Life After Addiction

Stress is a natural and unavoidable response of our body to many factors. Therefore, anyone who is alive would surely experience stress, even though they have everything at their disposal.

We deal with stress every day. Small issues can accumulate into stress that leaves you tired of almost everything. It can get to a point where you become tired of everything around you because of the built-up stress.

• Create healthy routines

If you work around a conventional routine, there is a chance for chronic stress to catch up with you. On the other hand, healthy routines ensure that you have control over your stress levels. With healthy routines, you can manage different tasks without getting stressed out.

Healthy routines involve eating well, having enough sleep, exercising, going on a vacation to stay away from work stress, etc.

• Join a support group

The essence of a support group is often underrated because people don’t understand how it works. A support group allows you to connect with people who are possibly experiencing what you are going through.

You can join a support group where the people there are in your career path. Therefore, it would be easy to rub minds with them and encourage one another as you navigate your careers together.

• Know when to seek help

It is difficult to go through life alone without any help. If you feel that your stress levels are getting out of control, you need to seek help. Usually, people who don’t seek help for their severely stressed lives end up getting addicted.

When you discover that it is hard for you to handle stress, reach out to a counselor or therapist for help.

Stress doesn’t fizzle away completely. You need to learn how to manage it so that it doesn’t control you eventually. When you seek help from the right sources and you live a healthy life, it would be impossible for stress to creep in on you.

If you have a loved one in addiction treatment, your primary role is to provide them with sufficient support so that they can finish strong.

Recovering addicts go through a lot that we cannot relate to, and sometimes, we don’t cut them some slack when they are blamed for their inactions.

Your loved one needs all the support they can get, and here are some tips to help you:

• Encourage them to follow through with addiction treatment

No matter how resolute and determined your loved one is in recovering from addiction, there are times when they will be discouraged. This is when they need their support system, which you belong to, to support them so that they can pull through.

• Help them develop and sustain healthy coping skills

Your loved one recovering from addiction would have been taught some coping skills to navigate life so that they don’t fall to triggers. It is your responsibility to make sure that they implement those skills to ensure that triggers have nothing on them.

Ensure that you are available when they need someone to talk to or someone to remind them that they have to keep fighting against a possible relapse.

• Reduce their conflict with family and friends

Individuals who are recovering from addiction are likely to be involved in family feuds. This recovery period is usually sensitive for these individuals and even their loved ones. So, you need to act as a cushion against possible fallouts.

• Learn the signs of relapse

Since you have a loved one in addiction recovery, it is an opportunity for you to learn more about addiction. You need to know the possible signs of relapse when watching out for your loved one.

You don’t want them to go through the stress of seeking addiction treatment all over again because they relapsed.

Your loved one needs you to keep their hopes alive. It is crucial to provide them with the encouragement and love they need to conquer addiction.

When most people are in addiction rehab, they make lots of decisions that they intend to accomplish once they are out.

During this period, they are able to reflect on the mistakes they made during their addiction and they would try everything possible to ensure they make corrections. However, only few addicts put nutritious plans in the overall plan they are crafting.

It is important for you to make a decision to be healthier than you were before. Hence, in restoring your overall state of health, it is important to provide ample nutrition that restores your body back to a great state.

It would interest you to know that a good nutrition is quintessential for all aspects of your health, your mental health inclusive. You would be more fortified to fight cravings and your productivity increases in return.

Definitely, people recovering from addiction are mineral deficient. The reason for this is, they have picked up bad dietary habits and their organs have reduced in function.

Common minerals that addicts are deficient in are: Chromium, Calcium, Iron, Potassium and Magnesium. When you take these minerals, you are aided to achieve a natural restoration for your body.

Also, addiction prevents your body from properly absorbing nutrients and one way to fight this during recovery is to take enough vitamins.

It is expedient for you to take vitamins like A, B and C. These vitamins are needed in normalizing body functions like eyesight, development of red blood cells, boosting the immune system, regeneration of your skin and a host of others.  

A good number of times, people do not know how to access these nutrients, and this makes it crucial for you to have a nutritionist who would draft a nutrient plan for you.

Usually, rehabs have their professional nutritionists who are responsible for the nutritional health of recovering addicts. But in case they are not present, it is advisable to seek the services of a nutritionist.

Every one desires a healthy lifestyle but there are two major reasons why we might not have an entirely healthy lifestyle. The first reason is, we are not ready to pay the sacrifice.

While the second reason why we do not have a healthy lifestyle is because we do not know how to go about it.

This article is a good read because it reveals important practices for a healthy lifestyle.

The first important practice is a balanced diet. Not everyone puts this into consideration and it is sad. What most people are after is the quantity of food they eat and not the quality.

For others, they are concerned about the happiness the food brings and not the quality. So, they would rather eat sugary foods because of its capacity to trigger happiness than balanced diet.

You might not know how to go about this, and this is why nutritionists are available.

Next, it is important to drink enough water. We need water to survive and it is expected to take several cups of water per day. The range of six-eight cups is okay on a daily basis.

