Addiction treatment is not an easy accomplishment to obtain. But it can be done. There are many ways to try and achieve lasting sobriety. Group therapy, rehab, cold turkey, and faith are a few examples. Here is one more to add to the list: exercise. This may sound a little bit odd, but it could work out. There are some people who are just too lazy to try and take a jog around the park. But it does not have to be so hard. How can being active help with the recovery process? Here are five benefits to getting in exercise with your addiction treatment. Kills Stress Stress will trigger a relapse. It is easy to see why. Work, family, and life, in general, can pile on heavy. If it easy to get away from that with a bottle of booze, a cigarette, or your drug of choice. It does not have to come that to that. Instead of putting your sobriety at risk, get up and go for a jog. A fifteen-minute walk will be all you need to clear your head. How is this even possible? Any physical activity such as jogging and swimming will release a magical chemical in the brain called endorphins. Think of this as a good kind of high. The kind that won’t wreck your addiction treatment in the process. You Will Sleep Like a Baby Having trouble sleeping while working with addiction treatment? Why not try a little bit of cardio? When you come off of drugs, it can throw off your sleep patterns. You will find yourself unable to sleep in the long nights. You could try and call someone up to talk. But what if you cannot reach anyone and the cravings start to hit? Well then, it is time to get up and take a nice walk around at night. Just a simple walk or jog will improve how much sleep you get and how well you sleep. In the morning, you will wake up wanting to take on another day of addiction treatment. Chances of Relapse Go Down There will always be the threat of relapse to your sobriety. It does not have to be like this. Cut down on the temptations of relapse with a simple jog around the block. Regular exercise can make your addiction treatment stronger. For starters, you are too busy on the treadmill, swimming, or playing ball to even think taking up your addiction. You are focused on meeting the fitness goals that you set for yourself to even get drunk or high. Speaking of high, you will be feeling happy with the chemical endorphins. Your body will act like a counterbalance with this natural high. With endorphins making you happy by nature, why would you need to put your sobriety in jeopardy? You Will be Healthier Obviously, when you get your exercise in, you will cut down on the amount of substance abuse that you engaged in once upon a time. Aside from that, you a giving yourself a chance to live longer to enjoy your newfound sobriety a little bit longer. With every day of being active, you will have a good chance of fending off disease. You will have an immune system that is as strong as someone in their early twenties. The chances of you having devastating diseases such as cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Jogging, walking, and engaging in sports will lower your heart and your stress in one go. Your body will not only be heavy like it was in your young but also your mind. That is correct. Being active will also improve your mental health. Studies have found that people with depression have a greater chance of recovery with exercise than goes who took antidepressants alone or in combination with exercise. This is all due to endorphins being released in the brain. Not only will you improve your physical and mental health with daily exercise, but you will have a greater chance of maintaining your sobriety. You will be a Better Person to be Around Nobody wants to be around negative people. Addiction treatment can bring out the worst in people before they can fully recover. Again, it does not have to go down this road. This is all thanks to the endorphins being released in your brain when you engage in exercise. Face it, these all mighty endorphins have a better power letting you get high that you could with doing it artificially with harmful drugs. After a good run, you will find yourself in a better mood than when you started. Also, when you are done with your exercise for the day, you will find yourself with more energy to tackle your treatment. If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction
As you may already know, rehab is not a “one size fits all” type of deal. Individual rehabilitation programs and facilities offer different approaches, treatments and follow a wide spectrum of methodologies in order to help people beat addiction. Furthermore, the individual needs and experiences between those seeking addiction treatment are going to vary greatly. This is why it is so important to take the time to choose the right rehab for you instead of just jumping into the first one you see. Here are several things that must be taken into consideration when it comes to choosing a treatment program: Identifying Your Specific Needs and Goals For most, the first goal that comes to mind is obviously the primary objective of beating addiction. However, the real key to recovery is not so black and white. Beating addiction is really about changing your life after all, and so it is important to set other objectives beyond successful addiction treatment. For example, do you have the desire to reconnect with friends and family? The goal to move into a new place? Studies show that most of those struggling with substance abuse are young adults, and so outlining new career goals may also be an important course of action. Regardless of your specific desires, it is important to outline your specific goals and needs before pursuing your search for an addiction treatment program. Exploring Different Forms of Treatment Different programs and facilities offer different methods. Some may be more medical based while others focus more on mental therapy. Others are a blend of both. Furthermore, it is important to look at whether a program offers one-on-one therapy and/or group sessions. Many people find that a combination of both is most helpful in their journey to recovery. but not all programs allow them to do this. Another thing to consider here is whether or not the program offers aftercare services that allow individuals to check in following the treatment. Do They Take Insurance? Recovery from an addiction can be a rather urgent matter, but it is important to look into certain details like insurance in order to save a lot of stress down the line. Fortunately, many established programs now take a wide variety of insurance plans. For example, Recovery Revelations in Phelan, California now accepts most major insurance plans as well as a range of others in order to make sure their addiction patients are not compromising on care. Inpatient vs. Outpatient One of the most important decisions of all when it comes to choosing a rehab program is determining whether you are better suited in an inpatient or outpatient environment. An outpatient environment can be tempting to a lot of people because it allows you to still go home at the end of the day (and for some, they can even be a cost-saving measure). However, it has been shown that this kind of treatment works best when the individual has a strong network of family and friends who are actively helping them to beat addiction and monitor them when medical professionals and therapists are not around. There can also be more pressure and stress on the individual if they are still actively trying to detox. Inpatient treatment programs meanwhile tend to provide more care and close treatment that is personally tailored to the individual. This is very important for those who may still be detoxing or who have yet to begin the detox process. However, it is crucial to choose the right inpatient treatment program with experienced caregivers, therapists and medical staff on site. The best inpatient programs also play a role in the individual’s life beyond the active program, helping them to plan out their future and set up check-ins for their time following treatment. The Setting and Environment Last but not least, it is imperative that the type of environment and scenery offered by the treatment program is peaceful and attuned to the individual’s personality and needs. You do not want a setting full of things that will distract you from your goals, but at the same time, it is necessary to find hobbies and other things to engage in. Most importantly of all, you should feel at peace in this new environment and feel encouraged by it to make strides toward addiction recovery. Being in the Right Rehab Increases Longterm Outlook Recovery extends way beyond participating in a rehab program. It is something that must be worked toward every day, though with time it definitely gets easier. When people do not attend a rehab facility or program that is fully in tune with their needs and experiences, however, they run the risk of slipping back into the clutches of addiction. It is important to discuss your goals (both long term and short term) with an addiction specialist both before you decide on a program and after you start. For those in the Inland Empire and San Bernardino areas, there are experienced addiction specialists ready to talk with you.
