5 Healthy Habits for Recovering Addicts

The age old saying “Old Habits Die Hard” can’t be any truer than used in the context of addiction. It’s a tough road to travel from your current addictive ways to a future life without drugs or alcohol. The problem is that addictions are just hard-wired habits. And so to beat an addiction, you cannot replace your old unhealthy habits with new unhealthy habits. The replacements need to be constructive and effective.

You’re probably trying to figure out how to start recovering from your addiction. There are several different ways to begin, but the one thing you need to remember is to keep yourself on the straight and narrow, but how?

1. GRAB YOUR EXITING BUDDY

If you are like most people, then you can recall the buddy system from your childhood. Whether it is someone who is going to walk right beside you through this detox journey (by also detoxing themselves) or someone on speed dial to talk you through a bad time, a buddy is essential.

They will be there as your rock, your shoulder to cry on when times are tough, and most importantly, to help you exit the life of addiction. If you ever feel like you are struggling, make sure to use this life-line. Call them, have them come over. Having another person to hold you accountable is powerful beyond measure.

2. CALL IN THE PROFESSIONALS

Regardless of your plan, you should consider calling in professionals. According to Clover House Center, your greatest chances of recovering come from working with professionals. With something as serious as an addiction, it is important to place your bets on the least risky winning strategy. If you can’t find an Exiting Buddy, then professional help is almost mandatory.

Not only will you benefit from counseling and therapy, but your expert support team will also provide medical screenings to check for diseases caused by the addiction and provide a plan to reduce or eliminate the disease(s).

3. SET A GOAL

All of us have that one project we always meant to do or a hobby we wanted to start. Take time to plan projects and set goals for yourself. Begin with the unfinished projects. Create a list of what they are, number them in order of priority, and set a date for a completion goal. You can do the same for hobbies that you’re interested in. And while this may sound silly, create a vision board. Most of the top entrepreneurs, athletes and high performance people in the world have vision boards. They are silly, but they work.

Write the list and place it in a part of your home where you will see it every day. You could even set your phone to give you daily reminders so you will achieve your goals.

4. WORK YOUR BODY

While it may sound a bit disgusting to some – sweating will help you detoxify your body. Exercising causes sweating, and that will help expel several bad toxins from your body. This helps support immune functions and kill any bacteria that can’t survive 98.6˚ temperatures. It will also improve overall health.

Not only will exercise help with your immune system but it will also help you sleep better. And the better you sleep, the more you will get out of your workouts.

If you decide to try this out, please remember to drink a lot of water. After all, sweat is water, so you need to replace what your body is expelling.

5. POINT OUT THE WEAKNESS

This one you might need your buddy to help with. Take time to figure out where your weaknesses are. Study your daily life; look into every activity, be it daily or weekly, and identify where and when you need to avoid things. Be humble and constantly do research. For example, if you are struggling with a smoke addiction, make it a point to scour the internet for success stories and ways of quitting.

Consider replacing your afternoon smoke break with a brisk walk. Change a night at the bar to a night at the movies. You end goal is to remove any possible temptation of going back to your addictive ways.

STAY MOTIVATED

After identifying new habits to work on or toward, in the end it is your job to keep yourself motivated to continue these habits in order to reach your ultimate goal – recovering from your addiction.