Alumni who are recovering from substance use disorder (SUD) benefit from creating healthy daily habits that allow them to maintain new skills. According to the journal Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, “A common obstacle during early recovery is finding new meaningful activities in which to fill these new hours … the structuring and/or restructuring of these hours is a crucial part of the recovery process and one that therapists and counselors should target when working with individuals with SUD.” In alignment with this recommendation, The Guest House helps clients build healthy habits before they transition into aftercare.
How Do Habits Support Ongoing Sobriety?
A person’s sobriety hinges on their ability to avoid falling back into old behavior patterns. Creating new habits and routines reduces the risk of relapse by providing people with healthy activities, distractions, and coping strategies. Most individuals work with their therapist and other care team members during treatment to identify areas of their lives where they may benefit from developing new routines and habits.
Treatment helps clients find healthy ways to change maladaptive aspects of their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, treatment should address the needs of the whole person to be successful.” One aspect of whole-person care is developing new habits during aftercare.
Examples of Empowering Daily Habits
Some habits do not affect people’s mental or physical health; instead, they exist to make certain aspects of life less tedious. Meaningful daily habits increase self-awareness and make it easier for alumni to navigate setbacks in recovery. Creating truly empowering habits can be life-changing by giving more profound meaning to specific activities.
Some examples of empowering daily habits that people learn in addiction recovery include the following:
- Practicing mindfulness and meditation techniques each day
- Following a structured routine
- Exercising or staying physically active
- Eating nourishing meals at regular intervals throughout the day
- Journaling to monitor patterns of emotion, mood, and behavior
- Practicing gratitude every day
- Participating in hobbies
- Making routines to frequently engage with support networks
Everyone has different needs and responsibilities that must be accommodated while making healthy lifestyle changes. The clinical team at The Guest House collaborates with alumni to help them develop positive habits to support ongoing sobriety.
Building Daily Habits in Aftercare
Aftercare provides alumni with additional therapeutic support and practical guidance. In continuing care, peer engagement, individual therapy, alumni services, and family therapy can help people build healthier habits and navigate unexpected setbacks in recovery.
Some of the ways alumni build positive habits in aftercare include the following:
- Participating in regular therapy, group meetings, and other support services that support sobriety
- Discussing challenges with clinicians during alumni support check-ins
- Engaging with the sober community to encourage healthy habits
- Relying on loved ones to provide feedback and insights about how certain habits may negatively or positively impact mood and behaviors
Alumni benefit from using all available resources to create healthy habits that support their recovery and personal goals.
Incorporating Self-Care Into Daily Routines
Self-care is an integral part of long-term abstinence from alcohol or drugs. Individuals who prioritize spiritual, emotional, and physical self-care have an easier time navigating challenges during ongoing recovery. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) newsletter, “The first step to changing your behavior is to create an awareness around what you do regularly” by looking “for patterns in your behavior and what triggers the unhealthy habits you want to change.”
In other words, self-care involves identifying areas causing stress and finding effective ways to manage them. Some common examples of self-care include the following:
- Getting quality sleep each night to reduce exhaustion, increase focus, and improve overall wellness
- Eating regular nourishing meals to improve brain and body function
- Practicing mindfulness-based exercises to increase self-awareness and reduce anxiety
- Developing healthy social relationships to boost confidence and improve mental health
- Setting healthy boundaries to decrease stress and improve relationships
Exercise and other forms of physical activity are essential to self-care. A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of relapse and negatively impacts most areas of a person’s life. Being physically active or regularly exercising improves mental and physical health. Those who are recovering from SUD often benefit from creating self-care habits involving physical activities, including relaxing walks, physical hobbies, and yoga.
How Does The Guest House Support Healthy Daily Habits?
The truth is that healthy daily habits take time to establish. Most people benefit from establishing them while participating in rehabilitation programs. However, alumni may continue to develop healthy routines as they navigate long-term recovery and aftercare. The Guest House supports current clients and alumni as they identify and implement helpful habits in their daily lives. Alumni can access ongoing services, peer support, and other resources to promote healthy behaviors.
Mutual support helps some people feel more comfortable making lifestyle changes that support ongoing sobriety. Self-help groups and other forms of community-based support provide alumni with essential motivation and accountability for creating new habits and routines.
Positive daily habits keep people from falling back into old, destructive routines. Returning to previous routines and habits after transitioning out of structured care is a common cause of relapse for many people. Disrupting the cycle of addiction by establishing and maintaining healthy new routines reduces the risk of relapse and improves overall mental health. Individuals recovering from substance abuse can work with their care team to develop a comprehensive aftercare plan to promote positive lifestyle changes. The Guest House encourages current clients and alumni to use the tools at their disposal to support ongoing sobriety, including alumni services and community-based programs. To find out how we can help you heal from the effects of substance abuse, call (855) 483-7800.