Category: Blog

One Day at a Time: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Your cross to bear

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow This prose is a nice reminder to live one day at a time: There are two days in every week about which we should not worry. Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone. The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow. With its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will…

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High-Functioning Alcoholism and the Dangers of Denial

High Functioning Alcoholics

The High-Functioning Alcoholic High-functioning alcoholism is harder to identify because it doesn’t fit the “drunk” stereotype. When people say the word ‘alcoholic,’ they instantly have a vision of an old man sitting in a park with a paper bag, with a can in it. Suzi MacDonald, Addictions Counsellor They don’t think of suburban moms or people with high-powered careers – but often, these people are fighting an internal battle with alcohol addiction that no one, including themselves, can clearly see. A high-functioning alcoholic, or HFA, is someone who is psychologically dependent on alcohol but able to live a normal life, continuing to perform in their social, professional and familial roles. While on the surface this type of alcoholism appears to have less impact, it presents its own set of dangers, including a more deeply entrenched denial and stronger resistance to…

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Play the Tape Through

Play the tape through

Play the Tape Through: A Strategy To Prevent Relapse Newcomers to recovery need all the help they can get! There is a little gem of a relapse prevention strategy we find especially helpful. We call this strategy, “Play the Tape Through”. A Kit of Spiritual Tools There is a shining promise made in the 12 Step recovery literature. Well, there are a LOT of promises throughout the literature. But, one promise is about being able to access a kit of spiritual tools. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.   p. 25 Big Book Okay, that may sound kind of esoteric. So, let’s get right down to it. In very practical terms let’s talk through…

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Transformation After Addiction

Transformation From Addiction

Life Transformation in Addiction Treatment At Serenity Vista, the premier luxury private-pay rehab retreat in Panama, we help recovering drug addicts and alcoholics with complete transformation of their lives. We combine nearly a half century of treatment expertise, a deeply compassionate staff, and highly individualized holistic programs. Above physical sobriety and beyond freedom from addictive behavior, we take addiction recovery to the next level by offering a transformative recovery experience not found elsewhere. Naturally a renewed, healthy, and sober life sounds wonderful to anyone struggling from alcoholism or drug addiction. And while a fresh and substance-free life is indeed a well-earned reward, by its very nature, it represents a major life change. Change Let’s face it. Change is tough. Even if the change is positive, it is never easy. Most people resist or avoid it altogether, and they tend to…

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Treatment for Alcohol, Nicotine, Drugs and other Addictions in Panama

Panama, Central America Treatment for Alcoholism

Quality Addiction Treatment for Alcohol, Nicotine, Drugs, and other forms of Addiction in Panama Discovering that you or a loved one have a problem with alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, other drugs, or behaviors involving sex, gambling or food can be very upsetting. Most likely you never imagined in your wildest dreams that you or your loved one would become an addict. You have seen success in so many other areas of life, right? A ‘take charge’ kind of person: work hard and play hard. But, little by slowly this picture of success has become a little shabbier at the edges. Secrets. Shame. Guilt. Remorse.  Living a double life, fear of being caught, perhaps feeding the fire of organized crime? What? That’s not what you signed up for! You just want to have a good life! You love your family. I don’t…

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Recovery is Addiction Freedom

Free From Addiction - A New View

Recovery is Freedom from Addiction Addiction is about Control – Recovery is about Freedom Let us explore how recovery is addiction freedom. The desire for freedom is one of the most basic human emotions. From the beginning, young children assert themselves as independent choice makers and launch themselves into violent tantrums when their freedoms are denied or stifled. Later, in dramatic displays of sovereignty, teenagers rebel against authority at every turn. Adults are no different. What we want and value most in life is pure and simple freedom. Rightfully so, we worship it as our god-given right. And like children, we too erupt in protest when our free will is threatened. No matter the age, we want control of our lives and we have little tolerance if someone or something encroaches on them. Control This is why addiction is torturous…

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Endless Sober Summer

Endless Sober Summer in tropical paradise at Serenity Vista Alcohol & Drug Rehab

Sobriety Most people whether sober or not are familiar with the classic surf film The Endless Summer – or at least most have heard the phrase at one point in their lives or another. The phrase conjures up images of swaying palm trees, lazy Hawaiian slide guitars, and paper umbrella fanned out over sweet tropical cocktails. As if in a Beach Boys song, endless summer means long unending days on the beach followed by warm, tiki torch nights with friends. We’ve all dreamed of an “endless summer” before. And many people, at some point in their lives, have even had a taste of it. They can remember those feelings of light minds and carelessness that accompany summer. Summar has a particularly tantalizing appeal in 2020. Much of the world has been under strict quarantine with strict social distancing due to…

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Addiction, Anxiety & Depression

Drug Rehab costs

Addiction, Anxiety, & Depression – Common Co-Occurring Disorders Co-Occurring Disorders – What does this mean? Co-Occurring disorder is a replacement term. It replaces the terms dual disorder and dual diagnosis. The term refers to an individual who has a co-existing substance-use disorder and a mental illness. Working in the addiction field, we hear the term co-occurring disorder often. The term can apply in the vast majority of people seeking help for alcoholism or other forms of addiction. Addiction manifests in many ways. And many of those ways overlap with symptoms that may be termed mental health conditions. Thus, at Serenity Vista, we treat addiction as the primary condition. That includes it’s many and varied manifestations. Therefore, the solution is to treat the whole person. In contrast, we do not focus on one specific diagnosis. The solution encompasses body, mind, and spirit. Therefore, it is…

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Father’s Day and Addiction Recovery

Father's Day and Addiction Recovery at Serenity Vista Drug Rehab

Addiction Recovery Father’s Day is a special day of celebration and reverence for most. A time set aside to honor that magical relationship between a father and his cherished children. Addiction Changes Everything Sadly though, many families today live with the pain of alcoholism or substance abuse. For these unfortunate souls, Father’s Day opens old wounds and recalls memories of abuse and sadness. For children living with an alcoholic or drug-addict dad, Father’s Day is an emotional struggle. A struggle wrought with confusion, resent, and pain. People who grow up in the presence of addicted dads endure a lifetime of suffering. The dysfunction can span those formative years as children, through adolescence and up to the socially sensitive teen years. These are important years as they seek to establish their identities. Into adulthood, they themselves often become addicts modeled after their…

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