Laguna Treatment Center

10/13/2026

Depression can make you miss a version of yourself you never thought you'd lose.

The energy you had. The things you looked forward to. The enjoyment you found in everyday life.

Sometimes those changes happen so gradually that you don't realize how different you feel until you look back.

For some people, alcohol or drugs become a way to cope with those feelings. But substance use can also worsen depression, making it even harder to feel like yourself.

For National Depression Education & Awareness Month, we're asking you to Look Closer.

Losing interest in activities, persistent fatigue, and changes in how you feel or function can be signs of depression.

Recognizing those changes is important. So is knowing that help is available.

We've shared a free depression screening resource in the first comment.

10/13/2026

About 1 in 10 patients at Laguna Treatment Center come to us for treatment involving m**hamphetamine use.

But what does long-term m**h use actually do to the body and mind?

The effects can go far beyond dental problems, affecting the heart, blood pressure, and mental health.

Dr. Chuck Smith, addictionologist at our Recovery First Treatment Center in Florida, explains some of the complications of long-term m**h use and what healing can look like.

10/12/2026

Getting sober doesn't mean the feelings you used to escape suddenly disappear.

Anxiety. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Sometimes they show up when you least expect them. And without the substances you once turned to, figuring out what to do with those feelings can be hard.

That's what we're talking about tomorrow on AAC Thrive live!

What do you do when the feelings you used to escape show up in recovery?

Join the conversation Tuesday, October 13, at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET.

🔗 Find the link to join in the comments.

10/11/2026

Leaving residential treatment shouldn't mean leaving behind the relationships you've built with your treatment team.

That's part of the thinking behind Laguna Treatment Center's Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program, which allows patients to continue receiving care from familiar clinicians while returning to their daily lives.

Sigmund Software recently featured the program in an article with Laguna Clinical Director and COO Chris Cummins, who discusses why continuity of care is so important and how virtual treatment can help patients stay engaged in recovery.

Thank you to Sigmund for highlighting our program!

Read the article at the link in the comments.

The importance of continuity of care in successfully treating addiction cannot be overstated. Laguna Treatment Center in Orange County, Calif., has taken an innovative approach to maintaining patients’ engagement as they transition to a less intensive level of care, leveraging technology to keep i...

10/10/2026

You can share a home with someone, see them every day, and still have no idea how much they're struggling.

Marci was a people pleaser and a perfectionist. She had gotten really good at making everything look okay on the outside, even as she was breaking down inside.

On October 4, 2015, she sat down with her husband and finally said, “I need help.”

This month, we're looking closer, and we hope you do the same. Sometimes the people closest to us are carrying things we can't see.

Hear more of Marci's story in her full Addiction Talk interview. Link in the comments.

10/09/2026

You can be surrounded by people and still be isolating.

Leaving messages unanswered. Canceling plans. Saying “I'm fine” so nobody asks more questions.

Maddie, the Alumni Coordinator at Desert Hope, our sister facility in Las Vegas, talks about the subtle changes in thinking and behavior that can signal trouble in recovery, often before someone returns to substance use.

Hear the full conversation in the latest episode of AAC Thrive: Doing Life in Recovery. 💛

🎧 Listen at the link in the comments.

10/08/2026

Someone can show up to work, laugh with friends, make plans, and still be struggling with depression.

On , we're encouraging you to check in with yourself, too. A depression screening can be a first step toward understanding what you're experiencing.

Take a free screening at the link in the comments. 💚

10/07/2026

It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

Addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma, trouble sleeping—more than one can be affecting you at the same time.

When substance use and mental health concerns overlap, treatment can address both.

If some of this feels familiar, learn more here: https://loom.ly/wEFuIW0

10/05/2026

Peter was getting mental health treatment. It wasn’t helping. And alcohol felt like it was.

For years, he kept asking why.

Now a few years into recovery, the Laguna Treatment Center alum sees it differently. Alcohol wasn’t a substitute for mental health treatment that actually worked.

Sometimes substance use is the part we see first. It's rarely the whole story.

10/03/2026

What if recovery isn’t about giving som**hing up?

For author and recovery advocate Marci Hopkins, alcohol once felt like the one thing she couldn’t imagine living without.

But in recovery, she saw it differently. She wasn’t losing alcohol. She was getting her life back.

And that gave her the chance to figure out what she wanted that life to look like. ❤️

Hear more from Marci in the full conversation on the Addiction Talk podcast. Link in the comments. 👇