Nothing satisfies a difficult moment in early recovery like a favorite candy or treat. Compensating difficult moments or challenging emotions with an external substance is a behavior you are trying to change in recovery. Learning to be present with your feelings and learning to practice self-care for being present with your feelings are different. Though turning to a beloved sweet treat might feel like self-care, you could be doing more damage in the long run. There is a certain element of exciting guilt which comes with doing the ‘wrong’ thing when it comes to how you treat your mind and your body.
Opt For Fruit Instead Of Candy
Instead of perpetuating a toxic cycle, start making behavioral changes for a positive cycle. When you start to have a craving for candy, soda, sugary carbohydrates, or other treats, first check in with what is going on with you. Are you stressed? Are you challenged by your emotions or circumstances? Do you feel like the food in question will bring you feelings of happiness, safety, or escape that you cannot provide for yourself? After checking in and evaluating what is going on with you, consider you food options. Opt for a delicious piece of fruit instead of a sugary processed food item. Start with extremely sweet fruits like pineapple. You will find after repeating this behavior multiple times that the fruit tastes sweeter and sweeter as sugary foods become less and less desirable.
Do Something Delicious
Sometimes self-care practices are described as delicious. A body lotion can be deliciously luxurious. Face masks make your skin feel deliciously soft. Stretching your body or walking in the sun gives you that same feeling of deliciousness that you might get from a rich chocolate mousse. The mechanisms of pleasure are exactly the same. Physical self-care can give you the same satisfied pleasurable sensations that food-based self-care can. Pleasure in the brain happens the same way no matter what is causing the pleasurable sensations. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter which communicates messages of pleasure throughout the brain, is stimulated in production by pleasurable activities or substances. Sugary treats are as much about anticipating and eating as they are about the sugar content. With a simple behavioral change, you can program your brain to crave something much healthier with the same amount of desire and pleasurable outcome.
Learning to live a healthy lifestyle is part of the process of recovery. Whether you are recovering from traumas, addictions, or related mental health issues, it is critical to take a holistic approach for healing mind, body, and spirit. The Guest House Ocala offers premiere private treatment for trauma and trauma based issues. Customizing treatment plans per client with a concierge level of care and attention, our programs are designed to instill lifelong healing. Call us today for information: 1-855-483-7800