Life Improvement
Which Habits Will Make You Happier in Addiction Recovery?
Everyone wants to be happy, but for someone recovering from addiction, happiness can mean the difference between a sustained recovery and falling back into old destructive patterns. Much of what we do in life is determined by our habits, those things we do every day without even thinking about them. Bad habits can sabotage your…
Read More5 Ways to Exercise When You Aren’t “In The Mood”
Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for yourself in recovery. Numerous studies have supported the many benefits of exercise. It has been shown to increase activity in your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for executive functions like planning, self-control, emotional regulation, concentration, and working memory. It has…
Read MoreCreating Healthy Habits in Recovery
A successful, lasting recovery depends on our willingness to shed our unhealthy habits and replace them with new, empowering ones. Living with addiction, we’ve developed all kinds of habits that fed our insecurities and self-hate, that perpetuated our cycles of self-destructiveness and self-sabotage, that exacerbated our addictions and kept us living in pain and fear.…
Read MoreBreaking Down the Barriers of Shame and Stigma
One of the things so many of us continue to carry with us into our recovery, even after doing some great, transformative healing work, is our sense of shame. We hold onto intense guilt for years after the mistake or wrongdoing in question. We refuse to forgive ourselves. We see ourselves as shameful, immoral, bad…
Read More6 Ways to Make Relaxation Part of Your Addiction Recovery
Relaxation is an essential recovery skill for several reasons. First, and most importantly, stress is a major relapse trigger. When you feel stressed and overwhelmed, you become negative and feel like recovery is pointless. Often times, you have used drugs and alcohol for years as a way to cope with stress. Due to the way…
Read MoreCreating a Recovery Community
After completing a treatment program, one of the most important things we’ll want to do in our recovery is create a community for ourselves based on sobriety, mutual support and connection. While living with addiction, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, many of us grew accustomed to completely isolating ourselves from our loved ones,…
Read MoreIs This the Year You Get Sober?
Sobriety may seem like the biggest decision you’ll make all year, but it’s more achievable than you may realize. When alcohol becomes the centerpiece of our lives, for a while there it feels like everything is fine. We go out more, we have fun and socialize, and we drown out any of the pain that…
Read MoreWhy Goals Are Better Than New Year’s Resolutions
Around this time of the year, it’s common to hear people talking about New Year’s resolutions. Weight loss, fitness goals, smoking cessation, travel plans and more fill the air as friends and family share with one another what they hope to complete within the next 12 months. For years, New Year’s as served as a…
Read MoreWhat Are Some Mantras to Inspire Me This Upcoming Year?
Around this time of the year, you may find yourself wanting to add some enriching, meaningful activities to your daily life so that you can take your recovery to an entirely new level. This upcoming year holds so much hope – for many, it’s like a clean slate. As you reflect on 2018, we hope…
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