When you are going through recovery, something that is of the utmost importance is to begin to practice self-care. It would be best if you took time to heal physically and emotionally, not only from substance abuse or addiction but also from other traumas.
The more you can do to improve your health, both physically and emotionally, the better you will feel. For more information on self-care and why it’s a critical component of your overall recovery, reach out to Southworth Associates today at 844.521.0523.
Is Self-Care Critical to Recovery?
When you go through recovery, there is a high likelihood that you will feel stressed or anxious. You may be exhausted from long-term withdrawal or be trying to manage all of your responsibilities, as well as recovering from a challenging mental health condition.
There are several benefits to self-care that make it critical to your recovery. These include:
- Feeling your best
- Improving your quality of life
- Increasing your mental and physical resources or energy levels so that you can deal with stress better
- Maximizing your potential
What Can You Do to Better Care for Yourself?
When you think about self-care, there are three separate categories that you can practice.
Physical Self-Care
One of the primary ways you can practice physical self-care is to begin to get more sleep. Most people need around 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. It would be best if you also tried to exercise more regularly. Just 20 to 30 minutes of exercise daily will help reduce muscle tension, relieve negative thoughts, improve your confidence, and more. Furthermore, you may try to participate in activities that relax you, like taking a soothing bath or watching a movie. Last, you can choose to eat and drink healthily. Please don’t skip meals, because doing so can increase physical and emotional stress.
Emotional Self-Care
Some of the emotional self-care options available include:
- Practicing optimism. Working on finding the good in any situation can help you reduce the feelings of anger, anxiety, or depression that you may be dealing with each day.
- Donating your time to help others. Helping others can improve your self-confidence and feelings of self-worth.
- Smile. Did you know that smiling can help you change your mood even when you aren’t happy at first?
Other Self-Care Techniques
You can also practice social, internal, spiritual, and environmental self-care. These fall under the above categories but may include additional self-care techniques such as:
- Giving yourself space from others
- Getting involved in activities that you enjoy
- Focusing on positive aspects about yourself
- Practicing mindfulness
- Building a social support system
When you begin doing all these things, you should see an improvement in your life overall.
What Can You Do to Make Self Care a Priority?
To make self-care a priority, make sure you’re setting aside time to focus on yourself. If that means scheduling two days a week when you don’t work or an hour a night when you separate yourself from other responsibilities to focus on yourself, then do it.
It’s a good idea to have a self-care schedule so that self-care doesn’t fall by the wayside. You can come up with a list of possible self-care activities. Once you do, add them to your schedule and make sure they become a part of your routine. Be focused on adding at least one self-care activity to each of your days.
Contact Southworth Associates International
If you want to help someone you know with substance abuse and addiction recovery, self-care, and other issues, we’re here to help. At Southworth Associates International, we have tools to help you create an intervention, learn more about substance abuse and addiction recovery, and find a service to support your needs. Call us today at 844.521.0523 for more information.
