Family Involvement Archives | Oceanside Malibu

What Is Emotional Abuse?

What is emotional abuse? Are you a victim of someone’s mind games? Nobody enjoys being played, but predators enjoy playing people. They enjoy the game of cat-and-mouse and seek pleasure from reeling in their next vulnerable victim. More often than not, people who are prone to being taken advantage of by potential abusers overlook their innocent facades. In fact, they often make excuses for them, even when they’re being poorly mistreated by toxic behavior. Why would this be? Those whom tend to emotionally abuse people aren’t always obvious. They may be male or female. They can disguise themselves by being charming but he minimization of your needs is paramount. more »

Family Involvement At Oceanside Malibu

At Oceanside Malibu we provide individualized evidence based recovery programs designed to address a client’s current life circumstances and specific underlying problems and issues. While the first and most critical step is to remain abstinent from drugs and alcohol we also know that there are many reasons why people become addicts and alcoholics. Our team of treatment professionals work to properly access each client so they can begin the healing process and gain the tools they need in order to replace their old destructive methods of dulling their pain. In addition to having a strong 12 step program, we focus more intensely than other treatment programs in working with each more »

Trauma in People with Addiction

Traumatic events can leave a person feeling unstable long after the event has passed. Sometimes trauma can cause post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. PTSD occurs when trauma and associated feelings are not resolved. Symptoms of PTSD include: sleep disturbance, nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, depression, excessive fears, impulsivity and addictive behaviors. People with unresolved trauma often turn to alcohol and other drugs to self-medicate. this may alleviate their stress temporarily but it is never a long-term solution eventually substance abuse becomes yet another source of pain and trouble for an already suffering person. Lifestyle choices can also put a substance abuser in harm’s way far more often than the general public. While more »

Cutting & Self-Harm

During the teen years we develop coping mechanisms to handle stressful events and emotions. However cutting and other types of self-harm are increasingly being seen as acceptable coping methods for adolescent girls and boys. This may mean cutting the arms, legs or stomach, burning the skin, scratching or hitting oneself, or even intentionally breaking bones. While these behaviors are alarming and cause for concern, they are generally meant to make the person feel better not to cause death. The term used to describe this type of behavior is Non-Suicidal Self-Injury or NSSI. The most common type of NSSI is cutting to inflict injury, and people who do this are sometimes more »

Masculine Vulnerability

There’s a lot of talk right now about Toxic Masculinity but did you know that there is a type of masculinity that not enough men are bringing to the table? It’s called Masculine Vulnerability and it’s a critical part of building rapport with others. As young boys, we’re often taught that we are only entitled to two types of feelings: happiness or anger. To express fear, or sadness or vulnerability of any kind is a form of weakness that we should feel ashamed of. We then grow up to become men who don’t allow ourselves to feel a large array of feelings. If we do actually have different feelings (which more »

What It’s Like To Be A Highly Sensitive Person

What It’s Like To Be A Highly Sensitive Person Many people use the phrase, “you’re being too sensitive”, as if sensitivity is a choice and it’s a bad one, that’s not what it means to be a highly sensitive person. Being a highly sensitive person has got to do with the nervous system that you’re born with, which comes from the genes you inherit from your parents. We all have a nervous system. It’s the thing that notices all the stuff happening both inside and outside of your body and it sends that information to your brain. It’s also what helps you sense and feel. So, when you feel, ‘brrr, more »