Stories of Human Kindness During COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented levels of worldwide stress and anxiety. However, at a time when it feels like all the headlines are negative, there is a bright spot in the simple acts of kindness everyday people and businesses are sharing. Difficult times often reveal the best in humanity.

Right now, a little love and understanding goes a long way. Here’s a small sampling of the ways neighbors have stepped up to care for each other and practice kindness during this challenging time.

Venues Worldwide Are Hosting Virtual Tours

If you’re like many who have had to postpone travel plans due to the pandemic, you can still visit many world-class attractions, including the Louvre and the Smithsonian, from the comfort of your couch. Though all these facilities are closed for the time being, you can skip the crowds and explore priceless art and artifacts with online tours.

New York Running Clubs Are Doing Errands for Their Homebound Neighbors

New York City’s small army of running enthusiasts has found a way to maintain their fitness levels while helping those who are observing self-quarantine. Members of running clubs have used their fleet feet and stepped up to go to pharmacies, grocery stores and other businesses to pick up essential supplies.

Citizens Are Spontaneously Celebrating Health Care Workers

In cities around the world, quarantined people have come together to hold rounds of applause for doctors, nurses and first responders from their balconies, porches and rooftops.

Landlords Are Forgiving Rent

Government restrictions on social distancing have forced many people into unexpected unemployment. Due to this, many understanding landlords are giving their tenants a break when they can’t afford to make their rent payments.

People Are Finding Ways to Support Local Businesses

Depending on where you live, many “non-essential” local businesses such as hair salons have likely had to close. Loyal customers are finding ways to keep these beloved establishments afloat during this time of crisis by buying gift cards to use later or sending money directly to the owner.

Patrons Are Leaving Larger Tips

With so many restaurants switching to takeout and delivery services only, it has become challenging for many servers and delivery drivers to make ends meet. Understanding this scenario, some customers have started tipping these service providers more generously.

Finding the Light in the Coronavirus Crisis

It’s easy to find examples of how the current crisis has brought out the worst in people. However, bad times often see strangers rising to the challenge to help their neighbors.

Let these simple acts of kindness inspire you during this challenging time, when so many are struggling to find their sense of optimism and gratitude. If you are fortunate enough to be healthy during this epidemic, look for ways to step forward and help where you can. You may find new connections in your community that last long after medical research has identified a cure for coronavirus.

Don’t let fears about COVID-19 hold you back from the proven addiction treatment you deserve. Contact us for a confidential consultation with our recovery advisors.

Finding Joy in Recovery

Addiction is a cruel disorder that eventually strips people of everything they hold dear – their relationships, their livelihoods and even their home and safety. A crucial component of the recovery journey involves learning how to have fun and enjoy life without the burdens of drug or alcohol use weighing you down.

While you might expect to be miserable in an addiction recovery program, that’s far from the truth. On the contrary, rehab is where you can rediscover who you truly are without hiding behind alcohol and drugs. You’ll have the newfound freedom to experience the everyday joys you thought were lost to you forever. Here are our top three tips for finding the joy in your recovery.

1. Surround Yourself With Positive People

Especially early in recovery, you’ll need to avoid places and people that put your recovery at risk. Obviously, that means situations that remind you of when you were actively using, as well as your old drug or drinking buddies, but even some of the sober people you know can jeopardize the progress you’ve made if they belittle you or fail to respect your boundaries.

Instead of spending time around these negative people, find supportive friends and family members who understand your need to prioritize your recovery above all else – people who serve as a shoulder to cry on when you’re struggling, or who are willing to celebrate your successes with you, no matter how small.

2. Manage Your Stress

One of the earliest lessons you will learn on your recovery journey is that avoiding stress is essential if you hope to prevent relapse. When you start to feel overwhelmed, remember there are practical strategies you can use to manage stress in a healthy way.

• Be patient: There are no shortcuts in recovery.
• Learn to say no: It’s OK to set time aside for yourself when you need it. If you feel overtaxed, ask yourself what you can take off your plate.
• Find new outlets: Take up a new hobby, or learn to practice mindfulness meditation, journaling or yoga.

3. Find New Ways to Have Fun

Addiction eventually rewires your brain to the point where you can’t feel good or normal without drinking or using drugs. One of the most fundamental things you’ll need to learn in recovery is how to enjoy your sober lifestyle and find new ways to fill your hours. Boredom is another common relapse trigger for people, so you may have to force yourself to get out and about while your brain chemistry returns to its normal balance. Find activities you’ve never tried before to help stimulate your curiosity and expand your horizons. Take a class at your local community center, or give back to others with volunteer work. There’s no shortage of ways to have fun while remaining sober.

Rediscovering Everyday Happiness

In recovery, you can begin the work of regaining what addiction robbed you of. As you do so, you will begin to feel intensely grateful for everything you still have – including your life and your opportunity to rebuild a sober future. Every year, too many people lost to active addiction never get that second chance, but you don’t have to become part of those statistics. Your recovery is waiting for you at Complete Harmony. Our holistic addiction treatment programs give you the tools to start again. Contact us today to learn more about our California recovery center and start the admissions process.

