As a recovering addict, you must take care of yourself. To achieve long-term recovery, you must believe that you are worthy of a happy and healthy life.
Living your best life begins with self-care. Self-care in sobriety must be practiced every day to the best of your ability.
Self-care includes finding routines that work for you, eating and sleeping well, fostering strong relationships, and so much more.
Keep reading, and we’ll tell you all about self-care in addiction recovery and why it is so important.
Self-Esteem and the Recovering Addict
As a recovering addict, you may feel guilty or depressed about your past choices. You may struggle with low self-esteem.
The first step towards practicing self-care is believing that you do, in fact, deserve to be taken care of. You must be willing to believe that you are worthy of the self-care that you practice.
Even if you are going through the motions at first, and it all seems pointless, the better care you take of yourself, the more your self-esteem will improve.
You’ve probably heard the saying, “fake it until you make it.” Sometimes, that’s the best way to approach self-care.
You may not think of yourself as the kind of person who cooks nice meals, goes for walks, or meditates. However, if you force yourself to do any of those self-care activities anyway, you’ll still benefit from them.
Before you know it, you’ll be looking forward to each day, and you will believe that you deserve to enjoy being alive each day.
Self-esteem can often be the lowest during the detox stage of recovery. Self-care practices can be a good way to distract yourself from withdrawal and other unpleasant parts of detoxing.
Routines for Sober Living
Self-care can be a vital part of your addiction help plan. Self-care routines include, but are not limited to:
- Showering or bathing regularly
- Cleaning the house
- Eating three nice meals per day
- Buying comfortable and well-fitting clothing
- Engaging in a favorite hobby
- Listening to music
- Watching a favorite television show or movie
- Spending time with loved ones
Self-care can be anything that is good for you and makes you feel good. Those are the only two criteria.
The most helpful self-care activities are those that you can incorporate into a daily routine. Keeping up with a strict routine can help prevent you from relapsing.
When you are in the throes of an addiction, life is unpredictable and messy. To break out of your addictive habits, you must make your life sensible and orderly.
By making sure that you take a shower every other day, cook breakfast every morning, or read and watch television every night, you give yourself stability to grasp onto.
Including exercise in your daily routine is another great way to keep your body and brain healthy. Whatever you do, make sure it is consistent.
Enrich Your Life Again
When you start taking care of yourself in recovery, you may find a new passion in your life that you never had before. You might discover that you love playing guitar, or woodworking, or cooking, or brewing coffee.
80% of recovering addicts hit at least one major milestone while they are in recovery. For many, this means finding a new job or career path.
Self-care will help you stay disciplined and sober, but it may do more than that. The hobbies that make you feel good can often become the career that fills your life with purpose.
Reaching these important milestones can do wonders to restore your self-esteem and hope for a sober life.
Sometimes, the greatest barrier to success is your belief in yourself. It may sound like a cliché, but it is still the truth. If you don’t have much confidence in yourself, create that confidence by enriching your life as much as possible.
Another great way to enrich your life is to connect with friends who are healthy influences on you. Whether you reconnect with old friends or spend time with new ones you met in recovery, social connections are important.
Enrich your life in the most well-rounded way possible. Take care of yourself, enjoy rewarding relationships, discover your passions, and you’ll find yourself happier than ever in sobriety.
Reach Out for Help
That said, sobriety isn’t always easy. Self-care habits can do a lot, but they can’t always combat the chemical imbalance that addiction can cause in your brain.
When it gets difficult, and you fear you might relapse, call a friend or family member you trust.
Sometimes self-care isn’t just fun stuff. Sometimes self-care is reaching out to someone and being vulnerable with them. One of the bravest acts of self-care you can commit to is admitting that you need sober living assistance.
To reach out for help when you need it, you must believe that you deserve that help. Do not worry about burdening your friends. Do not worry about being a disappointment.
Self-care is about you, first and foremost. It teaches you to prioritize yourself when you need to.
Your loved ones would rather help you in your time of need than see you relapse. They’ll be glad you reached out to them, and they’ll understand that it’s part of how you need to take care of yourself. That’s a guarantee.
Find Your Self-Care in Sobriety
Recovering from an addiction is never easy, but it is always possible.
You deserve a bright future. To make sure your life is as healthy and happy as it can be, start practicing self-care today.
If you are struggling to maintain your sobriety, consider reaching out to professionals who can help you form healthy habits. The sooner you seek help, the sooner you can use self-care in sobriety to your advantage.