Your Addiction Doesn’t Define You

For many years, you counted on drugs or alcohol to help you feel good about yourself and get through stressful periods in your life. Now that you’re working on your sobriety, you may be struggling to recognize who you are without these substances. Now is the time to commit to a fresh start, one in which addiction doesn’t control how you behave or see yourself.

Letting Go of Labels

Despite some progress society has made in recent decades, there is still a stigma around substance misuse and mental health disorders. Even people who have been sober for years might feel compelled to apologize for addiction as a shortcoming or a fall from grace.

You may have issues with substance abuse, but your life is larger than the label of “addict.” Recovery can free you to discover a passion for things like cooking, painting or spiritual practices such as yoga or meditation. To move past the guilt and shame associated with addiction, you need to embrace yourself as a whole person instead of focusing on one dimension of your experiences.

Replacing Shame With Positivity

Shame is a natural human emotion. Everyone has at least one thing they wish they could go back and change about their past, but dwelling on it is a sign that you are overly focused on negative thinking.

If you often feel worthless, or undeserving of love and happiness, you need to remember you are equally as valuable as everyone else. Eliminating negative self-talk can improve your mood and your self-esteem, and allows you to live the rich and fulfilling life you should strive to pursue.

Many people in early recovery incorrectly believe that any setback, no matter how small, means they are not good enough, or that they haven’t put in the right amount of effort to deserve the rewards that accompany sobriety. However, there is no such thing as perfection. Instead of getting frustrated or beating yourself up about mistakes you’ve made, welcome them as a learning experience that is helping you make progress.

Learning to Talk Through Your Feelings

Actively maintaining an addiction often requires secrecy and deceit. You may have kept your spouse in the dark about where you were or what you spent money on. Perhaps you were dishonest with your boss about having to leave work early for a dentist’s appointment, when in reality you were going to meet up with your dealer to buy more drugs. And you almost certainly lied to yourself about the extent of the damage you were causing to your health and happiness by abusing drugs or alcohol.

Now that you are clean and pursuing your recovery goals, you might find these old deceptive habits are hard to break. However, it is essential to be as open and honest as possible if you’re working on getting out from under the burdens of addiction. If you need help, feel lonely or are having a stressful day, reach out to your sober support network and talk to a friend, a sponsor or your therapist. Don’t get trapped in a cycle of negativity and guilt. Those feelings can erode the progress you’ve made.

Experiencing Gratitude

Learning to embrace gratitude is a vital part of recovery. You have received a unique opportunity to reinvent yourself, free of the substances that were crushing your spirit. Your addiction will always be part of who you are, but it’s not your whole story.

At Complete Harmony, we believe in a holistic approach to recovery that helps heal people physically, mentally and spiritually. If you are ready to explore our treatment options and learn how to find a healing home at our beach retreat, contact us today.

What’s the Best Diet to Follow in Early Recovery?

Healthy eating habits play a vital role in the process of recovering from a long-term drug or alcohol addiction. Staying drug- and alcohol-free after you complete a recovery program is a challenge, but maintaining healthy eating habits can help you accomplish this goal.

Nutrition Advice for Recovering Addicts

While there’s no one specific diet that’s best for you to eat when you’re trying to protect your sobriety, the optimal eating plan involves plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole-grain breads and cereals. Here are five nutrition tips to follow.

1. Establish a healthy eating routine. People who have used drugs and alcohol for a long time neglect good nutrition because they are more focused on getting their next dose than they are about what they are putting on their plates. Newly sober people should try to not only eat healthy foods, but to get in the habit of eating at the same times each day. Following a sensible diet can also help protect your sobriety by helping you avoid mood swings that may trigger addiction cravings.

2. Try to keep sugar consumption to a minimum. Many people trying to establish healthier eating habits still struggle with sugar, which tends to hide in processed foods. Some research suggests sugar affects the brain’s dopamine levels in a similar way as drugs and alcohol, which is why recovering addicts may crave sugar. It’s best to avoid any foods that spike your blood sugar levels in early recovery, since dramatic fluctuations could affect your mood and make you more likely to relapse.

