You’ve reached an amazing milestone by achieving sobriety after addiction. Now that you’re here, it’s important to keep your healing journey moving forward in a positive direction – during both the highs and lows of life. Practicing good self-care can help you ride the wave of stress likely to happen in recovery to lower your risk of relapse.
The only question is, what are the best self-care activities you can practice to give your recovery a boost? In this blog, we’ll outline the top five self-care practices that can give you a healthy way to cope with stress and anxiety in recovery.
Self-Care Tips to Boost Your Recovery
1. Practice Mood Charting
There are going to be days when your cravings or stress become difficult to manage. What if there was a way for you to know where your mood was trending towards, so you could better prepare for stress?
That’s exactly what mood charting can help you do, as you’ll track how you feel emotionally and mentally each day. Over time, you’ll be able to see which direction your mood is tracking. If you notice your mood is dipping, you can take steps to attend to your mental health.
2. Connect with Other People in Recovery
Stress in recovery thrives when you feel isolated or alone. Finding other people in recovery who know what you’re going through can give you motivation and a solid support system to maintain sobriety. A great way to meet other people in recovery is to attend online support groups. Websites like In The Rooms give you a safe space to meet and talk to other people in recovery. Plus, meeting online often feels a little less intimidating when you’re first getting started.
3. Set Healthy Boundaries
One way you can keep your recovery on track is by setting healthy boundaries. Before you reached recovery, there was probably a group of people and certain hangouts that were linked to your substance abuse. It’s crucial that you set boundaries with these individuals and places to ensure you don’t fall into past destructive behaviors.
If you have to tell someone that you can’t spend time with them or meet at your old hangout, be up front and honest with them. Explain that you’re putting your recovery first and want to limit your exposure to drugs and alcohol.
4. Try to Stay Mindful
Mindfulness is another great self-care practice, and all it means is honing your recognition of how you’re feeling in the present moment. While it can be a challenge to stay in tune with the present moment, activities like meditation give you an opportunity to practice this skill. Once you’ve become comfortable with staying connected to the present moment, you can stop your negative thoughts from gaining momentum and affecting your mood.
5. Carve Out Time in Your Schedule to Relax
During stressful times in life, it’s natural to think that the busier you are, the better it is for you. After all, it feels good to be productive and see the direct value of your actions. However, it’s important to fit relaxation into your schedule. It’s true that staying busy can help you manage stress and anxiety, but it can often turn into a form of avoidance. Relaxing gives your mind and body a break from an on-the-go lifestyle, improving your physical health and protecting you from feeling burned out.
Find Expert Support for Your Addiction Recovery in Florida
At Footprints Beachside Recovery, we know that there are times when your recovery can be challenging – because we’ve been through it ourselves. Our family-run addiction treatment center in Florida is ready to help you keep your recovery on track, whether you’re going through a rough patch or have recently relapsed.
Are you ready to find personalized support to help your mind, body and spirit heal from addiction? Contact our expert team today to learn more about our recovery approach and to get started.
