It’s vital to your health and well-being during addiction recovery to take steps to avoid relapse. In fact, you’ve come this far, and you deserve to live a better life. Here are a few tips to help you prevent relapsing and stay on your journey.
Take Care of Your Health
It’s difficult to be happy if you’re not healthy. This means you should get enough exercise, eat healthy meals and snacks, and be positive every day. Some ideas for exercise include taking up a sport, hiking, riding a bike, walking your dog, swimming or anything else you enjoy. Eating healthy improves focus and mental clarity, boosts energy and strengthens mental health. You can slowly change your diet by adding fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts to meals. One way to be positive is to repeat positive affirmations to yourself to replace negative self-talk.
Avoid Temptation
Although it may be tempting to drink at family gatherings or hang out with friends in an unhealthy environment, choose to avoid temptation. You’ll feel better about your choices and won’t have regrets. Every situation that’s presented to you can be a chance to relapse. In addition to this, avoid toxic relationships by cutting off any family members or friends who make you negative. The most important thing right now is to stay positive and healthy. Know how valuable your life is, so you can focus on what really matters.
Create a Daily Schedule
Having a schedule can aid in staying on track, so you can have a routine. Besides this, you’ll be less likely to allow complacency and boredom to bring you down. In other words, if you have too much time to think, you might forget everything you learned and relapse. Making a schedule and sticking to it can be comforting. You can fill it with positive activities, appointments and anything that provides value to your life. If your schedule is filled each day, you’ll always have something to do. Try using this idea to avoid tempting situations and negative people.
Do Meaningful Activities
Feeding your addiction can sap the meaning out of your life. Instead of allowing this to happen, fill up your time with meaningful activities. For one, you can volunteer at a church, animal shelter, local library or somewhere else. You can also spend time with family or friends who genuinely care about you for you. Other meaningful activities include prayer, going for an outdoor walk, reading an inspiring book or planting a garden, among others. You can find healthy replacements for your addiction by trying new things or getting more involved in an activity you already enjoy.
Practice Mindfulness
You can use spiritual techniques or breathing exercises to practice mindfulness. Try one or more of these every day or a few times a week to gain benefits. For starters, you can lower your stress and anxiety, feel less depressed and control your emotions easier. One of the most useful benefits of practicing mindfulness is peace of mind. You can do meditation or yoga outside and appreciate nature. Further, it’s possible to do breathing exercises almost anywhere you may be.
Find a Support Group
Joining a support group can help you feel less alone, and have someone to talk to. You can research addiction support groups in your area, or ask a trusted health professional for guidance. Additionally, you can join a church group, take college classes or find a sports team. Consider getting support from a best friend or an especially caring family member. Remember, someone who supports you won’t judge you in any way. They’ll be there to listen to your problems, keep you out of trouble and help you stay committed.
Although recovering from addiction can be tough, make a commitment to improve your life. Taking small steps can help you make significant progress. Find every way to remind yourself to stay on track, so you can remain positive and in control.