Also, it is necessary to find ample time to relax. No matter the volume of work and pending tasks we have, it is important to make out time to rest. You can rest by simply reading a book, sleeping, watching a movie, taking a walk and a host of others.

It is also vital to exercise on a regular basis. There are several benefits that come with this. One of the notable benefits is the building of our bones and muscles which in turn makes us fit.

Lastly, it is advised that for you to live a healthy lifestyle, it is best to reduce the intake of alcohol and drug abuse. These substances are not healthy for a good lifestyle and they must be reduced at all costs.

Advisably, ensure you meet up with your healthcare provider on a regular basis to run checks on your overall state of health.  

So, in previous blog posts, we have discussed the importance of vitamins and supplements in your post-addiction life. We have also discussed some healthy foods to help get you back on track to a healthier life. And, we have discussed why both of these aspects are an important part of addiction recovery and your post-addiction life.

Now, let’s talk about just a few general nutrition tips for your post-addiction life.

Clearly, nutrition is an important aspect to recovering from addiction and to staying sober. But, it isn’t so that you can lose weight or run faster – it is to get your body back on track after it was severely malnourished and it is to help your body return to its normal state after it has been conditioned to rely so heavily on drugs or alcohol.

Addiction takes a heavy toll on a person’s body and in fact, it damages it – leaving it malnourished, tired, weak, and sometimes even inhibiting its ability to uptake nourishment normally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mppnCzKisw

So, the road to addiction recovery is an entire lifestyle – from building up your mental strength to getting your body back on track to understanding why and how you are doing all of this.

And, there are a few general tips we would like to provide that might be able to help you along the way as you strive to live a healthy, post-addiction life:

1. Go for decaf drinks.
   
   I know, it is highly likely that your first instinct is to go for whatever has the most caffeine. But, guess what? Caffeine is the most widely abused drug in the entire world…

   

   It stimulates you just like the other drugs do, which make it especially dangerous to a recovering addict. This stimulation can be a trigger and actually make it hard for you to resist the cravings for other drugs or alcohol. 

2. Avoid sugary foods.

   While sugary foods might taste pleasing, they are just empty calories. This can lead to weight gain, depression, anxiety, and mood swings which can also make the road to recovery difficult.

   They can cause you to eat less nutrient-dense food, which your body so desperately needs.

3. Pack the protein.

   Protein is great for your brain – it is a building block that will help you achieve a healthier brain, overall body, and lifestyle.

4. Become a smart snacker.

   You are more likely to make bad decisions when you get hungry. So, eat often but make good choices. Try to keep fruit and vegetables or other healthy snacks like nuts nearby at all times.

If you have read any of our previous posts, you have seen just how important it is that you take care of your body after addiction through taking vitamins and supplements. The vitamins and supplements help restore the nutrients that your body is lacking but still so desperately needs.

However, when it comes to repairing your body after addiction, vitamins and supplements are not the only things you should be doing to help restore your health and continue your journey to a lifelong recovery.

Part of establishing a new and healthy lifestyle also includes exercising and eating healthy…

Have you heard the saying, “you are what you eat”?

Well, that is something that is especially true. Your body is what fuels your energy and pushes you forward to do the things you want and need to do. So, if you eat only heavy and greasy foods – you will likely feel tired and sluggish most of the time. But, if you eat superfoods and other nutritious things, you will likely feel energized and more inclined to follow along with your journey to recovery.

Following a healthy diet is also important in the sense that it helps you establish a schedule. It is healthy for you to set a goal to get healthy and establish a schedule that helps you reach that goal. Also, as a result of eating better, you will likely have an easier time staying on track with your sleep schedule, work schedule, exercise schedule and then with your continued recovery program overall.

But, just because something is marketed as “low-fat” or “low-carb” doesn’t necessarily mean that is the healthy food we are talking about…

Healthy Foods for Recovery

There are several foods that are nutritional powerhouses – they provide you with a large amount of nutrients in one small serving and will have you on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

You should try to focus on things like vitamins, antioxidants, and healthy fats.

A few foods that are great for recovery include chicken, eggs, fish, avocado, nuts, coconut oils, olive oil, flaxseed oil, berries, most other green vegetables such as asparagus, brussel sprouts, and green beans.

Of course, you can also incorporate plenty of various other food items into your diet, but these are incredibly beneficial to your health and your overall recovery.

What are your favorite healthy recipes? Share a few of them with us in the comments! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqRopYehQu8

When it comes to addiction recovery, you likely develop this long list of things that you can’t do, places you can’t go, and people you can’t hang out with…

It can seem overwhelming at times thinking of all the things you have to avoid.

But, there is also a long list of things you should be doing…

And, at the top of that list should be getting healthy. After addiction, your body is likely tired and weak – it has been beaten down constantly over the duration of the times you were abusing drugs and alcohol.