3. Choose foods that are easy to digest. Recovering drug addicts, especially opioid abusers, frequently experience digestive disorders. Nausea and upset stomach are also common withdrawal symptoms. Easily digested foods, like eggs and toast, are a good choice if you are having gastrointestinal problems.

4. Consume caffeine with caution. People in early recovery should cut out caffeine altogether, or limit their consumption to only one cup of coffee per day. Though caffeine is not dangerously addictive like some drugs, it is a stimulant with the potential to create a physical and psychological dependence.

5. Get plenty of vitamins. People who have lived with substance misuse for many years can become malnourished. Eating a healthy, balanced diet with lots of fresh produce, dairy, nuts and heart-healthy fiber can help you get the nutrients you need. Try using an app such as Nutrition Facts, which can tell you at a glance about the nutrition content of your food. Or, experiment with the “eat a rainbow” approach to meal planning, which can help make sure you are getting a wide variety of nutrients every day.

Eating Your Way to Better Health

Your diet plays a tremendous role in your mood, energy levels and overall well-being, which is why it is essential to plan a balanced diet if you are working on your sobriety. Considering food as part of your holistic recovery plan is another strategy for bringing balance to your body, mind and spirit. Contact us at Complete Harmony to learn more about our unique approach to addiction recovery.

The Benefits of Adopting a Pet for Addiction Recovery

When you are working on your addiction recovery, it can be enormously beneficial to have something outside yourself to focus on and ease your distress. You will need a lot of support to succeed in your sobriety, and one holistic way to find this support is to open your home and your heart to a pet who needs a loving caregiver.

Advantages of Having a Pet as a Recovering Addict

The connection between humans and their pets has existed for generations, and there are many excellent reasons for this.

1. Pets give pure, unconditional love. Pets will never judge or criticize you, and all they ask from you in return is your care and attention. Knowing there is someone in your life who will accept you, no matter what, can do wonders to help you rebuild your self-esteem. No matter what mistakes you make during the day, they will always be there to welcome you home and make you feel needed. You may have human family members who will love you unconditionally, but the danger is that they will enable your addiction out of a misguided sense of love. Pets can never enable your addiction, but they will love you in spite of it.

2. Pets help you understand yourself better. Animals, especially dogs and horses, are emotionally honest all the time. It’s impossible for them to hide feelings like happiness, sadness and fear. After years of numbing emotions through drug and alcohol abuse, you will have to relearn how to recognize and express your emotions, and pets can be integral to that process.

3. Pets help reduce stress and loneliness. Because stress and loneliness can be such significant relapse triggers, people in recovery need to find healthy ways to avoid these problems. Interacting with your pet can help increase oxytocin levels in the brain, which can relax you and reduce anxiety and depression.

4. Pets help you build relationships with others. Staying committed to addiction recovery often requires you to let go of old, unhealthy relationships and create new ones. Because pets are always there for you, it’s easier to bond with them than it is to bond with people. Having a pet can also get you out of the house to meet other pet parents, and can be an excellent icebreaker as you seek to form new sober friendships.

5. Pets encourage responsibility. Before you adopt a pet, consider if you are ready for the extra financial and emotional commitment you’ll have to make in life. It’s not fair to your pet to neglect its needs. If you do decide you’re ready to take on the responsibility, having a pet can help you rebuild your feelings of self-worth and competence. A pet’s livelihood depends on you and the choices you make to provide a good home. Their reliance on you can help you feel worthy of trust as a pet owner.

Your Fresh Start Awaits

Complete Harmony is a California-based facility that provides alternatives to traditional 12-step addiction rehab programs. Our holistic treatment options include cognitive behavioral therapy, massage, acupuncture, relapse prevention and more. When you are ready to learn more, reach out to our compassionate team for ‘round-the-clock assistance.