Toxic shame is a deep emotion that causes an intense feeling of inadequacy. If not healed, it can lead to addiction, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and uncontrollable anger.
Group therapy is a popular form of treatment. It involves at least one therapist engaging with a number of people in therapy at the same time. It has been seen that this type of therapy helps a person to talk about issues with the support of other people who are going through similar problems. It helps with connection to others.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
What does anxiety do to you? What can anxiety do to your mind and body? How can anxiety affect someone's life? What relieves anxiety?
This article was written by Giles Fourie
An "enabler" is a person who encourages or allows self-destructive behaviour in another. That means any habit that's detrimental to the person and usually those around them too.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Addiction recovery doesn’t end when a person finishes at rehab. Recovery is a lifelong pursuit of positive habit building, maintaining mental wellbeing and avoiding negative triggers that may lead to relapse.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Drug abuse can cause a variety of physical disorders and have a negative impact on your mental, behavioural, social and emotional wellbeing.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Children smile around 400 times per day, but as adults, we only smile about 20 times a day. That's not healthy for adults as it's been proven that smiling is good for us.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is a mental disorder affecting more than 264 million people worldwide. We are made to have all sorts of emotions ranging from joy to sadness. They are a completely natural part of life. There's a big difference between feeling a little sad and having depression.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Are you dependent on your devices? Do you feel the need to be in constant contact with others? Do you find yourself obsessively checking for emails, messages, missed calls? Are you continually engaged on social media - mindlessly scrolling for satisfaction?
This article was written by Giles Fourie
It seems like a riddle: those who have experienced past trauma often put themselves in situations to experience similar trauma. It’s not a conscious decision either. They don’t think to themselves: I will put myself through more pain on purpose.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Science research has established that daily cuddles with your pet are good for both of you. Just 30 minutes with a puppy positively affects your brain chemistry and changes the bodies stress response. Pet cuddles can also play an important role in improving your physical health and helping relieve anxiety and depression. They can help to reduce our blood pressure in stressful situations, lower cholesterol and increase physical activity.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
With the world currently experiencing varying levels of grief, it’s important that mental health professionals continue to spread the message surrounding grief and the many ways it manifests.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
A bad night's sleep every now and then is fine. But when a bad night, turns into a bad week, turns into a bad month. Sleep deprivation starts to take over our lives. We feel tired all day, our work performance drops and we're grouchy with our family.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Finding the perfect location for rehab isn’t always easy. For most, it requires an environment that provides enough stimulation without feeling overwhelming or feeding bad habits. There is a myriad of reasons why you should choose South Africa as the ideal luxury rehab destination, such as nature, wildlife, culture, and excellence in the field of substance abuse and burnout programs.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
High-functioning anxiety is not easily detectable, mostly because those living with it continue their day-to-day life and appear to be fine on the outside.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Through exhaustive research, psychologists are slowly discovering the reasons and triggers which cause substance abuse and addiction. Research tells us that biological and experiential factors trigger addiction.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
You may have noticed that what you eat and drink can lift or lower your spirits. It affects how we feel, think and even how we behave. Some foods are known to lift your mood, concentration and energy levels, while others can have the opposite effect.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Alcohol is an integral part of everyday life for many of us. We joke about our intake and the need for alcohol to get us through stressful situations. Mostly, we don’t even consider alcohol to be a drug, in the sense of marijuana, cocaine or heroin.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Research generously and continuously supports ecotherapy as a key benefit to mental health. In fact, just the suggestion of nature seems to improve human mental health. A study carried out by Mind found that 95% of those interviewed said their mood improved after spending time outdoors. They noted a change from depressed, stressed and anxious, to calm and balanced.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Once you have taken the decisive step towards professional help. Your choice of where to undergo treatment should be based on finding a centre that closely matches your rehabilitation goals and offers an encompassing and safe environment.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
