The world is at ends with itself in many ways. As addicts and alcoholics in recovery, we advocate to ourselves not to take things too seriously and to focus on the positive in order to find gratitude. We are also encouraged to become more empathetic and compassionate toward ourselves and toward others. In a world full of terrorism and terrifying politics, it can be difficult to maintain letting our hearts, minds, and souls, feel that much. Letting the world in and learning to feel feelings about the world around us, we can become emotionally exhausted quite quickly. Without noticing our warning signs, we can start engaging in many of the adverse behaviors which lead us to trouble, like relapsing on drugs and alcohol.
Relapse prevention is a broad term for the many tools and techniques we apply to everyday situations in life as we learn to live life on life’s terms. Through the good and the bad, the easy going or the choppy waters, we apply our recovery in order to maintain our sanity as well as our sobriety. Here are some helpful tools for managing your mental stress during difficult times and staying sober in the process.
Turn It Off
If only that were true for our minds. We can’t always just turn our minds off. We can, however, turn off at least some of the sources contributing to our stress. Abusive text tirade? Turn off the phone? Traumatic events on the news? Turn off the TV. The truth is, there is pain and suffering everywhere in the world. The other truth is, we aren’t superheroes and we couldn’t possibly fix all of it on our own. It’s okay to take a break from information input and resettle yourself.
Stay Off Social Media
Losing yourself in an endless scroll of your favorite social media platform’s news feed or updates is a way to try and distract yourself from the reality of whatever is occurring. Unfortunately, numerous research studies have found that using social media to numb out is more harmful than helpful. You might get too involved in online politics or drama and see headlines which you don’t want to bother with. Take a long break from social media and focus instead on being more present in your life, feeling your feelings, and sorting out your thoughts before you act on them.
Lakehouse Recovery Center helps clients find the perfect balance in life through integrative activities and recovery as well as non recovery treatment methods. In addition to healing mind, body, and spirit both clinically and holistically, we place a great emphasis on showing clients how to have fun again in recovery. For more information on our residential treatment programs, call us today at 877.762.3707.