May 29, 2024 | Alcoholism, drinking
If you are in alcohol recovery, you can achieve whole-body health by making sure to nourish your mind, body, and soul. Deciding to quit drinking shows that you care about your well-being. If you are getting clean, it’s a great time to focus your energy on getting your whole body more healthy. Start by eating healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise. Proper sleep is also very important for your overall well-being. And finally, never skip your mental wellness when trying to achieve whole-body health. It’s important to learn healthy ways to cope with stress so that you are successful with your sobriety. Hopefully, you can get your body in the best health it’s ever been now that you are focused on staying sober.
Alcohol Recovery: Whole Body Health While Staying Sober
Eating Healthy Foods
Whole-body health starts with eating healthy foods. Alcohol can lead to a lot of weight gain, so now that you are getting sober, you might see some weight come off. However, it’s important to also make good changes to your diet to continue this trend. Try to fill your plate with fresh fruits and veggies. Next, opt for whole grains instead of things made from white flour. And make sure to get plenty of lean proteins. It’s best to choose organic when possible so that you are getting all of the nutrients available without additives and preservatives.
Exercising
Another important aspect of whole-body health is exercise. Exercising is a great way to get your body leaner and more toned. However, it also can be stress-relieving and make you feel happier because of the endorphin rush. Aim to get around 30 minutes of cardio each day with some weight lifting mixed in every few days.
Sleep
Sleep is imperative for whole-body health. Drinking can negatively affect your sleep in many ways. Hopefully, you’ll be seeing the positive effects of getting sober already by falling and staying asleep more easily. If you are trying to get a good night’s rest, make sure to turn off all screens at least an hour before bed. Try not to eat heavy meals within an hour or two of bedtime as well. Make your bedroom and bed as inviting and comfortable as possible.
Mental Wellness
Finally, whole-body health wouldn’t be complete without including your mental wellness. Alcoholism and alcohol recovery is emotionally draining. It can take a huge toll on your mental health. It’s important to learn healthy coping strategies so that stress won’t make you go back to drinking. Speak to a therapist, or consider joining a group program like AA to learn some great techniques for handling stress. Consider meditation, focused breathing, and journaling as well to help you get focused on your sobriety and fight stress.
Whole-body health is very important when in alcohol recovery. You’re already making such a great decision for your well-being, it’s a great time to focus on all areas of your body. Make sure that you start by eating cleanly and in sensible portions. Try to get plenty of exercise during the week. Make sure that you set yourself up for successful and restful sleep each night. And finally, consider therapy or other techniques for tending to your mental wellbeing. Make sure that you learn some great coping skills for stress so that you aren’t tempted to drink when you feel overwhelmed. You’ve made a great decision for your overall well-being to give up drinking, now is the time to get in the best health of your entire life!
Mar 3, 2024 | Alcoholism, drinking
Drinking in moderation can be a good way to relax and enjoy yourself. However, if you notice that you’ve been drinking more and more than usual, it could be the sign of some dangerous behavior developing. That’s why it’s good to know what you can do to cut down on your alcohol intake. This can help you keep healthy while still enjoying your favorite drinks…
How-to Reduce Alcohol Intake: Important Techniques
Set a limit
One good way to lower your alcohol intake is by setting a hard limit. Usually, before someone start drinking, they’ll have a basic idea of how much they want to drink. Yet, once they begin drinking, it’s easy for them to drink way more than they expected.
By setting a hard limit, you know exactly how much you want to drink. That way, when you start drinking, you know when to stop. Plus, it’s good to let any friends with you know what your limit is as well. This will help them not pressure you into drinking past this limit, and instead help you stick to it.
Eat beforehand
Some people try to not eat much before they drink. In their eyes, they try to balance the empty calories that comes with drinking by limiting what they eat. In reality, it’s not a good idea to drink on an empty stomach, especially if you want to limit your alcohol intake.
By drinking on an empty stomach, you’re setting yourself up to drink way more than you should. It’s pretty simple, as the more space there is in your stomach, the more you can drink before feeling full. By eating beforehand, you’ll be able to better limit your alcohol intake. This will also help you avoid feeling sick or nauseous after a few drinks.
Choose healthier options
Picking healthier choices is also good for when you want to cut down on your alcohol intake. Of course, the most apparent choice is water. Drinking water will help keep you hydrated after drinking alcohol. Plus, it’ll also help you feel full without needing to drink any alcohol. You can also try out some non-alcoholic drinks. Many of these drinks will taste similar to their alcoholic ones, just without the alcohol in them. Choosing these drinks can be good if you want to watch your intake, but still want to experience some unique flavors.
