Who is the person that matters the most? Yes, that is YOU!
Recovery is much more than just getting sober. Once we put down drugs or alcohol, we must find a new way to live. We are undergoing a profound transformational process – one that largely centers on self-care. Abusing drugs or alcohol is toxic to the mind, body, and spirit.
After months or years of active addiction, we must put forth the effort to restore and maintain health in all areas of our lives. Therefore, by the time most of us get sober, our health is in desperate need of a tune-up.
Taking care of yourself was not a priority during active addiction. When you enter addiction recovery, it can be hard to develop good habits of self-care. However, you have to find a way to put yourself first. Self-care is the conscious act we take in order to promote our own physical, mental, and emotional health. It is vital for building resilience towards stressors in life that we can’t eliminate.
Importance of Practicing Self-Care in My Recovery
Abstinent from drugs and alcohol is the first step towards practicing self-care in recovery. Without the commitment to live a sober lifestyle, we simply do not take care of ourselves. Addiction demands that we abandon all concern for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
The goal of self care is to focus on doing something that benefits your physical, mental, or emotional health and wellness. That may be prioritizing some alone time each day. It may be as simple as making your bed. Self-care allows you to demonstrate love and care for yourself.
As challenging as this is, learning to have patience with yourself, showing compassion to yourself, and loving who you are is critical to your long-term recovery. Remember, do not think of self-care as spoiling yourself or being selfish. It is about being good to yourself so that you have the health and mental calm required to build the life you desire.
You are the only person you can never lose or leave. You have to go to sleep with you every night and wake up with you every morning. You are with yourself 24/7. You are responsible for your recovery and your own happiness to enjoy your sobriety. In addition, taking care of your health helps you to prevent a recurrence. One of the primary objectives of recovery is to celebrate ongoing, continuous abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
Physical Self- Care
Stress is a part of life! It only negatively impacts you if you do not have a way to alleviate it. Stress is also a powerful trigger for wanting to use substances when life feels out of control. You can reduce your stress levels in many ways. However, mostly what is important is to find something that works for you.
Exercise! Get your body moving! This promotes the production of feel-good chemicals in the brain, which make us feel content. It also reduces the likelihood of illness and certain diseases. You do not have to be a pro or a master at the gym. Just get moving. Walking alone is splendid. Nature may help you boost positive thinking
Proper diet. Food is medicine. It fuels us by giving our bodies the nutrients we need to operate at maximum capacity. We love fast foods, but one of the best ways to practice physical self-care is to eat right. Do it for you! Healthy diet or nutrition helps to maintain our blood sugar and maintain a stable mood. It also aids our body in recovering from the damage brought on by long-term substance use.
Healthy sleep. Getting a full eight to ten hours of restful sleep every night is critical to our physical health. It is essential to our physical and mental health. However, despite its importance, a troubling percentage of people find themselves regularly deprived of quality sleep.
Personal hygiene. One of the common symptoms of active addiction is that we neglect our personal hygiene. It may seem ironic to mention this, but many people in recovery continue to struggle with this when they get sober.
Mental Health Care
In the early stage of recovery, many people report that they feel as if they are going “crazy.” This is quite common. After prolonged substance abuse, it takes awhile for the brain to heal and return to its healthy functioning.
Many people have a dual diagnosis. This is the combination of mental illness and Substance Used Disorder. In such a case, it is especially important to address any underlying mental health issues that could affect the recovery process.
Getting psychological or psychiatric care may greatly benefit you even if you do not have a diagnosed mental disorder. Talking with a therapist can boost your mental health.
One of the best ways to practice self-care in the area of mental health is by keeping stress level low. Stress wreaks havoc in the mind and can be a trigger for drug and alcohol use. It also causes anxiety, depression, insomnia, and other health problems.
Emotional Self- Care
Emotional sobriety is a thing. It means confronting and coping with emotions in a healthy way. When we were using drugs or alcohol, we numbed our ability to feel. We used our substance of choice to cope with stress or difficult life circumstances.
Along this journey of recovery, we will encounter emotional pop-ups. These are distressing events that can distract us from our recovery path such as job loss, failed relationships, death of a loved one, and many others. With this kind of frustrations, and because negative emotions are no longer being extinguished with our substance of choice, they can become potential triggers for relapse.
As each threat is encountered, one’s hard-won sobriety is in the center of interest. Along that recovery journey, the choice becomes accessing one’s arsenal of emotional sobriety recovery tools, or taking the next off-ramp to a destination of Relapse.
Emotional self-care means that you should honour your feelings. You feel them rather than running from them. You talk about them with people you trust. And, you develop healthy coping skills to manage your emotions effectively.
Spiritual Care
Many of us tend to neglect our spiritual aspect of life. This also deserves special attention. To be truly healthy, you simply must take care of your mind, body, and spirit. These are critical elements of your life.
At Diamonds Refined Recovery Center, our clients embrace a blended- 12 Step recovery programme of Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous. These are simple, spiritual, not religious programs, that orient members to establish a relationship with a God of their own understanding. It is commonly referred to as having a “Higher Power”. In addition, we encourage our clients to practice Spiritual meditation. This is the practice where one partakes the desire to connect with a Higher power, God.
We integrate a holistic approach for clients who come to us for addiction treatment services. We understand that spiritual health is just as important as physical and mental health. Spirituality manifests as joy, hope, connectedness, compassion, and an overall sense of well-being. These are just a few of the many benefits of living a spiritually-focused lifestyle.
Maybe you do not consider yourself a spiritual person or do not have a belief in a Higher Power. That is okay!
Be Mindful!
You matter a lot! Recovery is not simple. However, the most important part of self-care is doing what is best for yourself in the long term. Be mindful about your stress levels, negative emotions, and negative self-talk enables you to “catch” yourself.
For sure, you are going to have bad moments, but you do not want to dwell on the physical discomfort or emotional pain for long. Instead, reach out to your therapist or counsellor to learn how to work through pain in a healthy way.
When you find yourself overwhelmed, stick to the present moment. What is it that is happening now that needs my attention? Pull yourself away from the worries and anxiety that are holding you back. Live in the moment.
You have to be intentional about self-care. You have to make it a priority and set time aside to take care of yourself. Remember to always Meditate, go for a walk, listen to your favourite music, set healthy boundaries, go for counselling sessions, find a hobby you enjoy, read, pray and any other healthy activity you find yourself enjoying. Recovery is Yours!
Find what works for you! Find a balance in your life, which may include meeting your responsibilities, learning, growing, and reaching new limits. One way to do this is to take time to be with yourself. You need time to plan and dream. Now that you are sober, you have the unique ability to create new opportunities for yourself. Put in the time to focus on yourself and watch how much you can thrive. You can do it!