I’m excited to have a guest post for you today from Susan Treadway. She is from Rehab Holistics. While I do not have firsthand experience with recovery, I have been impacted by friends and family through their recovery.
How Fitness and Alternative Coping Methods Aid Recovery
There is no need to explain how difficult and exhausting recovery can be. From fighting cravings and unlearning habits to dealing with withdrawal, it can take all of your energy. Thankfully, there are ways to facilitate recovery and make it less emotionally and physically exhausting.
The Benefits of Exercise in Recovery
It is difficult to mention the benefits of exercise when maintaining sobriety. Different people may respond to different aspects of participating in exercise. Some find that taking classes and being in a group environment is incredibly supportive. You are working with other people, and you are all accomplishing positive goals and working towards health together. You can depend on them, and they can depend on you, which some find motivating. Some suggest that the chemicals released in the brain from exercise can be impactful in helping to establish new habits, as well as to simply make the transition to sobriety easier. These chemicals can improve your mood and help you sleep better, something notoriously difficult during recovery. The accomplishment of achieving a personal goal may also be helpful to sticking with sobriety.
How to Stick to a Routine
Half of the battle with overcoming addiction is starting new routines and turning them into habits. Thefirst stepis getting enough sleep at night. Adequate levels of sleep can help you make better judgments during the day and stick to your commitments. It’s also important to focus on one thing at a time. Multitasking is a great skill, but it can be detrimental to overall productivity. Try toplanout your day and make a schedule for when you will do each task. Do the toughest stuff first, so you don’t dread these things all day and end up putting them off when your energy is lowest. Take breaks when you need them, however. You may have a bad day where you skip part of your schedule or miss a piece of your routine. Don’t beat yourself up over it, and get back on the wagon tomorrow with extra vigor. Remember, it takes time to establish habits, so give yourself the right tools by committing to your new routine.
Improving Mental Health
Poor mental health can be a detriment to you during recovery. Physical and emotional stress can derail even the best of efforts. Therefore, it’s imperative you takethe timeto sort out how you feel. Meditation and mindfulness can help in this regard, as it gives you the tools you need to be present and clear your mind when you feel trapped in negative thinking. Another big step toward good mental health is to cut down ontechnology. Technology not only affects the quality of our sleep, but social media is often a source of stress and negative emotions, including jealousy or loneliness. Going outside can also help us feel good emotionally, so consider going for brisk walks in a park or sitting by the shore and watching the sunset.
Alternative Coping Methods
The benefits of reducing stress cannot be overstated to help avoid relapse. To supplement your chosen treatment, consider some of the following ways to lower life’s anxiety.
Meditation, especially techniques that emphasize mindfulness, can teach us how to lower our daily stress. By dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, we create stress. Mindfulness techniques help to keep us in the present moment. If meditation is not for you, consider a physical way to cope.Swimmingcan help you relax through endorphins but also gentle repetitive motion. Yoga has the same benefit. It creates a relaxation response in the body while toning muscle and increasing flexibility. By learning to relax and release stress, we can help ourselves avoid relapsing.
More and more people are turning to exercise and fitness to help them stay on track during their journey to sobriety. With a combined effort of establishing a new routine, focusing on mental well-being and adding exercise, you may aid yourself in recovery. This is a tough time. Give yourself all the tools you can for success.
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