in your current situation.

Mindfulness can be one of the greatest tools we have in our toolbox, but it is important to keep it sharpened for those challenging times. Over time you will see a dramatic shift in your perspective as well as prosperity in your life. This is not a superpower but you will feel like you have one after you are done though.

 

Having a hard time with mindfulness? Check out the link for some extra tips.

Your New Years Resolution Goals

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Psychology, Goals, Clinic, Brain, Depression,
Dreams

 

We’ve all been there before, its the third day of your New Year’s resolution and heading to the gym doesn’t sound as appealing as continuing your 2nd week of binge-watching The Office. The psychology behind this is simple, something you have established as a habit has a tremendously higher pull than the new activity you wish to pursue. It is proven that new habits take anywhere between two-three weeks to develop. This is where discipline and mental toughness will be your best partners throughout this trifling journey.

Fewer than 10% of all people that set their resolution follow through for more than a month. One of the most crucial things that you can establish when it comes to sticking with your difficult life change is determining what your goal is. Whether that be losing weight, being more positive, or finally growing into the person you are destined to become. You need to also have an answer set in your mind that is there to confront your internal dialogue when the going gets tough. When your alarm goes off and hitting that snooze button for the 3rd time seems like it’s not that big of a deal, you are wrong. A precedence for the day has been set; you are willing to tap out before the going even begins to get tough. You need to have an answer ready and at attention to go to battle with the snooze button so you can get up and get moving.

A justification for your lack of execution on your resolution will derail you from your goals faster than anything. Saying things like “I’ll work out harder tomorrow to make up for this cake today” is the echo of your previous self pulling you back into your old habits. Put yourself out on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and check in on those platforms to let people know how you are doing. Making yourself accountable for your actions can help keep you affixed to them because now it’s not just you who will see if you stray from your journey. Make sure to keep that momentum going though. It is one of the most powerful things you could ever have behind you driving you forward.

Sometimes we all need a little help with our resolutions and imagine how far you will be along when a whole year comes to a close. Would you rather be crushing your goals or still on that couch looking for the next T.V show on Netflix?

 

Having trouble finding motivation? Click the link HERE to get fired up!

Nutrition and How it Impacts the Brain

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nutrition, brain, disease, addiction, clinic, depressed
Balance

 

Your brain is an organ that is always on and working to maintain your bodily functions no matter what the circumstance is. It never takes a sick day, calls in late to work, or makes excuses about its performance. For your brain to work at its highest level, you need to give it the nutrients it needs to keep you running at your best. Some people have the idea that running to Starbucks to grab your favorite caramel macchiato will pep you up enough to get through the morning and hopefully squeeze you past that mid-afternoon crash. In all reality though, you are doing more harm than good by depriving the sustenance you would get by actually having a caloric dense breakfast. Quality of nutrition is something that we all need to strive for if we desire the highest level of cognitive performance.

The brains primary source of fuel is fat, so much so in fact that if you were to eat nothing but entirely lean foods you would experience a condition referred to as “Protein Poisoning.” This condition causes diarrhea, headaches, and severe discomfort. In severe cases, it can cause death due to a lack of nutritional requirement being left out of one’s diet. The brain is comprised of 60 percent fat, more than any other organ in the entire body. That is why it is so vital to get at least 20-35 percent of your calories from fat which equals around 44 to 77 grams if you eat a 2,000 calorie diet.

Essential fatty acids are what are the driver for your brains integrity and ability to perform. These acids are so crucial in part because the body cannot make these and are only introduced into the body by consuming them. They are responsible for the; formation of healthy cell membranes, proper development of the young brain and nervous system, as well as a gamut of other incredibly vital functions. There are many essential fatty acids, and each plays their unique role in the body as well as the brain to help aid in homeostasis.

The brain is a pretty important organ that we all have occasionally neglected it by passing on a meal for added productivity at work. This type of prolonged behavior can result in lowered testosterone levels in men and a decrease in estrogen for women. It is imperative for our bodies overall operations to stick to a concise eating schedule that has all of our daily requirements being met.

 

Curious to learn more about fatty acids? Click the link to learn MORE!

History Of Behavioral Health Treatment

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Behavioral, Group, Study, health, Addiction, Therapy, Depressed
Behavioral Health Study Group

 

Humans have come a long way in many aspects of our medical and cultural education over the years. Behavioral health treatment initially was treated with much more barbaric and unethical tactics than those that are being performed today. We have all heard the horror stories of people being condemned to asylums to become the victims of electroshock therapy, freezing water baths, and in some severe cases being the subject of lobotomy procedures. Thankfully we have had people throughout history like the author Nellie Bly who posed as a patient of Blackwell’s Asylum to document the living conditions and treatments of those poor people. Her brave contributions brought these heinous crimes to light in the eyes of the public.

Behavioral health therapy has never had more success in its entire history than it has in the 21st century. The therapists, providers, and doctors that are now treating people afflicted with these issues now have tremendous amounts of helpful data to aid in their work. One of the most beneficial things to come out of behavioral health studies was the creation of SSRI medications. SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and is a class of drugs that typically are used to treat depression and anxiety disorders. The first models of these drugs dated back to the 1950s but did not see the acclaimed use that they have now until the early to mid-1980s. The current models of these drugs have undergone much change since its inception and have helped 100s of millions of people globally.

New cutting-edge technologies are always being developed by scientists to further help patients navigate the arduous journey that their recovery might entail. One of the newest creations in this field is the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation device or for short, TMS. This is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to help improve behavioral health symptoms. With relatively no risk and minimal side effects, this new tech is showing tremendously positive results among its users. This modality is so new in fact that the FDA approved it for use in 2008 showing just how committed these physicians are at advancing the quality of treatment that people are receiving.

We all owe a lot to the brave men and women who changed the course of action in the way we treat the most important organ in our body, the brain. without these advancements and current developments, who knows exactly how these behavioral health issues would be treated in the 21st century. The field is ever expanding and holds much positive direction heading into the future.

 

If you are curious about Nellie Bly’s findings you can find them by clicking this link: Nellie Bly