Self Care In Recovery Is Essential
Self Care In Recovery Is Essential: Prioritize Healing for a Stronger, Healthier You
Learn How to Practice Self Care in Recovery With Purpose Healing
Anyone who has ever taken a commercial flight hears an urgent pre-flight instruction: “In the event of an emergency, put on your own air mask before attempting to help others.” Good advice – you surely can’t assist others while you’re struggling to breathe. But why don’t we apply that same common sense guiding principle to self-care in recovery?
Purpose Healing Center is a Joint Commission-accredited treatment facility with two locations – Phoenix and Scottsdale. We agree that mental and physical self-care are of great importance during recovery or when working on any mental health conditions.
Those who struggle with drug and alcohol use have often neglected self-care and poor personal hygiene. In fact, it’s one of the first coping strategies discarded during active addiction. Our holistic approach, including encouraging self-care activities, is fundamental to our successful recovery process.
This page is dedicated to ideas for restoring mental and physical health during and after addiction recovery.
Physical Self-Care and Mental Health Needs Connect Closely
Physical and mental health share a close connection, making physical self-care and mental health reliant upon one another. When you neglect the body (think poor nutrition or unmanaged stress), your mood and energy levels eel low.
Substance abuse can make matters even worse. It disrupts the body’s natural sleep cycle, digestion, and immune function. So in recovery, it becomes even more important to become more mindful about self-care.
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Studies on Healthy Habits and Emotional Self-Care
One study published in JAMA Open Network showed how walking 7,000 steps per day made a 31% decreased depression risk. This study aligned with other cohorts who reported similar findings. One found that even just 1,000 steps could lower depression risks by 9%.
Dr. Stephen Ilardi of the University of Kansas developed a program that manages 6 factors:
- Omega-3 fatty acid consumption
- Spending time on meaningful activities or hobbies
- Regular physical fitness
- Getting enough sunshine
- Building social connections
- Getting enough sleep
This approach, which Dr. Ilardi calls the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change program, reduced depressive symptoms in about 75% of study participants. Since depression often co-occurs with substance use disorder, these factors likely have a positive impact on substance abuse.
Self-Care and Avoiding Relapse in Early Addiction Recovery
The connection between self-care and personal growth doesn’t stop with emotional health. Instead, self-care is essential to avoiding relapse, especially when reintegrating into daily life after leaving treatment programs. To gain a better understanding, here’s a quick overview of how a relapse happens:
Preventing Emotional Relapse
The first step of relapsing is an emotional relapse. During this phase, the person’s not engaged in substance abuse but is experiencing emotional pangs. They neglect self-care and bottle up their emotions, self-isolate, and stop using their coping strategies. They become vulnerable to drug or alcohol use.
Moving into Mental Relapse
The next stage is mental relapse, when the person begins considering alcohol or drug abuse, deciding whether to stay sober or use their drug of choice. Sometimes this in the form of reflecting fondly on past use, minimizing the possible consequences of using again, or even as one starts actively craving substances.
They may even be planning to use again. If they don’t take steps to prevent relapse at this point, they’ll probably continue the downward spiral.
Physical Relapse (Third and Final Stage)
Finally, the person physically uses drugs or alcohol. It could be just a single beer or pill or a full-blown binge. This step is perilous, as the person’s tolerance has dropped since the last use.
Can self-care prevent relapse?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which monitors the well-being of retired military members and relies on the most current psychiatry reports, agrees that self-care in recovery is necessary to as relapse prevention or to bounce back after one happens.
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Self-Care Before, During, and After Addiction Treatment
If you have just recognized that you need to begin recovery for a substance use disorder, you need self-care. If you’re currently in the recovery process, you need self-care. If you’ve completed a treatment program, you guessed it – prioritizing self-care is a must.
The following are some ways to boost your self-care as you continue pursuing a sober lifestyle:
1) Seek an Addiction Medicine Professional
It may sound basic, but reaching out for professional help shows tremendous self-compassion. You recognize the need for help. A recovery professional can help support you during a medical detox, minimize withdrawal symptoms, and counsel you at every waystation of the recovery journey.
2) Find Activities That Support Personal Growth
Keeping your mind engaged in positive activities that fuel growth is important, especially in early recovery. It’s time to put your own dreams first and become the person you were always meant to be. I you’ve ever wanted to complete a GED or college degree, give it a go. If you want to pursue a new job or master a hobby that interests you, it’s time to afford yourself the opportunity.
3) Try Local Self-Help Meetings
Recovery support groups may not be as effective as professional group therapy. Still, working with an addiction recovery peer group can help you feel heard and understood. Working together, you continue to develop healthy coping skills and build sober, healthy relationships.
4) Look for New Ways to Reduce Stress
It’s important to learn to manage stress. Not only can stress perpetuate poor self-care, it can also threaten sobriety by triggering drug use. Experiment with finding healthy coping mechanisms to reduce stress, whether you start working out, doing puzzles, or reading poetry. Do whatever helps calm your mind.
5) Build Positive Relationships
Who you hang out with can be a source of great joy or emotional pain. Supportive relationships allow you to be mutually honest and respectful. These are the people who will inspire you to stay sober and maintain health, even when you feel tempted to do otherwise. You’ll build better self-esteem by
6) Practice Mindfulness
Staying present in the moment, or mindfulness, is an essential skill. For some it can mean praying or doing restorative yoga. For others it might mean following guided meditation sequences or breathing exercises. Once mastered, this practice gives you instant relief when panic, anxiety, or cravings hit.
7) Get Regular Exercise to Support Overall Well-Being
Take up whatever exercise routine suits your interests and abilities. Some in recovery enjoy walking or hiking at first, but they up the ante and start jogging or running as their physical health improves. Some enjoy weight lifting at the gym or stretching routines at home. There’s no right or wrong way – just work on movement.
8) Eat a Healthy Diet
A balanced diet with lean proteins, vegetables, and whole grains helps you keep your eye on your overall health. Avoid (when possible) or limit processed foods, sweets, and salty snacks. You’ll feel better as you continue to enjoy improved health by eating healthful foods.
10) Set Boundaries (and Enforce Them)
Don’t let others undo all the hard work you’ve put into addiction recovery. Set boundaries with people to help avoid triggering negative emotions. Be kind but firm, and enforce the guidelines you have set in place. You’re in charge of your recovery.
11) Get Quality Sleep
People in addiction recovery need plenty of rest. Getting too tired or fatigued can lead to moodiness or trigger dual diagnosis conditions like depresion or anxiety. Set a reasonable sleep schedule, dim the lights, lower the room temperature, and don’t be ashamed to practice self-care.
12) Prayer for Spiritual Self-Care
Humans are both physical and spiritual beings. The spiritual side is often muted during active addiction; recovery offers a fresh chance at reconnection. Praying is a quiet, often solitary time to reflect and uplift your faith. Make this form of self-care important if you feel you’ve missed this connection.
Call Purpose for Support in Caring for Your Mental Health Issues
Addictions are chronic illnesses that take a significant toll on your physical health and mental and emotional well-being. While you can practice self-care as a great tool for managing the negative emotions associated with addiction, it’s not a cure-all.
Purpose accepts self-pay clients; we work with the most well-respected group health insurance plans. We take an integrated approach to substance use disorder and any related health problems, all covered by insurance.
Our admissions team can explain how we can maximize your insurance coverage with one quick call. We’d love to hear from you and explain how our personalized programs can treat addiction and other mental health disorders.
480-579-3319