Life after you complete treatment can be hectic. You probably have a desire to change aspects of your life, rebuild relationships, and help others just like those who had been through treatment previously helped you.
While you are sorting through everything you want to do, remember that focusing on yourself is a top priority during early recovery. It is not selfish to take that time to focus on yourself.
When you were struggling with active addiction, it very probably took over your life. You forgot what you liked to do, who you wanted to spend time with, or what you were good at.
When you entered treatment, you focused intensely on your mental health issues and your addiction with the help of a mental health care provider. Treatment was hard work and often very uncomfortable. Many days were not enjoyable or fun. However, you did it, and you faced all of your challenges.
Now that you live a life of sobriety, you can take the time to relearn about yourself. You can enjoy that time without feeling guilty. Here are a few different suggestions to help you focus on yourself and only on yourself.
Find Your Self-Compassion
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Instead of pushing yourself to go and go, schedule some breaks for yourself. Taking breaks is a way of showing compassion for yourself.
Society likes to tell us that to be successful. We have to be busy accomplishing things. That is just not the case. Remind yourself to take that break, relax, and come back to what you are working on after you have refreshed yourself and taken a moment to rest.
Self-compassion also includes less negative self-talk. We can be our own harshest critics at times. Fighting the urge to be negative towards ourselves takes time to learn and practice. After we learn to stop being so hard on ourselves, it will become more natural to treat ourselves with compassion.
When you faced active addiction, you probably did not feel great about yourself. You probably disliked a lot of what you did and how you felt. Learning to acknowledge how far you have come and how many milestones you have passed will help you find more self-compassion.
Create a Self-Care Plan
When you were in treatment, you probably had a set routine made for you. You were expected to do certain things at certain times without too much flexibility.
Now that you are on your own, you can take the time to create a self-care plan to maintain your success. For some, this may be a large or even overwhelming task. You desperately want to make all the right choices and set yourself up for success. Rest assured that your mental health professional is ready to help you create a plan to help you maintain your sobriety and be successful in recovery.
Self-care lets you put your time and energy into yourself and become who you always wanted to be. For some of us, having a self-care plan makes sure that necessary tasks get done. We can carve out time to exercise, cook, read, meditate, and do all of those fun activities that we have wanted to try.
Discover What You Love
When you choose to take time to focus on yourself, you can take the time to do all of the things you love to do. Go on a hike to that spot you have always wanted to explore. Take time to rewatch that movie for the thousandth time, only because it makes you happy. Lose yourself in a good book, a podcast, or listen to music to find your center.
When life gets busy, the first thing we get rid of is our time spent on hobbies or pure enjoyment. Often, we think of our hobbies as the least important of all of the things that take up our time. What many fail to remember is that doing what you enjoy is essential to your mental health and overall well-being. Your mental health plays a massive role in how you feel overall and how you respond to different situations throughout the day.
You lost a lot of yourself when you experienced active addiction. You probably did not do the activities you wanted to do because your life was consumed by your addiction. You focused on getting money to buy the substance you needed, when you would use it, and who you would use it with, all while trying to keep your addiction a secret from those you loved and cared about. Now that you have worked so hard to change, you can enjoy finding yourself again.
Focusing on yourself while you journey through recovery and sobriety is not only smart but also necessary. Taking the time to learn about yourself is crucial. We lost so much of ourselves through addiction, and now is the time to refocus. Creating a self-care plan can help you make sure you have a routine that is beneficial for both mind and body. Routines can be great so that you do not forget to carve out time for yourself. Making sure to do what you love, all while practicing self-compassion, can be a lot to remember. Here at The Guest House, we understand that the road of recovery looks different for everyone. We are here to lend support in any area that you need. You do not need to go through it alone. Call us today at (855) 483-7800 to learn more about how we can help you on your recovery journey.