Addiction can happen to anyone. Unfortunately, it can be hard to shake once it latches on, so many people wind up being stuck in a bad situation, perpetuating bad habits. Now that you’ve taken the first steps to address your addiction problem, you are desperately looking for ways to break the cycle and move your life in a different direction by finding the best addiction recovery solution. The key is to drop those bad habits and replace them with good ones. Here are four healthy habits to help you power through your recovery and get your life back on track.
Be Active
It’s hard to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle and a drug addiction; even great athletes fall out of the sports and activities they love once addiction takes control of their lives. However, once you start working toward goals to improve your physical fitness, it’ll be easier to move past your old life of addiction.
You probably won’t be at peak physical fitness if you are just now addressing your addiction. You may have to start slow, but you will build up your strength, endurance, and flexibility by setting achievable milestones in your workouts. Since being active is the polar opposite of keeping an addiction going. You’ll find it easier to go about your addiction recovery when your mind is focused on getting your body back into shape.
Eat Vegetables
Another healthy habit that goes down the drain during addiction is healthy eating. While motivating yourself to be active, you will need to start feeding yourself the right kind of foods to give you the energy you need. This means no more junk food and late-night drive-throughs, and greasy burgers. Instead, now is the time to eat vegetables. Start cooking at home and reintroduce greenery into your diet. Veggies will give you more energy for fewer calories and help you with your physical fitness and recovery.
Get Outdoors
Speaking of greenery, when was the last time you spent a day outside? Being outdoors is indeed better for your overall physical and mental health. You’re more likely to be active when spending more time outside, and being exposed to fresh air, sunshine and plants has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety. As you struggle through addiction recovery, you will find plenty of reasons why you need to enjoy the outdoors and release some of the tension and stress you are feeling.
Find a Hobby
After giving up an addiction, many people ask the same question: Now what? Not too long ago, your life revolved around your addiction. Now that you’re no longer chasing your next high, life can feel empty. This leads many in recovery down the road of depression, so it’s essential to develop new meaning and purpose in your life. Finding purpose doesn’t have to be an overly profound experience; sometimes, it means finding a hobby.
Hobbies can have a transformative effect on those in addiction recovery. Having a hobby such as painting, sculpting, collecting stamps, or playing music, can shift your mind away from your addiction and push you in a whole new direction. For example, as you develop the skills necessary to finish a painting or play a new song, you build confidence and belief in yourself.
Change is hard, but it’s not impossible. The healthier habits you engage in during your addiction recovery, the easier it will be to fend off withdrawal, depression, stress, and anxiety. You’ll be able to start healing old wounds and find your place in this world. Opportunities will once again begin opening, and sooner or later, you will find the path to your best possible life.
Click to read another of our articles about Recovering From Substance Abuse With Healthy Daily Habits.
Author
Ms. Peterson’s mission is aligned with that of RecoveryPride, which is to celebrate sobriety and those who achieve it.
