How to Practice Self-Care in Addiction Recovery
When you are dealing with substance abuse, drugs or alcohol become the most important things in your life. Addicts commonly neglect self-care, failing to look after their physical and mental health, personal relationships or career goals.
When you seek alcohol or drugs counselling, you may have forgotten that taking care of yourself is a priority. Focusing on yourself and your feelings can help you cope with the symptoms and negative feelings of alcohol detox throughout recovery. As your recovery progresses, having a solid self-care routine can help you deal with triggers and process feelings of anxiety and depression with a healthier mindset.
Hills & Ranges is a drug, alcohol and anxiety recovery centre in Melbourne, and teaching self-care is a vital component of our recovery process. In this article, we share five ways that someone in substance abuse recovery can practice self-care.
Practice Mindfulness
Understanding your feelings can help you avoid or confront triggers that encourage substance abuse or relapse. In recovery, you will face many situations that challenge past behaviours. For example, anxiety is a prominent symptom of alcohol detox. Anxiety is also a trigger for many people with alcoholism. If you practice mindfulness, you will understand how to interpret your anxiety and address the root cause vs drown out the feeling. You may like to explore these feelings by journaling or talking to a friend.
Find Balance
Many people in recovery from substance abuse struggle to fill the void in their lives that previously belonged to drugs or alcohol. You may feel lost or not know who you are outside of your addiction. Use this time wisely. Being busy is sometimes only a distraction from our feelings, and being overwhelmed can lead to relapse.
Be Comfortable Being Alone
While your support group is critical for your success in recovery, you also need to take time to be with yourself. If your support group is ever unavailable, you must have a backup plan to cope with your triggers and emotions. Finding out who you are when you’re sober can be exciting!
Set Boundaries
Before you sought help for substance abuse, you likely had people, places or things in your life that encouraged your addiction. Self-care is about recognising your goals and sobriety, and cutting out what doesn’t align. You have to set boundaries and regulate what’s around you to protect yourself first.
Finding a Recovery Centre That Supports Self-Care
Hills & Ranges provides anxiety, depression, alcohol, gambling and drugs counselling that works because we focus the treatment around helping you take care of yourself, so you don’t have to turn to your addiction. To learn more about our rehabilitation programs in Melbourne, call us on 1800 954 749.
