Addiction recovery is a process. Rehab can take you far along the way, but you still have to learn to live a healthy life in order to prevent relapse. But how do you go about finding a healthy balance after spending so much time buffeted by chaos?
The key is to form healthy habits that you can add to your day-to-day routine. These habits will help keep you on track, even when life gets tough.
We’re going to go into 9 healthy habits in addiction recovery to prevent relapse. Remember, they are all worthwhile but do not panic if you have to start small. Also, they do not take the place of continuing professional support.
1. Regular Physical Activity
Physical activity is incredibly important for keeping your mood stable. Exercise in particular releases endorphins that improve your mood and work almost like a natural antidepressant.
Of course, committing to exercise every day can be tough, especially if you have been neglecting your physical health while addicted to substances. This is why you should start with focusing on physical activity.
You can commit to being physically active for a period of time every day. This could be a short walk in a garden or a session at gym. It could be a casual splash in the pool or a strenuous hike. No matter where you start, you are reconnecting with your body, grounding yourself to ensure you are best-placed to resist the urge to use substances.
2. Practice Mindfulness
One of the toughest prospects when leaving rehab is the idea that you have to avoid relapse for the rest of your life. A goal without a timeframe can seem unachievable. This is why mindfulness is so important to many recovering addicts.
The philosophy behind mindfulness is that living in the present allows you to appreciate everything, whether it seems positive or negative. You do so by recognizing that the present is the only thing that exists. All things pass whether or not you try to hold onto them or push them away.
In other words, you don’t have to think about whether you will use substances in a week, a year, or a decade. Rather, you focus on today and, specifically, right now. Exercises like meditation help achieve this state of mind.
3. Set Small Goals
Are you desperate to achieve everything you ever wanted and more? This is natural – you want to make up for time lost and may feel like you’re already way off schedule. But if your goals are too big, the pressure makes them feel impossible to achieve.
Rather, start by setting small goals. Each day, have a to-do list and tick off everything you achieve. This gives you validation, even if it is just a little boost each time. When you have more confidence in your plan and your ability to stick to it, your goals will organically become more ambitious.
4. Establish a Routine
Addiction and chaos often come hand-in-hand. Chaos opens up the door to addiction, which in turn causes chaos as the person struggles to do anything but focus on substances. After leaving rehab, it is crucial to bring structure into your life.
Start by outlining a daily routine. Choose a time that you will wake up every day. Set your meal times. Set time for self-care and regular breaks. It doesn’t have to be a complex routine – sometimes, the simpler it is, the better.
5. Practice Sleep Hygiene
Consistent sleep is vital for the health of your body and your mind. If you struggle with getting to sleep at the same time every night, try sleep hygiene techniques, such as putting your phone away an hour or more before bedtime, and doing relaxing activities at night.
6. Follow an Eating Plan
Nutrition plays a major part in how you feel both physically and mentally. With good nutritional habits, you gain the energy you need every day without feeling bloated or unsatisfied. But how do you make healthy eating into a habit?
An eating plan can help with this. Firstly, you should have set times at which you eat every day. It’s all too easy to forget to eat lunch… or to spend all day snacking instead.
Secondly, consulting a dietician to draw up a plan is a great option. Many rehabs have dieticians available for this reason. With a meal plan, you not only ensure you get the nutrients you need, but you also don’t have to worry about what you are going to eat for dinner every night.
7. Be Social
After leaving rehab, some people struggle to be social. Their friends may still be using substances, and they feel ashamed of how they might be perceived by others.
However, isolation is a major risk factor for mental illnesses, including addiction. As such, it is necessary to make it a habit to be social.
You don’t need to dive into a deep friendship with the first person you meet. You can give yourself achievable goals. Speak to someone at the gym, or when you’re at the park with your dog. Join a support group and spend some time after meetings getting coffee with other members.
8. Continue Your Personal Growth
You have grown a lot in the time since you stopped using substances. Finding pride in that is extremely important. But it is also important to remember that every human being is healthiest when they continue to work on personal growth.
Continue seeing your therapist and working on your relationships. Continue reading insightful books and working on breaking down unhealthy patterns that formed in childhood.
9. Find Stability at Home
Finally, it is crucial that you start finding your stability at home, eschewing your old habits of going out regularly or living in chaos. Staying away from triggers is key to avoiding relapse. By turning your home life into a stable, predictable environment, you maintain the ability to take charge of your own journey.
