How to Manage Stress When You’re Recovering from Substance Addiction
Stress is, unfortunately, an unavoidable reality of a person’s path to recovery from substance abuse.
Especially at the beginning of their journey, many people will have to deal with high amounts of stress that, if not well managed, can increase their chances of relapsing.
Finding ways of managing stress is one of the most important parts of a person’s rehab, to ensure they can stay on their recovery track even after they complete a rehab program.
Here are a few different ways you can manage stress while you’re recovering from a substance addiction:
-
Be Physically Active
Exercising releases endorphins and raises your serotonin levels, making you feel genuinely better. Physical activity is one of the best ways to keep your mental health in check while going through your substance abuse recovery, as it will also be an activity that gives you something to do and provides some form of structure throughout your day.
-
Improve Your Diet
Substance abuse almost always affects a person’s nutrition, and unfortunately focusing on improving one’s diet is not usually a priority for people recovering from substance abuse.
However, eating food with low nutrition values or even skipping meals can exacerbate stress levels while you are going through addiction recovery, as the blood sugar drops can cause your body to release cortisol, which can cause mood swings.
-
Have Someone to Share Your Feelings with
The relationships with your friends and family are essential to your recovery. Confiding in them can help you release some of the stress and anxiety withdrawal can cause.
If you feel like you cannot talk openly to those close to you, consider finding a sponsor who can help you manage your stress, and stay on track with your journey.
-
Add Stress-Relieving Activities to Your Routine
You might also want to add relaxing activities to your routine, to keep your mind focused on your recovery and ease some stress and anxiety.
For instance, meditation can be a great way to regulate your mood and keep your mental state balanced, as can certain types of exercising like yoga.
You can also take part in some creative activities like writing or painting, and use them as an outlet to release your stress. Some people can also find comfort in outdoor activities like hiking.
-
Regulate Your Sleep
Getting sufficient sleep during your substance addiction is an important factor that can help you regulate your mood and energy levels.
Substance addiction often leads to sleep disturbances such as insomnia. Your road to recovery should also include addressing this problem to allow your brain and body time to recharge and ease your efforts towards recovering from substance addiction.
Over to You
Stress is unavoidable during substance abuse recovery, but with a bit of effort and the right approach, you can stop it from affecting your path to sobriety.
At Rehab South Africa we treat a wide variety of process addictions. To find out more about our rehab offering click here.
