It takes a lot of passion, determination and courage to address substance abuse and for anyone that has gone through it themselves, you deserve great praise for your strength. However, in sobriety, cravings and urges still rear their ugly heads often. These temptations get particularly more intense as a person in recovery deals with stress in his or her everyday life. It’s not easy to recover in stress which is why we’ve come up with a few tips to help anyone feeling temptations during these hard times.
Many recovering drug and alcohol users find it beneficial to attend meetings with other people going through similar trials and tribulations. The two most common meeting associations are AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) which helps individuals dealing with alcohol addiction, and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) which help individuals struggling with drug addictions (i.e. opioids, over-the-counter medication, etc.) These meetings provide people struggling with substance abuse a connection with their peers' stories and give them a chance to share their experiences in a judgement-free environment. These meetings are designed to act as a refresh button, many people leave these meetings with a better understanding of what is important to them in life.
Stress is a slippery slope if it’s not addressed immediately - it escalates when you’re given too much time to mull over all your actions and thoughts. Therefore, it’s important to be cognizant of your time and focus on the things that genuinely make you happy. Nobody wants to spend all day at home thinking about the mistakes they made, everybody wants to do things they enjoy like reading, travelling, meeting new people, etc. Schedule your days around what you want to spend your time doing and do everything you can to keep yourself busy, happy, and proud!
While stress is generally a complication based around mental fatigue, it can manifest itself in your energy levels and thrive in your body. It’s important to keep physically active when you’re dealing with stress or substance temptations. Exercise does wonders for your brain and it promotes the generation of dopamine, otherwise known as the happiness chemical. Stress does a great job of convincing you that you’re helpless and that you can’t succeed, but when you work out, you can literally change that message because your body will reward you with positive energy.
Your quality of life is something that we at Recovery Care take very seriously and we’ve dedicated our lives to ensure that we help and inform as many people in need that we can. If you’re in a serious predicament, contact our office today or call 9-1-1 if it’s an immediate emergency. For more information, contact Recover Care today!
