18th October 2019

Self-Care in Recovery: Why it Matters

If you’ve been living with an addiction, you’ve probably been making a substance your priority, and haven’t paid much attention to your health. As you start your journey towards recovery, one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is the opportunity to lead a happy and healthy life through better self-care.

Self-care isn’t just important for the overall health of your body. It also offers you the best chance of building a balanced, joyful life, free from the substances and behaviors that have been holding you back. If you can find ways to satisfy your emotional and physical needs, you’ll quickly become a stronger person who’s better equipped to meet the challenges that everyone in recovery faces. Let’s take a look at 5 key elements of self-care, and why they’re so important to the recovery journey.

1. Rest

This might sound obvious, but taking steps to ensure that you’re well-rested and ready to meet each day can be incredibly important. Studies have shown that individuals in the early stages of addiction recovery suffer from insomnia at 5 times the rate of the general population. Sleep deprivation can lead to impulsivity, low mood, poor emotional regulation, and other factors that can contribute to relapse. Therefore, building healthy sleep habits should be a foundational part of your self-care plan. Avoiding screen time and caffeine before bed, establishing a bedtime routine and schedule, light therapy, practicing meditation, and getting regular exercise are all habits that will contribute to restful nights. Feeling tired, grumpy, and sluggish will inhibit your responses to treatment. Feeling well-rested and energetic every morning will give you the best chance at maintaining your hard-won sobriety!

2. Eating Right and Exercising

Recent studies have shown that learning about proper nutrition during treatment can “significantly improve three-month sobriety success rates.” The acronym HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) is used to educate those in recovery about when they are at the greatest risk of relapse. Hunger can often lead to negative emotions and thoughts. The benefits of Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) include stabilizing mood, decreasing stress and anxiety, reducing cravings, as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle. Learning how to give your body the fuel it needs is essential for living your best life.

Regular exercise also leads to a host of health benefits which are especially valuable to those in recovery. It reduces stress and improves mood, leads to better sleep patterns, and strengthens the immune system. Studies on people and animals have also shown that exercise can reduce cravings for drugs and alcohol. Getting out and moving around can also have profound positive effects on your life in general, adding structure to your days, boosting self-esteem, and creating a positive self-image.

3. Emotional Healing

Addiction takes addicts away from their true selves and their feelings. A profoundly rewarding part of the recovery process is getting back in touch with the real you. As physical self-care reconnects you with your strength and energy, it’s time to focus on the mental aspects of rebuilding the self. A big first step is getting to know your emotions. Think about the way things make you feel, and how each feeling affects you. Keeping a journal, and making sure you have the amount of “alone time” necessary for reflection are great ways to monitor and explore your emotions. Then look for ways to manage, channel, and communicate these emotions in healthy and productive ways. Learn to build boundaries, so that others won’t be able to profoundly change your sense of well-being. Find a belief system that helps you maintain a positive outlook on life. And build a network of trusted family members and friends who can offer the emotional support you need.

4. Relationships

Aristotle was one of the first thinkers to conclude that humans are social animals, and millennia of study and observation have borne this out. To live a truly happy life, it’s necessary to have meaningful relationships with the people around you. Another key element of self-care is building and maintaining connections with people who encourage, support, and uplift you. They could be relatives, friends, peers or even sponsors. Social self-care also entails avoiding toxic individuals who introduce stress, negativity, and temptation into your life. In recovery, taking advantage of the connections you make can lead to lasting and fulfilling friendships that help you move forward. Volunteering, trying out new hobbies, or joining sports teams can also lead to the kind of positive connections that will fill your life with meaning and joy.

5. Healing the Spirit

Spiritual self-care can mean reconnecting with faith and a religious community, but it isn’t limited to organized expressions of faith. Many people attain spiritual connection and growth by practicing meditation, mindfulness, and yoga. Others find a deeper connection to the world around them through spending time in nature, reading books, or donating time and energy to a worthy cause. Spirituality should be viewed as a sense of oneness and universality which diminishes loneliness and isolation. Finding your own path to spirituality can help you learn to draw the strength (whether its source comes from within or without) you’ll need to beat your addiction.

6. Healthy Daily Practices

Setting up a positive daily routine can help to build firm foundations for a healthy life free from addiction, and it can greatly increase your chances of remaining clean. You can start by making your bed every morning, a task that builds discipline and responsibility, as well as allowing you to start your day with a sense of accomplishment. Practicing mindfulness is also profoundly beneficial, whether it involves going for a walk, sharing your thoughts and emotions with a friend, or doing meditation and yoga. Use mindfulness to cultivate a sense of gratitude and a positive mindset, and to remind yourself why you’re doing the hard work necessary to stay sober. Making lists of tasks you should accomplish, and tracking your progress with a diary or day planner, is also a great way to stay on an even keel. Knowing what needs to be done when can help you avoid being overwhelmed with stress. These are all little things, but taken together they can add up to the difference between relapse and staying the course!

Stay on the Path

As you begin your journey to recovery, it may seem impossible to find a path through all of the obstacles in your way. Self-care is a way to get yourself moving in the right direction, and as you weave these practices into your life, you’ll find that they give you the strength and motivation to keep going. Addiction leads to negative patterns of thought and behavior, which disconnect the addicted from their best selves. Self-care is a way to build your physical and mental capabilities back to the point where life becomes a joy. At Iboga Tree Healing House, we are committed to holistic treatments that offer you the tools you’ll need to recover yourself.