Sobriety Self-Care Tips
Now that we’re picking ourselves up outta the trenches, it’s probably important we go over a few self-care tips to make a part of your everyday routine, don’t you think? So, get out of bed, brush your teeth, drink your water & buckle up. Shit’s about to get so good for you!
Practicing self-care, while in the process of getting sober, is of paramount importance, for maintaining sobriety, and overall well-being. Self-care, encompasses various actions, aimed at preserving and enhancing your physical, mental, and emotional health. In the context of recovery, self-care serves as a fundamental tool for you to rebuild and maintain your overall well-being, which may have been neglected during active addiction.
By prioritizing self-care, you can nurture your body and mind, reduce anxiety, and improve your mood, thus supporting your journey forward in recovery. Integrating self-care practices into your daily life, not only supports the recovery process, but also, helps prevent relapse and promotes overall health and well-being.
There’s a difference between recovery and abstinence. You might come to find out, not picking up that drink or drug of choice isn’t the most difficult part of the process. The hard part comes in, at what you do to put yourself in a better conditional state of being, that encourages you to never go back to picking up another drink or drug again.
The things you do to take care of yourself, feel good about yourself, and the newfound things you establish within your everyday routine all comes together, and puts you in the position of being able to fill the void of where those substances once resided - leading you to start a genuine, joyous, and fulfilled road to recovery.
It’s time to rebuild, repair, and refocus. You ready? While I was consumed in my active addition, my internal and external environment tended to match up perfectly well. My lack of proper personal self-care, was shown inside and out. I had a tendency to not prioritize the importance stuff… I know SHOCKER! I was a mess. My room was a mess. My mind was a mess. My relationships were a mess. My life was a fu*king mess!
When I got sober, I gradually made strides every single day to clean up the rest of my life, as well. By being consistent in some of these new integrated habits and routines, I found them to have an immense and lasting impact.
When you feel good on the inside, that tends to reflect outward, same goes for vice versa. When you take control of the people, place, things, and habits that make up your everyday life, and you fill them with happy, healthy, and productive elements, the effects can be truly remarkable.
I’m not going to lie, some of these things may seem mundane, or minuscule. They might sound corny, or like a major pain in the ass…. JUST TRUST ME. You want to stop feeling, thinking, and looking like shit? Start here.
Mindset: “Thoughts become things.” Very true. If you’re sitting there in pity and self-doubt, it’s time to stop that nonsense, or you’re never going to get anywhere. No matter how far off you think you or your life has gone, I’m telling you, nothing is ever “unfixable.”
Once I started doing things to take better care of myself, my self-confidence and self-worth followed. Self-discipline and consistency, those are what you need. Seems like a simple request, but some days it might not be. Just take it one day at a time. No need to look at the whole mountain. Step by step.
Positive Self Affirmations: When you tell yourself something enough, lo and behold, you start to believe it. So even on the days you don’t feel like a rockstar, when you wake up, you better get your ass up look in the mirror, and still tell yourself that you are!
Practicing self-affirmations can be carried out by whatever means you find most helpful. I found out, that it was easier for me to prioritize them, when they were right in my face - forcing me to prioritize them. I would put sticky notes on my bathroom/ bedroom mirror so I would look at them and restate them constantly throughout my day.
Self-affirmations should be personally and genuinely geared towards you, and the messages of positive encouragement you think you need on a daily basis. For some ideas to get your gears rollin’ you can click here and find a list of personalized favorites I myself have use.
Daily Gratitude: Even when life might seem ugly, there’s always things to be grateful for! When you start each day off with a grateful heart and a grateful mind, you are already taking the first steps in setting yourself up for a success.
First thing I always try my best to do, no matter the circumstance, is go through all the things I am thankful for. When you can shift your thoughts to all the things that you do have, and all that is still going right it, becomes almost second nature to apply it to any other given situation, at any other given time. When faced with challenges and hardships, one of the most crucial things you can ever do for yourself, is gain the ability to always see the good within. There is never pain without purpose. Hang tight.
God: I’m well aware of the diversity that resides in regard to spiritual practices and beliefs. Everyone is to each of their own. For me personally, my recovery had led me to establish a wonderful relationship with my Higher Power.
In recovery they tell you it is critical to establish and believe in a power greater than yourself, whether or not you’re there yet, is on you. I found tremendous growth within myself overall, and within my heart ever since I made it a priority to incorporating God into my life. Daily prayer, devotionals, reading the word, and showing a sense of faith and gratitude has been my major motivator and source of willpower that’s helped carry me into long-term sobriety.