How to Make Gratitude Part of Your Daily Recovery

 Being grateful may seem like a piece of cake but in fact it takes practice. By working to incorporate gratitude into your daily life, you’ll boost your immune system, mood, recovery and more. Here are a few ideas to get started:

• Start a gratitude journal. Each day, jot down three things you’re grateful for – and keep a running list that you can refer to when you feel as if you have no blessings to count.
• Shift your mindset. You have control of your thoughts, so instead of thinking about what you don’t have, think about what you do have. This isn’t to say that you can’t strive for more, but take time to be thankful for the little treasures found in daily life.
• Make time for loved ones. Even if it’s a quick phone call, check in with your loved ones and let them lift you up. Talking with or spending time with family and friends who support you and your recovery journey is a surefire way to make you feel grateful.
• Remain teachable. With gratitude comes self-awareness or the ability to recognize how far you’ve come in your recovery and how much learning you still need to do. We never know it all and being humble and teachable will help you to feel grateful for the chance to learn more about yourself during recovery.
• Recall tough times. When it feels like you have nothing to be grateful for, think about a bad time in your life and how far you’ve come since then. Embrace these moments to make you grateful for the sober life you’re now living.
• Volunteer or simply help a fellow recovery peer. When you give rather than receive you become more grateful for what you have. In fact, volunteering has been linked to numerous benefits including decreased depression and increased well being.
• Meditate. Carve out time daily to sit quietly give thanks to all of the small gifts in life; you can even use the running list from your gratitude journal to help. 

Meditation and More
At Complete Harmony, we encourage the use of many different cutting-edge techniques to help clients heal the mind, body and spirit and cultivate a sense of gratitude, including mediation. To learn more about our treatment center and our approach to addiction recovery, call today: 866-930-4673.

Being Grateful on Thanksgiving and Beyond

Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to practice gratitude as you gather with loved ones and give thanks for bounty, friendship, and love. However, you shouldn’t stop counting your blessings once the holiday comes to an end. 

In fact, giving thanks on a daily basis can be a powerful recovery tool with tremendous benefits to your physical, emotional, and mental health. We all have the ability to cultivate gratitude. Simply take a few moments to focus on all that you have – and how far you’ve come – rather than complaining about all of the things you think you deserve.   

Here are just a few of the many ways having “an attitude of gratitude” can help you and your journey toward sobriety.

You’ll sleep better: Just 15 minutes spent writing in a gratitude journal each night can result in better, longer sleep, according to a study in the journal Applied Psychology. 

You’ll have fewer toxic emotions. Having an attitude of gratitude has been study-proven to improve psychological health, reducing emotions ranging from resentment to regret. 

You’ll be more resilient. Recognizing all you have to be thankful for – even during the tough times of recovery – fosters resilience.

You’ll have fewer aches and pains. This is partly because grateful people have been found to take better care of their health, including exercising more and getting regular check-ups. 

You’ll expand your social circle. Acknowledging other people’s contributions, even with a simple thank you, can open doors to potential friendships.

You’ll better manage stress. A positive mental attitude has been shown to fend off stress and anxiety.

More Stress Management at Complete Harmony 

Stress heightens addictive tendencies and mental illness, and detox can make this process even worse. Our therapists and medical professionals facilitate healing through holistic symptom treatment, specialized group and individual therapy approaches, pharmacological management, and family support. To learn more, call 866-930-4673.

4 Ways to Practice Gratitude

A daily dose of gratitude can do wonders for your recovery as well as for your overall mental and physical wellbeing. Studies have linked gratitude to a number of health benefits, including improved self-care, fewer toxic emotions, sounder sleep, stronger willpower, and increased self-esteem. 

People who are able to be thankful for what they have – rather than complain about all the things they think they deserve – not only handle stress better but they can also overcome trauma easier, according to researchers. 

If you attend an AA meeting, you may even hear the recovery slogan: “Have an attitude of gratitude.” The gist is that feeling grateful for your recovery will prevent you from relapsing. In other words, not taking your recovery for granted will ensure that sobriety remains something worth fighting for. 

Being Grateful Every Day
Like any worthy skill, having “an attitude of gratitude” takes a fair amount of practice. Here are four everyday tricks to get you started:  

1. Keep a gratitude journal. Try listing three things for which you are thankful and three people to whom you are grateful. 
2. Say “thank you” with thoughtfulness. The next time someone helps you, be sure to acknowledge the effort behind his or her actions as well as what the actions mean to you personally. This will help others feel more valued and you feel better about yourself and your life.
3. Designate a no-complain day. Pick one day of the week and vow not to complain on that day. Better still: Use this time to note the positive side of any negative thoughts. 
4. Perform a daily act of kindness. This can range from complimenting a friend to volunteering for an organization to writing a nice note to someone you haven’t seen in a while.

Holistic Relapse Strategies

Sustained sobriety requires long-term strategies for dealing with negative patterns, emotional duress, physical and psychological cravings, and poor self-esteem. Our holistic relapse prevention plans provide a firm foundation for lifelong sobriety. Call today: 866-930-4673.