Winter Outdoor Activities and Exercise for Addiction Recovery
Addiction Recovery in the Winter Months Winter is often considered a season of hibernation. Many people opt to stay indoors and cozy up by the fireplace. However, for those on the journey of doing exercise for addiction recovery, the winter months can hold unique opportunities. Engaging in outdoor activities can help promote physical and mental […]
Eight Tips for Avoiding Triggers in Addiction Recovery
For those who have just started their recovery journey, it’s important to be aware of what are called “triggers.” Triggers are types of reactions that can push someone back into their addictive cycle, or even a full-blown relapse. Avoiding triggers in addiction recovery isn’t easy, but it’s one of the keys to long-term sobriety. Triggers […]
What Are Behavioral Addictions and How Do You Recognize Them?
What Are Behavioral Addictions? Behavioral addictions are, in short, addictions to certain behaviors. Instead of alcohol or other substances, it’s a compulsive behavior that a person struggles with. Accordingly, the same “reward” chemicals are released in the brain, but a behavioral addiction doesn’t involve outside substances. There are other terms to describe behavioral addictions, including: […]
5 Reasons to Exercise While in Addiction Recovery
Why is Exercise Important? Exercise is important for much more than just the health of your body. Substance use and abuse changes your natural chemistry, especially over long periods of time. When abuse turns into addiction and becomes a dependency, it changes the neurotransmitters in your brain. These determine how you experience positive feelings like […]
Seeking Help During a Breakdown: How to Handle a Mental Health Crisis
What is a Mental Health Crisis? A mental health crisis is when you or a loved one is unable to care for themselves because of emotional distress. This crisis may inhibit your ability to function properly or may even put you at risk of hurting yourself or someone else. The onset of such a crisis […]
Getting Outdoors in the Spring Season: How Can it Help the Recovery Process?
Spring is a time of renewal, rebirth, and new beginnings. With the changing weather, outdoor and leisure activities are more appealing than ever. But activities associated with leisure are often a sticky topic for those recovering from substance abuse and those newly committed to sobriety. For these folks—and maybe you’re one of them—leisurely activities might […]
How Important is Predictability? How Residential Programs Can Heal Adverse Childhood Experiences
Addiction and Adverse Childhood Experiences In today’s culture, stress has become an almost inevitable part of life. And children are no exception to having these experiences. But there is a difference between “normal” types of stress and what have become known as “Adverse Childhood Experiences,” or ACEs. One of the biggest amplifiers of ACEs, studies […]
How to Overcome Your Fears in Addiction Recovery
Recovery from addiction or substance abuse is not an easy journey to embark on. For many people, some type of fear often keeps them from even starting the process. For others, different fears may arise during recovery that make you want to quit your treatment program and just give up. If either of these sound […]
Exercise, Stress, and Addiction Recovery
How Does Exercise Help with the Recovery Process? For many people, high levels of stress are just a normal part of life. But did you know that there is a strong link between stress and addiction cycles? Physical, emotional, and mental stress can all contribute to the patterns that often lead to substance abuse and […]
