Congratulations, you’re on the road to recovery! You’ve been honest with yourself. You’ve accepted that you have a problem. You’ve decided to make a change, and you’ve admitted that it will take some hard work. All of these are positive steps in the right direction.
Maintaining your sobriety is the next step. In order to be successful at it, you need to form some healthy new habits. Here are 10 to get you started.
Manage Your Stress
According to Psych Central, there are some key ways to get rid of stress. To start, figure out what the source of your stress is, and if it’s within your power to change it, do so. Also, make time to do something you enjoy. This will help you manage stress related to things you have no control over. You should also spend more time smiling. Your brain responds to facial expressions, so this works to relieve tension.
In addition, take a look at your home environment. Do you feel relaxed in your living spaces, or are you overwhelmed by clutter, grime, and disorganization? Your home should be your safe haven, not a source of stress, so take an afternoon to deep clean. From there, work on cutting clearing out clutter — this may be an ongoing process, but considering the mental (and physical) health benefits you’ll receive from a more organized home, it’s worth the time and effort. Finally, consider cleansing your house with techniques that improve air quality and clear bad energy, like burning sage and putting bowls of selenite on your window sills.
Exercise
Exercise has been shown to reduce feelings of stress and anger, both of which are associated with drug and alcohol abuse. Working out also produces the hormones dopamine and serotonin, which reduce cravings and can help prevent a relapse. If you’re not sure which workout to try, experiment with different activities like running, yoga, or swimming until you find something you like.
Get Some Sleep
Psychiatry reports that people with sleep disorders have a higher likelihood of substance abuse. Add to that the increased risk of relapse when you’re not sleeping well, and you’ll see the importance of a good night’s rest. Work on things such as eliminating electronic use before bedtime, reducing your caffeine intake, darkening your room, adding peaceful noise, avoiding daytime naps, and developing a good bedtime ritual.
Take Some Deep Breaths
Focused breathing leads to better mental awareness, coping skills, and emotional wellness. Not to mention, more oxygen equals more energy.
Learn to Say “No”
Successful addiction recovery is going to require you to say “no” without feeling guilty. One successful technique is called the refusal strategy. A study by Vanessa M. Patrick and Henrik Hagtvedt and published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that when you say “I don’t” versus “I can’t,” you can remove yourself from unwanted commitments more easily.
Manage Mindfulness
When we are paying attention to the present and living and feeling each moment, we are focused on mindfulness. This can be done most successfully in meditation. The benefits of mindfulness include reduced stress, an improved ability to handle illness, decreased depression, and improved recovery.
Spend Time Outdoors
There are plenty of scientific reasons you should spend time outdoors, including improved concentration, an immune system boost, stress relief, stronger mental energy, improved short-term memory, and an extra spark of creativity. Most surprisingly, being outdoors is said to have anti-cancer effects and improve your vision.
Understand the Role of Nutrition
When you eat a balanced diet, you look and feel better, which is a powerful motivator. Nutrients found in whole foods also help to improve your immune system as well as build and repair vital organ tissue that may have been damaged as a result of your addiction. It’s also important to note that substance abuse has an impact on your metabolism. Your metabolic rate affects how your body processes the food you eat — which, in turn, impacts just about every one of your bodily functions. If you’re wondering how to reset your metabolism, start with your nutrition. Eating three healthy meals a day containing whole foods will yield big changes in your metabolic rate, and before long, you’ll have more energy, more mental clarity, and a healthier weight.
Practice Gratitude
Countless studies have linked positive emotions to improved health, both physical and mental. You can practice feeling grateful by doing things such as appreciating the growth that will come from a challenge, volunteering to help someone, spending quality time with those you love, looking for and paying attention to good things, and writing a gratitude journal.
Forgive
Holding a grudge, being resentful, feeling hurt — all of these emotions are weighing you down. To move forward, you’re going to need to find ways to let go of these negative thoughts. While forgiveness doesn’t look the same for everyone, how you choose to let go of harmful experiences from the past is something you’ll need to address and solve.
Addiction can make you feel powerless. However, part of your recovery will be understanding you do have control. You can make positive choices, and you can become the person you were destined to be. It’s all up to you.
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