Feb 11, 2024 | Alcoholism, drinking
Recovery from drug or alcohol addiction can be a very long and difficult journey for many people. Trying pet therapy for addiction can be very useful for recovery for several reasons. Pets have been proven to boost your mood. Who can’t resist a happy dog’s boundless energy? In addition, pets instill a sense of responsibility for their owners which can be an important step in recovery. Pets have also been shown to increase self-confidence. And finally, a therapy pet is an excellent source of support when you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed. If you’re struggling with addiction, consider adopting a therapy pet to help you with your recovery and provide a great source of happiness and fun in your life.
Using Pet Therapy for Addiction: The Many Benefits of a Therapy Pet
Improve Mood
One reason why pet therapy for addiction is so helpful is that pets improve our moods. Most people feel calmer in the presence of their therapy pets or even household pets. Some studies have shown that having pets present during therapy sessions allows patients to open up more fully to their doctor. Pets are cute, cuddly, and so loving. Just being around them can boost your mood and make you feel less stressed about recovery.
Instill Responsibility
Another reason why pet therapy for addiction is beneficial is that pets create a sense of responsibility for their owners. Taking care of another living thing is hard work. You have to be present for them every day and keep track of their schedule along with your own. Some addicts find that taking care of their pets is a big reason as to why they want to get sober. It’s hard to be a good pet parent if you’ve fallen off the wagon. Therefore, owning a pet might give you a further needed push to get clean.
Boost Self-Confidence
Pet therapy for addiction also boosts self-confidence. Being a good pet owner is incredibly rewarding. Pets show gratitude for even the smallest gestures, so you’ll feel great every time you show your pet some love. This feeling of achievement and goal-reaching can boost your self-confidence. Being a responsible pet owner is a big job, and doing it well should boost your self-worth.
Be a Source of Comfort
Finally, one final and obvious reason why pet therapy for addiction works so well is that pets are a great source of comfort. Battling addiction comes with a lot of struggles. You’ll have hard times when you’ll want to throw in the towel. But a comforting pet might just help you get through the hard times. Pets are sympathetic animals, and can usually sense when their owners are unhappy. They’ll probably try and comfort you when you are feeling overwhelmed. Even the very act of petting an animal has stress-reducing effects on the human brain. A pet can be a great source of comfort for anybody struggling with addiction.
Pet therapy for addiction has been successful for many people in recovery. Pets can become a huge and loving part of your life that will give you the strength to get through the struggles of recovery. Pets improve your mood and can be a great source of comfort when you are feeling down. In addition, they instill a lot of responsibility in their owners. Being a great pet owner can be a huge boost in your self-confidence. All of these things can help make getting sober easier for you. In addition to helping with your recovery, you might just find that your pet is a loving and fun companion for many years.
Dec 17, 2023 | Alcoholism, drinking
When you begin your road to recovery, it can be tough to go it alone. As such, it’s helpful to build up recovery relationships. These bonds can go a long way in giving you the extra support you need during this time…
Recovery Relationships: Helpful Support
Value of relationships
Recovery relationships are quite helpful for those who are seeking to get sober. If you try and do things alone, it can be hard to resist things such as cravings. You could also start to feel rather discouraged and lose your enthusiasm as you begin to face some difficulties.
However, having people to support you can make things different. Here, you’ll have people who can encourage you to keep sober and help to hold you accountable. Not just that, but you’ll also have people who you can trust and be honest with. Knowing you have people in your corner goes far in giving you the strength you may need to get and stay sober.
Unhealthy relationships
If there are recovery relationships you don’t want, it’s any unhealthy ones. These toxic relationships will serve to hurt your efforts to get sober. Instead of support, these people may tear you down instead. Or, it could be the case that they are a bad influence and try to encourage you to relapse back into drug use.
These kinds of relationships can be hard to cut off, as they may be people you know or did drugs with. Still, you have to understand that it’s what’s best for your well-being. Being around these kinds of people will just add a lot of unneeded stress during an already-stressful time.
Creating new bonds
Building recovery relationships can be done in a number of ways. For starters, it’s good to turn to existing friends and family. Those who show that they’ll still help and support you are great to keep around. It’s only those who won’t that you’ll want to cut off.
As for new friends, many people create new bonds when they go through treatment. Meeting people at these facilities is great for making new friends that know exactly what kind of situation you’re in. You can also find new friends at group therapy or treatment sessions. It’s easy to form new connections as you share stories about your experiences.
Oct 23, 2023 | Alcoholism, Drugs
Building self-esteem in recovery from alcoholism is so important because alcoholism can be associated with low self-confidence. Boosting your self-esteem can help with your overall recovery. One of the most important steps to building self-confidence is to forgive yourself for past mistakes. Another thing you can try is to keep a progress report of how far you’ve progressed. Try to accept compliments when people say nice things to you. And finally, try to do something nice for others. All of these things can hopefully help you build self-confidence and in turn, help you with your recovery.
