Why Self-Care Is So Important During Addiction Recovery
Why Self-Care is so Important During Addiction Recovery
When people hear the word addiction, their minds typically go straight to the gutter. They assume addiction refers to drug and alcohol abuse. But, besides alcohol, people become addicted to prescription medications like opioids and illegal drugs. This is known as substance abuse disorder addiction. And while substance abuse is the main form of addiction, other addictions are become as familiar.
Behavior disorder addictions are becoming more recognizable today. Additionally, doctors confirm that over 10 percent of mental health patients deal with impulse control disorder addiction. Impulse control disorder addictions are found in people who cannot control emotions.
What is Addiction?
Addiction is defined as a condition that is chronic with characteristics that include relapsing and compulsive behaviors. As a brain disorder, addiction involves changes to brain circuits, including reward, self-control, and stress.
Thankfully, anyone struggling with addiction doesn’t have to do it in silence or feel alone. There are recovery programs and steps to guide them every step of the way. Some help includes inpatient and outpatient programs, therapy, counseling, and medication. Another critical aspect of recovery for addicts is self-care.
What Is Self-Care And Why Is Necessary For Addicts During Recovery?
Not to be confused with luxury, opulence, or splendor, self-care is the intentional care to ensure one’s healthy mind, body, and soul. It is the purposeful engagement of ways to relieve stress and promote healthy relationships and mental clarity.
For addicts, self-care becomes more necessary and should be prioritized. For addicts, where creating a healthy lifestyle is a goal, self-care is essential. Besides some addictions creating a weakened immune system, other disorders can build upon habits that may be harder to treat. Therefore, self-care is vital for those who grapple with addiction.
Methods Of Self-Care For Addicts
Like the rest of the world, those dealing with addiction deserve healthy minds, bodies, and souls. However, self-care isn’t limited to healthy individuals, and ensuring addicts are privy to it is essential, especially during recovery.
With the thought of intentionally working to promote a healthy mind, body, and soul in the forefront, some ways an addict can include self-care in their recovery include:
Join Support Groups
Everyone has seen television shows where a family does an intervention on another family member. It could be an intervention for any addiction or anything else. While the cameras show the person reluctantly entering a rehabilitation center, the ending is a joyous time for all. And while support groups don’t have to be as dramatic as what we see on television, inpatient and outpatient rehabs are available for addicts wanting to recover. A google search for “ a rehab center or methadone clinic near me” will yield several results for rehabilitation and support groups in your area.
Support from clinics or rehab centers help the body that has been using drugs and alcohol transition to a life without those substances. In addition, they deal with the anxiousness, irritability, diarrhea, and other symptoms that come from withdrawal. As such, these settings are a great form of self-care as they nourish the addict’s mind, body, and soul.
Practicing Good Hygiene
Addiction can make a person feel yucky – both on the inside and outside. Therefore, practicing good hygiene is self-care and crucial to all aspects of life for the person recovering from addiction. Good hygiene includes bathing daily, keeping up with medical and dental appointments, eating healthy meals, getting haircuts at regular intervals, getting in tune with the body, getting enough sleep each night, and much more. Practicing good hygiene is a self-care tip and is crucial to recovery for an addict.
Creating a New Lifestyle Outside of Addictive Patterns
Creating new habits is one of the best ways to create a lifestyle outside addictive patterns. Creating a new lifestyle can be done by:
- Re-discovering hobbies and passions
- Stepping outside your comfort zone
- Journalling
- Joining a gym and exercising
- Meditation and yoga
- Practicing spirituality
- Hanging with a new circle of friends
Conclusion
As you have read, self-care is often confused with luxury, opulence, or splendor. However, self-care is the intentional care given to ensure one’s healthy mind, body, and soul and is not indulgent. Instead, it is the purposeful engagement of relieving stress and promoting healthy relationships and mental clarity. Self-care is essential for those recovering from an addiction, and some ways to do that are listed above.