Your Universal Need for Safety & Security

Recovery from mental health and substance use disorders includes analyzing core beliefs and truths about your safety in the world. This week we define and develop safe and secure behaviors, places, people, and situations.

When we don't feel safe, our body and brain remember. They develop memories and when those memories turn into constant reminders we have been or could be hurt, we forget that we deserve, and can develop, safety in our lives.

A focus on the physiological aspects of mental health disorders

This week we dive into how mental health and substance use issues are systemic and provide opportunities to learn and develop somatic and physiological-based coping and relapse prevention skills.

Mental health issues affect every system in our body and brain. In order to truly understand the importance of stability, you need to dive into what's really happening within you and what you can do about it.

Your Symptoms a.k.a. Your Unconscious Patterns

Heightened emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors such as problematic substance use teach the brain and body a routine of trauma, dysregulation, and overall stress. This week teaches cognitive and emotional restructuring to prevent relapse and symptom regression.

The longer we're distressed, the sooner our body adapts to a lifestyle of anxiety and stress. Your brain, body, and mind are in need of new experiences, internal pathways, and behavioral choices.

We All Have Esteem Needs

We define self-esteem as your level of perceived self-abilities and self-worth balanced with others' perceptions of you. This week we utilize interventions that address and improve interpersonal behaviors, executive functioning, sensitivities, and psychological distress.

Self-esteem is about a lot more than feeling good about yourself. It involves feeling competent, capable, seen, and accepted. Substance use and constant mental distress affect these aspects of ourselves significantly.

Recovery is not linear. 

This week we explore how symptom regression and substance relapse are common experiences throughout the recovery process and provide opportunities to learn and develop relapse and regression prevention and coping skills to support a path forward even during difficult times.

We understand that letting down the defense mechanisms such as self-sabotage or anger and disengaging with the substances that numbed the pain can be difficult, and we're here to support you every step of the way.

Your Community-Based Needs

Relationships are crucial for sustained recovery. This week you learn how to develop healthy connections within multiple areas of life including supportive peers, safe family members, stable communities, and respectful partners.

As much as recovery from mental health and substance use disorders involves self-work and independent growth, it also relies heavily on interpersonal relationships and a sense of community. Even if your recovery journey requires significant alone time, you still deserve to know where your community is and how to connect with them when you're ready.

Your full health is a priority for us.

The impacts of unmet health-related social needs (HRSNs), such as homelessness, inconsistent access to food, and exposure to violence on health and health care utilization, are well-established. This week we examine the HRSN screen completed by you and process, provide support for, and teach you skills for the many social aspects that have been contributing to your present difficulties.

Living a Life You Want as "You"

Psychological dysregulation from mental health disorders and addictive substance use can make it difficult to feel like "you". This week is about developing adaptive responses to shame, blame, the desire or push to "mask", and how to appropriately set self- and other-boundaries for internal stability.

At Exist, we define self-actualization as the experience you have when you realize your potential, see a purpose for living and a meaning to life, and take steps to move towards that potential. It sounds "fluffy", and it's important. You deserve to understand and exist in the world as the real "you".