So, it is important that you work to restore your body to a healthier version of you. This is important to your physical health – you need to make up for the lost time of nurturing your body that was lost during addiction. But, this is also beneficial for your mental health as well – it can help you find the strength to fight cravings and it can help give you the energy to be productive and change your lifestyle.

Part of becoming healthy and moving toward a healthier lifestyle is also incorporating vitamins and supplements into your life. This will better help you achieve the goal of living a healthier lifestyle and here’s why:

Minerals

Those recovering from addiction are often mineral deficient – this is a result of poor dietary habits and decreased organ function. So, it is important to restore these levels to help your body get back to functioning like normal.

A few minerals recovering addicts are most commonly deficient in include zinc, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and chromium.

By taking vitamins and supplements to ensure you restore the natural levels of these items to your body you can help reduce your number of headaches, depression, fatigue, cramping, and can help improve bone health and nerve function.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-V2UTUHzgI

Vitality Vitamins

Not only does addiction strip your body of the vitamins and minerals you need, but it also strips your body of the ability to properly absorb them. So, as a result, you might find that just taking a few supplements here and there just isn’t cutting it.

However, there are vitamins that can help improve your uptake of those supplements.

Try taking things like multivitamins and vitamins A, B, and C. All of these can help normalize things like vision, red blood cell development, skin regeneration, appetite, and nerve function. And, they can also help improve your organs’ ability to uptake those other vitamins, minerals, and supplements.

Life after addiction is both a glorious and a complicated thing…

Why is life glorious after addiction?

This might seem like the most obvious question, but to someone suffering from addiction, they might actually be wondering this…

How can their life without the drugs or alcohol they have depended on for so long actually be enjoyable?

Well, once you get a taste of that life you will realize just what it is that everyone sees in it. When you see the joy on your kids or spouses faces when you come home clean, when you get promoted at work, when you can return to the sport you used to enjoy so much…

Life after addiction is so glorious because you get YOUR life back – you are in control again, not the drugs or alcohol.

Why is life after addiction challenging?

Addiction recovery doesn’t stop with just getting clean. The struggle to stay clean is a lifelong process as you are faced with temptation and nostalgic feelings that remind you of your old ways.

So, it can be hard to stay on track…

But, it can also be hard in other ways – you are now sensitive to certain medications, certain prescription or even over-the-counter drugs could trigger you. So, it is frustrating because you don’t have the luxury of a non-addict of just using whatever when it comes to medicine, vitamins, and supplements.

However, there are a few that are suggested for those recovering from addiction. Keep reading to check out a list of vitamins and supplements that should be safe for those recovering from addiction and will help you get your body back on track:

• Vitamin B
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• L-glutamine
• Probiotics

Of course, before you take anything, it is always the best idea to ask your doctor and your counselor first to ensure you are not at risk of it messing up anything with your treatment program.

But, part of a continued recovery from addiction is nursing your body back to health and building up that immune system. This will help you feel better overall and possibly help reverse some of the damage that might have been done as a result of your drug or alcohol addiction.

Once you start your road to recovery, focus on living a healthy life in each and every aspect – from your mental to your physical well-being. It will all make for a much more effective recovery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lTihhjWPVg

First, congratulations! You must be visiting this page because you have successfully finished your road to recovery. Well, the first part that is.

Recovery is a lifelong thing – so, first, you rid yourself of the addiction and enter rehabilitation. Then, once you successfully complete your luxury drug rehabilitation program, you enter into the process of staying sober – which is the part of recovery that is lifelong. Of course, you have technically recovered from your addiction, but you are still actively working to stay sober. And, we want that recovery success to last forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bV9Qf_Wmng

But, overcoming any kind of addiction to illicit or prescription drugs or alcoholism can be very difficult in many respects. Not only do you go through a detox period, but you have to basically rewire your body to live without it again when you were used to living with it for so long. And, this takes some getting used to…

Therefore, it is important that you stay healthy and find productive ways to build your body back up and become the healthier, happier version of your new and improved self.

So, now let’s look out how you can support a lifelong recovery:

1. Stay Active. Always. 

   Staying active is great for lifelong recovery for so many reasons: it helps promote a healthy body and a healthy mind, but it also helps keep you busy which can help you stay on track.Being active doesn’t mean you have to become a marathon runner, but, you could join a local sports team that is just a hobby or you could pick up something like golf and make new friends there to play with regularly. The options are endless – just find something you like or think you will like and give it a try.

2. If you are hungry, then eat. 

   Oftentimes, when we are focused on getting healthy and starting a new life we tend to not always eat when we are hungry. Either we are just too busy or we are letting ourselves purposefully get hungry as part of a diet.However, for a recovering addict especially, hunger can be dangerous. Hunger causes you to get angry, causes you to feel tired, and can cause you to give into your emotions easier. In turn, this could mean giving into the temptation of drugs or alcohol. So, if you are hungry find a healthy snack to fill the void like fruits or vegetables.

3. Sleep, sleep, sleep. 

   Of course, don’t sleep all day. But, ensure you are getting enough sleep so that you always feel your best.