Journaling: I journal every single day. I have always enjoyed writing. It has helped me so much. Even was I was actively using, I still for some reason found it to be one of my only outlets. I still have every single journal I’ve ever written in. To look back, and read some of the entries, it’s absolutely crazy! To reflect on who I was, and the things I was going through at that time, up till this current moment …. I have no words. There are so many styles and forms of journaling. Not one more helpful than the other. They all hold wonderful potential and purpose.
Journaling helped me tremendously when it came to working through heavy internal conflicts. It helped me become more self aware and assisted in helping me process my emotions. If you are interested in starting journaling, or for those whom already know what I’m talking about and can resonate: I will post a link here to check out the collection of journals I personally created and use.
Brainfood: What you feed yourself makes a tremendous impact on how you feel about yourself, and how you respond to the rest of the world. This goes for the people you surround yourself with, the movies you watch, the social media influencers you follow, the books you read, and so forth. What you expose yourself to seeps in.
I strongly encourage you to weed through some of those areas of your life; make better judgement calls. When you trade out one for the other, I promise you’ll see a change. If you start reading self-help books, if you listen to music that is void of vulgarity, if you follow creators that share inspiring and motivational content…. those things ignite a fire under your own ass and tend to motivate you to start practicing the same principles.
Routine: Real short, sweet, and to the point here. If you want to start feeling better about yourself, it’s time to start doing shit. This doesn’t mean you have to conquer the whole world in one day… but the goal is to do something every day that is productive, adds value, and pushes you to want to continue on to the next day, and the next task. Start small. You will still feel a gleaming sense of achievement when you set smaller goals and are able to fulfill them and check them off your list.
A Schedule- establish one. Whether you have kids, a job, or other responsibilities that somewhat conform a schedule for you already - enforcing somewhat of a “normal” schedule is so important. This means not sleeping until 3pm every day, even if you feel you have nothing else going on. It’s up to you to have the self-disincline to get up, get going, and do something for yourself.
Boredom- There’s no such thing.
Organization & Cleanliness- When I was actively using, I was a disaster, and so was the space around me. Lack of maintaining your personal space, home, vehicle, apartment, room can stem from ties to mental health and substance use. Who wants to sweep the floor or make their bed when they’re loaded or depressed all the time? No one. Time to clean it up. I found personally, my mental health is effected greatly if my space is in chaos or disorder. It’s such a good feeling to be in a space that is clean, organized, and upkept. So get up, make your bed, do the dishes, fold your laundry.
Hobbies- Have none? Find some. Anything that is positive, productive, and spikes your interest. Don’t allow yourself to have massive amounts of void time. This might be a challenge at first, but if you truly do your best to seek out new forms of entertainment and joy, you’re bound to come across something. Spend time with your pet, your children, read a book, start a new Netflix series, go outside, practice your artistic abilities, go to the gym, do a puzzle, redecorate your home, cook something, anything. Don’t knock something unless you try it. When you spend so much time consumed in using, or things tied to your use, it can seem like there's nothing else to do, and no longer a purpose that resides within your days. It’s up to you to find new ones.
Personal Attention & Grooming: Taking care of your body after mistreating it for so long, is very important. When you look good, you feel good. Prioritize the basics. Getting sufficient sleep, eating more than a granola bar and an iced coffee, bathing, putting yourself together, doing your hair, putting that lipstick on. Start showing up as the man/ woman you know that you are and intend to be.
Prioritize Your Health: keep up to date on all routine doctor visits, checkups, dental visits. We only get one body in this lifetime, start taking care of it.
Physical Exercise: No this doesn’t mean hitting the weight bench at the gym. Trust me, you won’t find me there either! This just means getting up every day and doing activities your body will thank you for. Going for a walk, running around your house after your toddler, spending 10–15 mins mediating or doing at home yoga.
Treat Yourself: You can always count on feeling refreshed when you gift yourself with some pampering. Get your nails done, change up that hairstyle, buy yourself that new piece of clothing, eat the ice cream sundae. We all deserve to be rewarded!
Self-care is a powerful tool that empowers you to navigate the challenges of recovery with strength and positivity, ultimately contributing to a more fulfilling and sustainable sober life. Prioritizing self-care is not only essential for maintaining sobriety but also for fostering your overall well-being and resilience during your recovery journey. Embracing self-care practices, while in recovery can truly rebuild your physical, mental, and emotional health, ultimately reinforcing your commitment to a sober lifestyle! Keep kicking life’s ass! You got this!
Additional Resources & Helpful Tools:
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