Building Self-Esteem in Recovery from Alcoholism: Recognizing Your Progress
Forgive Yourself For Past Mistakes
One important aspect of recovery, in general, is to be able to forgive yourself. It’s especially important if you’re building self-esteem in recovery from alcoholism. Even if you’ve made mistakes in the past, you’re actively trying to right them now. That’s the important thing to remember. It’s also important to forgive yourself if you fall off the wagon. Forgiving yourself for mistakes will allow you to move past them and continue to work towards your goal.
Keep a Progress Report
Building self-esteem in recovery is a bit easier if it’s easy to look at the progress you’ve made. Therefore, it can be helpful to keep track of all your goals and triumphs. You can use apps for this or good old pen and paper. Journaling in recovery can be very helpful for seeing the progress you make. When you’re having self-doubts you can look back on earlier entries and see just how far you’ve come.
Accept Compliments
Part of building self-esteem in recovery also means accepting compliments from others. When you are making great progress, people are bound to notice. Recovering from alcoholism can have tons of great effects on the body, from improved mood to brighter skin. If somebody notices how hard you’ve been working, accept the compliment they give you as truth.
Be Kind
Finally, building self-esteem in recovery is easier if you’re kind to others. Studies have shown that doing one nice deed for another person each day can lead to more feelings of self-confidence. You feel important and helpful, and others are appreciative of you. All of these things can help your self-esteem. Plus you’ll probably gain some new friends.
Building self-esteem in recovery from alcoholism can be difficult but will help you in the long run. There are many things about recovery that can tear down your self-confidence, but it’s important to remember all the progress you’ve made. Try to keep track of all your successes so you can review them when you’re feeling low. Accept that you’ve done things in the past you’re not proud of but that now you’re turning yourself around for the better. Accept compliments when others recognize how well you’re doing in recovery. And finally, try to do one nice good deed for somebody else every day. All of these things will hopefully allow you to increase your self-confidence. The recovery process is much easier if you’re armed with high self-esteem. You’ll know your own worth and know how important your sobriety is.
Jun 18, 2023 | Alcoholism, Co-parenting
Co-parenting with an addict for an ex can feel frustrating and overwhelming. Especially if you share custody and your child spends time with them without your supervision. Your child’s safety and mental well-being are the most important things though, as is your mental health. Start by educating yourself on addiction, and work on skills like conflict resolution or stress management with your child. Be a safe space for them by maintaining a consistent schedule and always being open to listening to their concerns. Finally, enlist help from a support group, or an experienced attorney if you have safety concerns. Hopefully, your ex will get the help they need so you can have a less dysfunctional relationship and so your child will be happier and healthier.
Co-Parenting with an Addict: Maintaining You and Your Child’s Mental and Physical Health
Why It’s So Difficult
Co-parenting with an addict can be maddening and scary. For most parents, their child’s needs and well-being are their absolute top priority. But for addicts, often their top priority is the substance they’re addicted to. They can be irrational and have poor decision-making skills. They might be difficult to maintain contact with or have emotional outbursts. It can be scary to have to relinquish any kind of control over your child to a person acting this way.
Start with Education
The best thing you can do when co-parenting with an addict is to arm yourself with knowledge. Understanding how addiction works will help you interact more effectively with your ex. It’s also important not to waste too much of your energy trying to change them or heal them. Only they can choose when to get the help they need to get clean. If your child is older, consider talking to them about your ex’s addiction, and helping them understand what it means. Work on skills like conflict resolution, building self-confidence, and dealing with stress with your child.
Be a Safe space for Your Child
You and your household need to be a safe space for your child to come back to when co-parenting with an addict. Children thrive on routine, and often, addiction leads to very dysfunctional lifestyles. When your child is with you, stick to a schedule they can count on. This will give them confidence and security. Make sure they understand that they can always come to you with any concerns and will be believed and not judged.
Enlist Help
Finally, when co-parenting with an addict, don’t try to go it alone. There are support groups and networks that can help you find others in similar situations who might have tips on how to deal with it. Additionally, if you feel that you need to re-evaluate your custody agreement for your child’s well-being, speak to an experienced attorney. If you feel your child is in danger, call the police immediately.
Co-parenting with an addict can be very isolating, and it can make you feel nervous about your child’s well-being. It’s natural to be frustrated and concerned in this situation, but the best thing you can do is to educate yourself on how addiction works. Give your child age-appropriate resources so they can also understand what is happening. Work on skills like communication and boundary-setting with them. Make sure that they know they can come to you with any concerns, and try to make your home a safe space for them. Enlist the help of an attorney to re-visit your custody agreement, or call emergency services if you feel your child is in danger. You can’t make an addict change their behavior, but you can arm your child with the tools and knowledge they need so that they can spend time with their other parent without it damaging their mental health.