There are many situations that can cause high levels of stress, such as high-pressure executive careers, financial problems or difficult relationships. Often one may lead to another leading to a cumulative effect, with each stressor building on top of the other.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
You have been working at maximum velocity. Long working hours mean you have little time to rest, exercise or sit down to a healthy and relaxed meal. This has been happening over a period of time now, and you feel physically drained and mentally exhausted.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
South Africa has an abundance of diverse and breathtaking scenery, a vibrant culture, and magnificent wildlife: three major factors which influence our wellbeing and inspire us to reach optimum health and happiness. It’s why the country is an exceptional destination for those seeking a successful recovery from addiction, burnout or mental health issues.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Although many of us think it’s possible to live on pure adrenalin alone, sadly it’s not the case. A 2018 Gallup study of 7,500 employees found that a significant 23% reported feeling burnt out at work very often or always, and 44% feel burnt out at work sometimes.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
They call ecstasy the ‘love drug’ because it amps up your sensations and people using it feel things at a heightened level; colours, sound and touch. It’s great if you’re clubbing or at a manic music concert because you lose all your inhibitions and can dance and rave all night long. And sex on ecstasy is mind-blowing. But what they don’t tell you is ecstasy also causes deep depression, confusion, severe anxiety, paranoia and other very scary psychotic episodes. It’s a synthetic drug and the short burst of exhilaration on ecstasy doesn’t last anywhere as long as the depressed slump you go into after your crazy night out.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Nestled in an ancient garden on the outskirts of the town of White River, the gateway to the Kruger National Park, White River Manor offers a comprehensive treatment programme tailored to meet the individual needs of clients seeking peace and quiet in one of the world’s most beautiful spots.Regarded as one of the best addiction treatment centres in South Africa, it offers five-star accommodation and world-class treatment in a tranquil setting with the aim of offering clients a life-changing experience.ional use” was in fact regular use and he was likely dealing with a serious drug addiction.White River Manor was founded by Jerry Hartless, Giles Fourie and Jeanine Fourie, who bought the 14-hectare property to create a facility that offered better care than Hartless had experienced in the United States. When it opened in 2015, the result was a top-class centre that offers luxury accommodation and faultless service at a fraction of the cost of international rehab facilities.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
That’s a question many people are asking now that dagga is legal for private use in South Africa. There were a lot of funny memes doing the rounds on social media when the news broke in September 2018 but the bigger debate is, “is South Africa courting the devil”? Marijuana, weed, cannabis, dope, dagga… whatever you call it, tends to be used as a social drug and it’s seen as a ‘soft drug’. Supposedly, it’s harmless and not addictive, and certainly less harmful than hardtack alcohol and less addictive than cigarettes. Is it? Or is it a gateway drug that leads to harder and more destructive drug addiction?
This article was written by Giles Fourie
This is a question only you can answer and it’s not the easiest thing to do. Unless you’ve got to a really bad place in your life and risk losing everything; you can go a long time thinking, “I can handle this”. But in the end, the drugs you’re using will end up controlling you. Here’s a list of questions that were drawn up by recovering addicts as part of their recovery programme. They’re blunt questions with no sugar coating. All you need to do is answer them honestly.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Non-religious addicts or addicts who practise a different religion are as likely to benefit from the programme; particularly, as part of an after-care programme where the 12-step programme can help to reinforce what they’ve discovered about themselves in rehab. Like them or hate them, AA-type meetings have been around for decades and have been life-saving for countless people.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
An intervention is often a last-gasp attempt to convince a loved one struggling with addiction to get help. They’ve become more and more popular over the last 20 years and given rise to reality TV shows where families are filmed confronting a son or daughter in the grip of a drug or alcohol addiction.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Studies show that at least 50% of people living with a mental illness have a substance abuse problem. Similarly, more than half of the people battling with alcohol and drug addiction have a common mental health disorder.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
Harry arrived at White River Manor seeking help for executive burnout. It had been a hard, exhausting year with excessive stress building up month after month. A short stint in a calm, tranquil environment was what he needed to escape the relentless pressures of work and get back on track physically, mentally and emotionally. Healthy meals and exercise would do the trick. So he thought.
This article was written by Giles Fourie
