Guest Post: Back on Track - How Fitness Helps Recovery

Statistics from 2014 reveal that 

21.5 million people aged 12 or 

older had a substance 

abuse disorder that year alone. 

Over the last 25 years, the 

addiction treatment industry 

has tripled in size, currently 

raking in about $35 billion in 

annual revenue. So it seems 

that, for all the money spent 

on addiction prevention, 

addiction still hasn’t been 

prevented. Instead, it morphed into a 

business, while the failsafe way to getting 

clean has been endlessly debated.

If you are recovering from drugs and alcohol, here are some tips to 

maintaining a healthy lifestyle to help you find your way onto the 

right track to recovery.

Back on Track

Perhaps the first step in picking up the pieces of your life after an addiction 

is not so much physical as mental and emotional. People who base their 

schedules and relationships around drugs for years often feel lonely or 

rudderless once they quit. One way to overcome this sense of isolation is 

to get a support network around you. That might include family, old friends, 

or other recovering addicts.

Also, take care of yourself: Get enough sleep. Eat healthy foods such as 

fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and omega-3 fish like salmon. Declutter 

your life. That could mean cleaning up your apartment, throwing out clothes 

you don’t wear, cutting people who are toxic out of your life, or deleting the 

apps that you don’t use off your iPhone. Whatever steps you take, make 

sure where and how you live is light, bright, open and full of possibility.

Get a Routine

Now that you’ve begun to address your mental health, turn to how you’re 

doing physically. Drugs wear down your body and fully recovering from them 

means adopting a healthy, active routine that you keep up through the years. 

A natural midway point between attending to your mental and physical states 

could be yoga, which focuses on deep-breathing, meditation, relaxing and 

staying in tune with your body. Biking, tennis, running, baseball, basketball, 

swimming and weightlifting are all solid options, too. Pick something you 

love, because you’ll keep doing it, rather than view it as a chore. Moreover, 

physical activity has been shown to sharpen memory, lower cholesterol, 

combat inflammation and fight off type 2 diabetes.

Anger and Addiction

Mental illness and substance addiction frequently co-occur. According to the 

Journal of the American Medical Association, roughly 50 percent of people who 

suffer a serious cognitive disorder abuse drugs. Anger, meanwhile, is often 

symptomatic of a range of mental problems including mania and depression 

in bipolar disorder, among others. After you go cold turkey from drugs, many 

factors may still cause you to become angry. These might include unpaid 

debts, broken friendships, or any that anxiety you may have harbored for 

years while on drugs.

Fitness has been shown to moderate anger by releasing chemicals such as 

serotonin and dopamine in your brain. So if you’re recovering from an addiction, 

do any of the exercises listed above to relax. If you are unable to control your anger, 

decide whether competitive sports fuel your stress or not. For instance, if you know 

that losing a game of pickup basketball will upset you, you might opt to drive out 

to a forest to hike through the pine air and feel at peace.

Finding your way out of the darkness of addiction is nearly a miracle. That’s 

why it’s important to keep moving. Exercise rewires our brain and helps stave 

off depression, so we can muster the strength to keep on the track that leads 

toward recovery.

Image via Unsplash

About the Author

Molly knows what it’s like having a loved one suffering from an addiction. Through 

her writing, she offers support and advice for those with addictions and their loved 

ones. Molly writes for RecoveryHope. She’s passionate about supporting those in 

recovery and their family and friends.

8 Coping Strategies for Bipolar Disorder

Leading a balanced life can help make living with Bipolar Disorder more manageable. The strategies below are suggestions from real people who have had success in managing the illness. This is a list found on the National Association of Mental Illness website. www.nami.org I've found many of these suggestions helpful and I use all of them. They really work. I'd suggest you read through and see how you can find ways to cope with Bipolar Disorder.

Once we've gone through the list I would love to know what you do to help cope with having Bipolar Disorder.

1. Become an Expert. There are many excellent sources of information on Bipolar Disorder. Learn all you can about medications, keep up with the current research and treatment options, attend local conferences and network with other people at meetings and support groups. Build a personal library of useful websites and helpful books.

2. Recognize early symptoms. Learning your pattern of symptom development is key. Identifying certain stressors, times of year or other factors that trigger symptoms may help identify an emerging episode. This can prompt more aggressive intervention to prevent the worsening of symptoms. Don't be afraid to ask the people around you for help -- they can help monitor behavior.

3. Engage in your treatment. The relationship with your health care provider is fundamental to the successful management of Bipolar Disorder. To be partners, you both must develop a trust and a strong line of communication. Provide the information your health care provider needs to help you recover, including complete and honest reports about reactions to medications, improving or worsening symptoms and anything that could trigger stress.

4. Develop a plan. To reduce uncertainty and stress, know what to do in a crisis. Although it might be challenging to discuss your illness, get your loves ones, friends and health care providers to help. Most communities have a  crisis hotline or emergency walk-in centers, so know where they are and keep them handy.

5. Find support. Emotional support from others living with this disorder is an important part of recovery. It is helpful to share thoughts, fears and questions with others who have the same illness. Online message boards and groups found through social sites are good resources for connecting with others.

6. Avoid alcohol and substances. Drugs and alcohol disturb an already delicate emotional balance, and can also interact dangerously with medications. Both depression and mania make these drugs appear to be attractive options to "slow down" or "perk up", but the potential damage will block your road to recovery.

7. Get healthy, get rest. Maintain a well-balanced diet and engage in regular exercise. be sure to work to keep a regular schedule with adequate sleep. These strategies help to produce positive mental and physical health benefits. Try to incorporate low-key actives like mediation, yoga or Tai Chi into your life to help alleviate stress and achieve balance.

8. Get involved. If paid employment is not an option now, volunteer work can enrich your life, teach you useful skills and help create a sense of purpose and structure. Learning a new skill or immersing yourself in a hobby, particularly a creative one, can offer constructive alone time to help balance out a busy life. Engaging in your community - from coaching youth sports to helping your parks and neighborhoods stay clean and green - are all ways you can get involved with the world around you.

Can I Roll Over a Week?

A lot of you are either rushing to take your last vacation days before you lose them, or you're begging your boss to find a way to let you roll over some days, even a week or more. Why don't we take vacation more often? It's not like we're not entitled to it. Other countries, it's mandatory to take a certain amount of time off from work. But, us in the United States seem to take pride in saying, "Gosh, I can't remember when the last time I took a vacation." It's not a badge of pride. It's a sign that we are too obsessed with work and too insecure to let go and let someone else take over while you are gone. Many people have that "The Place Will Fall Apart Without Me" mantra floating through their head when they think about taking a vacation.

Doubtful. Highly Doubtful.

It's not job security to have perfect attendance for 365 days and a nervous breakdown as your "gold watch." Take the time. Even if you can't afford a lavish vacation, consider taking time to explore your local area. If you can, take the back roads and side roads someday when you have a free moment. See what's on the other side of your life window. Take time to take care of yourself.

Vacations are healthy. We all know it's more mental than anything else, but taking vacation for mental health is a great way to keep your mind, body, and spirit in sync with your job. Take time to be with friends and family.

Shoot, even I get tired of being and looking in the same places every day. If you're bored, you're not happy. And, one of my best "get happy" remedies is to take a break. (And, no, I don't mean like the "Ross and Rachel break.")

Take time off to give your mind and body a rest from what it does normally. Find time to do something different. Learn a new craft. Find a new restaurant. Listen to new music.

Find yourself.

So, next year, let's hear you say, "I don't have any vacation days to roll over."

-- Happy New Year

Vicki