The process of recovery from any sort of addiction will always be a process with lots of milestones but also lots of obstacles. The step-by-step of this new stage in life can be softened by the use of some tips or “hacks” as some like to call them. Plenty of these tips are related to the health and spiritual field. An addiction deteriorates a person in every aspect so it’s very important to start fixing up all the cracks that might have developed within time.
Having a healthy lifestyle is something that not only will speed up the whole recovery process but it will also grant a happier day-to-day life. Here are 4 habits that will definitely help throughout rehab.
1. Sleep well
Most people don’t pay too close attention to their sleep patterns. As it turns out, it happens to be one of the most important aspects to keep in mind when embracing a new healthy lifestyle. The recommended amount of sleep lies between 7 to 8 hours for the average adult. This allows our bodies to get well-deserved rest and improves our attention skills dramatically. It also benefits our own batteries so that we last longer throughout the day without needing to find a charging spot. If we have enough sleep, we have enough energy. Enough energy means we can carry out whatever tasks we might have much easier and achieving a healthy sufficient sleeping pattern is not as hard as winning the lottery.
2. Get new healthy hobbies
Developing healthy hobbies and interests is key to a successful recovery. This doesn’t mean that growing an inner geek and enjoying a good Netflix binge session is a no go. But activities such as walks, working out or a specific sport is highly recommended. Aside from training the brain and rewarding it with dopamine, exercise has countless benefits to the life of a recovering addict. Of course, there are other types of interests that can be taken into account. For example, brain-stimulating activities such as art classes or book reading clubs will always have excellent consequences in life; regardless of whether there’s an addictive behavior
or not. Stimulating creativity not only rewards the brain but it also brings better attitude towards adversity and offers more productive and constructive outlets to emotions and feelings. Besides, who’s to say there’s not a hidden Picasso waiting to be woken up?.
3. Change milkshakes for carrots
Adopting a healthy diet will most definitely help out during the process. This doesn’t mean that all delicious sugary or greasy things should never be touched again. But a balanced diet should be part of any healthy life,
regardless whether there’s recovery going on. Not leaving out carbs completely and balancing out all of the nutrients that are being taken on a daily basis will not only have a very positive impact on the whole process
but it will also guarantee health and with it comes happiness and inner peace.
4. Stay active
Dealing with recovery is very hard. Which is why a lot of people tend to hide and shut off while doing it. Staying active is the last hack of this list that will help to keep the mind off possible negative thoughts and
will definitely shut the door on temptation. Being a fact that relapse happens among 60% of recovering addicts, this doesn’t mean that the door should be left open for opportunities to walk right in. Trying to work out, meeting with friends, even running errands can keep the mind busy and active. Again, engaging into mind stimulating activities will not only have a great effect in the daily routine, but it will also lighten the burden of
recovery.
ALSO READ: How exercise can help you recover from addiction
Leading a healthy life during recovery is possible. Asking friends for support and help when needed will also help out a lot in the long run. Following these tips, you might not feel like you’re taking a shortcut because there isn’t one, but you will feel much better about going through with it and the motivation and the energy needed to succeed will always be there.
If you’d like to ask a question or would simply suggest more tips for a healthy life during recovery, please leave a comment below.