Adapting Coping Skills in Recovery
When you begin the road to living cleaning and sober you need to consider the mind, body and soul. This simply means to think about how all aspects of your being are functioning at any given point in time.
When these three points are healthy, you will have a better chance of staying clean and sober. Use these coping mechanisms to help you achieve this sobriety:
Focus on Controlling Stress
Learning how to manage stress is a vital part of recovery. Stress has the power to disrupt your cause of friction and lead to relapse. Adapting Coping Skills in Recovery is important. There are many methods people can use to help control stress. These include:
- Deep breathing. Learning how to slow your heart rate and breathing rate through deep breathing is easy. When you feel stressed, breathe in deeply to a count of 5, hold your breath for 5, and release to a count of 5. Repeat 5 times.
- Yoga. Yoga’s poses and movements, combined with breath work, help to quiet your mind and achieve a calm state.
- Meditation. Find a quiet time to sit alone quietly and meditate. Practice this process daily and soon you will learn how to ease distracting thoughts and worries.
- Massage. A massage can help release the toxins in your muscles and relax the body.
- Music. Music has great power to affect your state of mind. Create a playlist of songs that can relax you, uplift you, or motivate you. Let these songs play while you work, clean, cook or relax.
Take up Healthy Habits.
Turn boredom into being productive by taking up some healthy new hobbies that bring you joy. Consider these:
- Arts and crafts. Tap into your artsy side as an outlet for your soul. Take up a new craft, like 3d printing, painting, or building models.
- Gardening. The process of planting and growing fruits or vegetables can be very fulfilling and rewarding.
- Photography. Capture the stunning beauty that is all around you. Taking photos is a great pastime that allows you to focus your mind on all that is pleasant in your surroundings and in nature. See the world through the lens of your camera.
- Cooking. Sign up for a cooking class or tune in to an online cooking show. You will be inspired to try new recipes.
Take time to reflect.
Carve out a little time each day to nurture your spiritual side. You might pick up a book that inspires you. Maybe you spend some time in prayer or start a gratitude journal.
Cultivate new friendships.
Without each other, we will fail in our efforts to get better. Our support sources include friendships, and these must be nurtured always. Build up your new sober network and sow the seeds for a lifetime of mutual caring and support.
Go to therapy.
Do not, repeat-not, ignore the need to keep up with your therapy sessions. Sometimes no matter all your efforts you still find yourself on shaky ground. Enlist the support of your group or one-on-one therapy sessions to help you through a challenge.
Stay active.
Sitting is one of the least healthy things we can do. To keep our bodies, minds, and spirits in a healthy place it is crucial that we remain active. Define your fitness program any way you want, but just be sure to include regular movement into your days and weeks.
Learn to distract yourself.
One of the most useful tools in recovery is riding the wave of a trigger or craving to avoid a relapse. This is a skill that takes some honing. Create a list of 2 or 3 things you can do to distract yourself when triggered. These can be things like taking a run, going to a meeting, or meeting up with your sponsor.
Improve sleep quality.
Nothing will ruin your day like a bad night’s sleep. Respect your body’s need for restful sleep and do the things that will help you achieve that. These include avoiding caffeine after 3 pm, avoiding heavy meals at night, and shutting your devices off an hour before bed.
Staying sober is about creating healthy balance. By giving all aspects of your being the needed love and support you increase your chances of recovery success.
Transformations by the Gulf Addiction Treatment Develops Coping Skills and Shows You How to Use Them.
Transformations by the Gulf Addiction Treatment devotes its efforts to caring for and helping heal the whole person. It is through this pathway that real change can be made, and wellness restored. Learning and practicing coping skills for addiction recovery is a core treatment focus in our program. For more detail about the program, please reach out to the team today at (727)-498-6498
