8 Helpful Coping Mechanisms to Use in Addiction Recovery

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coping mechanisms

Learn Addiction Coping Mechanisms Tips on How to Protect Your Recovery

The road to wellness after dealing with a substance use problem should be viewed through a long-range lens. It simply takes time to make such profound changes in your habits and lifestyle choices. Over time, the addiction coping mechanisms you adopt to maintain sobriety will also pertain to health and wellness.

Let’s start with our focus being first on ways to strengthen recovery and reduce relapse risk. There are many very good coping techniques that can help support sobriety. When these are accessed often they soon become new habits. Each of these efforts adds to your commitment to living a sober life.

8 Coping Mechanisms Tips to Use in Recovery

When you begin the road to living a sober lifestyle you need to approach the process from a holistic viewpoint. Holistic simply means to think about how all aspects of your being are functioning at any given point. These include your body, mental health, and spirit.

When these three facets are healthy, you will have a better chance of staying sober and well. Use these 8 coping mechanisms tips to help you achieve this goal:

Control stress.

Learning how to manage stress is huge in recovery success. Stress has the power to disrupt your recovery process and lead to relapse. There are many methods people can use to help control stress. These include:

  • Yoga. Yoga’s movements and poses, coupled with breath-work, help you to quiet your mind and achieve a calm state.
  • Deep breathing. Learning how to slow your heart rate and breathing rate through deep breathing is easy. When stressed, breathe in deeply to a count of 5, hold breath for 5, and release to a count of 5. Repeat 5 times.
  • Meditation. Find a quiet time to sit alone and meditate. Practice the process daily. Soon you will learn how to ignore distracting thoughts and worries.
  • Massage. A massage can help release the toxins in your muscles and relax the body.
  • Music. Music has great power to affect your state of mind. Create a playlist of soothing music to play while you work, clean house, cook or relax.
  • Essential oils. Aroma therapy can really help you unwind and relax. Add some drops of rose oil or ylang ylang to your bath or diffuser.

Take up healthy hobbies.

Turn boredom into being productive by taking up some healthy new hobbies. Consider these:

  • Gardening. The process of planting and growing plants and flowers is very soothing and gratifying. Spending time outdoors in the sunshine is an added gift to your healthy mind and body.
  • Arts and crafts. Tap into your artsy side as an outlet for your soul. Take up a new craft, like making jewelry, knitting, or candle making. Try Plein air painting or pick up some charcoal pencils to create new artwork.
  • Photography. Why not capture the stunning beauty that is all around you? Taking photos is a great pastime that allows you to focus your mind and talents on all that is pleasant. See the world through the lens of your camera.
  • Cooking. Cooking is really catching on as a renewed hobby this past year. Sign up for a cooking class or tune in to an online cooking show. You will be inspired, and your family will love the results.

Take time to reflect.

Carve out a little time each day to nurture your spiritual side. You might pick up a book that inspires you. Maybe you spend some time in prayer or start a gratitude journal.

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Cultivate new friendships.

Without each other, we will fail in our efforts to get better. Our support sources include friendships, and these must be nurtured always. Build up your new sober friendships and sow the seeds for a lifetime of mutual caring and support.

Go to therapy.

Do not, repeat-not, ignore the need to keep up with your therapy sessions. Sometimes no matter all your efforts you still find yourself on shaky ground. Enlist the support of your group or one-on-one therapy sessions to help you through a challenge.

Stay active.

Sitting is one of the least healthy things we can do. To keep our bodies, minds, and spirits in a healthy place it is crucial that we remain active. Define your fitness program any way you want, but just be sure to include regular movement into your days and weeks.

Learn to distract yourself.

One of the most useful tools in recovery is riding the wave of a trigger or craving to avoid a relapse. This is a skill that takes some honing. Create a list of 2 or 3 things you can do to distract yourself when triggered. These can be things like taking a run, going to a meeting, or meeting up with your sponsor.

Improve sleep quality.

Nothing will ruin your day like a bad night’s sleep. Respect your body’s need for restful sleep and do the things that will help you achieve that. These include avoiding caffeine after 3 pm, avoiding heavy meals at night, and shutting your devices off an hour before bed.

Staying sober is tightly wrapped up in mental and spiritual wellness. By giving all aspects of your being the needed love and support you increase your chances of recovery success.

Bodhi Addiction Treatment and Wellness Provides Full-Spectrum Treatment

Bodhi Addiction Treatment devotes its efforts to caring for the whole person. It is through this pathway that real change can be made, and wellness restored. Learning coping skills for addiction recovery is a core treatment focus in our program. For more detail about the program, please reach out to the team today at (877) 328-1968.