How to Break Bad Habits Following Addiction
Habits can be learned behaviors that you develop over time. Typically, they begin without intention. If they are intentional, they often end up being a more frequent or consistent thing than you planned for. Habits can be good or bad. Good habits could include things such as a daily exercise routine or meditation practice. Bad habits could include things like eating junk food daily before bed or spending too much time scrolling through social media.
Substance Use and Habits
When it comes to substance abuse, habits are often formed as a result of this lifestyle. For example, you may have developed a habit of poor eating or stay up way too late. You may have developed a habit of hanging around the wrong people or spending time at places that do not serve you well. Still, substance use on its own can be considered a habit.
Habits can be very difficult to break. Have you ever been a nail-biter or someone who tends to crack their knuckles often? Even the smallest and most insignificant habits can be tricky to discontinue.
When you decide to seek treatment, you may need to break a few old habits. To do so, it can be helpful to incorporate new helpful and positive routines. Filling the void of the old habits with new habits can make the transition a little easier.
You will need new things to do, new people to spend time with, and new hobbies. A few positive habits to adopt during treatment and carry into recovery could include:
- Following a bedtime routine
- Expressing your thoughts and feelings in a healthy way
- Meditating
- Spending time outdoors
While this is certainly not a comprehensive list, it does give you an idea of the types of things that could become positive habits. The best part is that these are easy to incorporate into your daily routine and take very little time.
Getting Quality Sleep
Getting enough good quality sleep is incredibly important. Addiction can take a huge toll on sleep quality and quantity, leaving your body sleep-deprived and functioning at far less than its best. By developing new, healthy habits surrounding sleep, you can ensure you are getting the rest your mind and body need.
It all begins with creating a good environment for sleep. This involves making sure you feel safe and feel able to relax. Using essential oils, dimming lighting, or listening to calming music can be great tools. Establishing habits to form a bedtime routine can signal to your mind and body that it is time for rest and help you fall asleep faster and easier.
Building Healthy Expression
Having the ability to communicate thoughts and feelings in real-time and in an honest way can be tricky. While struggling with addiction, it can be common to hide your truth out of fear or shame. Individual therapy and therapy groups can help promote open expression and can provide you with healthy ways to process and express how you feel.
Engaging in Meditation
Meditating has many benefits. Making a habit of meditating regularly has many more. Meditation allows you to check in with yourself in real-time. You are encouraged to focus on the present and what you are feeling, thinking, and experiencing at that very moment.
Meditation promotes better focus and helps you learn to drown out distractions. This, as you can imagine, is key during treatment and throughout recovery.
Getting Outdoors
When was the last time you took a moment to appreciate the earth and all it provides? Spending time outdoors has many health benefits and can serve as a breath of fresh air – literally – when life feels a little overwhelming.
Research has shown time and time again that being in nature can promote healing, lifts your mood, and can even improve sleep quality. With these advantages, why not consider taking a daily walk outside when the weather is nice?
Gardening is another way to get involved in nature and give back to the earth that gives so much to us. Spending a little time planting, watering, or even weeding a garden can be therapeutic.
The difficult task of breaking habits tends to have a negative connotation. However, when you consider healthy habits, this obstacle can be a good thing. Developing healthy habits during treatment and recovery is essential to your long-term success.
By creating routines that support your mental, physical, and spiritual health, you are more likely to avoid relapse and stay on track. Keeping busy with things that are positive and helpful to you and your new lifestyle is key.
We all have habits. Some of our habits may be good, and some of them may be bad. Addiction often brings many bad habits that can be difficult to break. Some may even serve as a barrier to seeking treatment. Replacing the bad habits with new, healthy habits can be helpful. At Enlightened Solutions, we provide an environment that encourages structure and engaging in activities that promote healing consistently. Our program offers healthy strictly organic foods, a variety of health and wellness classes and groups, and many outdoor experiential therapy options to choose from. We believe in our holistic approach to treatment, and encourage those we support to incorporate more holistic-focused habits into their new lifestyle. If you could benefit from developing some healthy habits with us, don’t hesitate any longer. Let us help you begin your journey to recovery today by calling Enlightened Solutions at (833) 801-LIVE.
