Feeling Overwhelmed? How to Stay Positive During the Coronavirus Outbreak

When you’re in addiction recovery, maintaining a positive attitude is essential. However, with the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 crisis, you might be feeling that goal slipping out of your reach somewhat. How can you keep your upbeat attitude when it seems like all the news lately has been negative, if not downright frightening? Here are some tips.

1. Limit Your Exposure to the News

It may seem like you’re being more responsible by staying informed and checking in with the day’s headlines frequently, but doing so is a surefire way to give you information overload. Since bad news travels faster than good news, especially online, refreshing your feed multiple times a day will create digital burnout and leave you feeling mentally exhausted. Instead, impose limits on when you allow yourself to look at social media or watch the news on TV. Choose one or two trusted outlets, and only check them during your allotted time slots.

2. Follow Negative Information With Something Cheery

As we learned from Mary Poppins, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” In other words, once you’ve caught up on the latest information about the spread of coronavirus, engage with something lighthearted to boost your mood, such as compilation videos of adorable baby animals.

3. Turn off the Alerts on Your Devices

If you have the settings on your phone, tablet or computer set to ping whenever there’s breaking news, try silencing your devices or disabling the alerts altogether. Many people find the sounds or vibrations coming from their phone nearly impossible to ignore, and will put everything aside to see what they’re about. To help you learn to focus more of your attention on individual tasks, disregard these stressful intrusions. The information will still be there for you when you’re ready to pick up your device again, and you’ll be amazed by how much better you feel when you’re not checking those notifications every few minutes.

4. Take Mental Health Breaks

Evidence increasingly suggests that taking regular mental health breaks can help improve your concentration and allow you to feel more present and engaged in your life. If your mind has been on overdrive lately due to the barrage of information about coronavirus, recognize that you might be feeling burned out, and take a break to de-stress. Whether that comes in the form of a brief meditation, a walk around the block or a series of yoga poses, whatever helps you clear your mind can benefit you.

5. Call a Friend or Family Member

In this time of self-quarantine, we probably all have people we haven’t seen for a few weeks. If you’re holed up at home and feeling lonely, reach out to say hello and see how everyone has been doing. They probably need a pick-me-up just as much as you do, and will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Meanwhile, it’s in your best interest to avoid the relapse trigger of loneliness.

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How Spirituality Can Play a Role in Your Recovery

The idea of spirituality might make you envision New Age concepts like astrology, tarot cards, healing crystals or chakras. The reality, however, is that spirituality can be more accessible than you think. Essentially, it boils down to any practice that helps you find the meaning amid all the chaos of daily life.

Spirituality can be especially valuable for people in addiction recovery because of its ability to help you understand yourself, find greater meaning in life and make you feel a connection to the world at large.

What Is Spirituality?

Many people tend to conflate spirituality with religion. However, while spirituality is often a component of religious practices, it is not a belief system in and of itself. That means even skeptics and nonbelievers can find value in spirituality, and that there is no wrong way to incorporate spiritual practices into your life.

Another way in which your spirituality might differ from religion is that your definition of spirituality can and should be fluid and evolve throughout your life, whereas many people of faith do not deviate from or question their relationship with their god or higher power.

Anything that causes you to feel the interconnectedness of life and have a greater appreciation of your place in the universe can be a spiritual experience. For some, listening to a moving piece of music is profoundly spiritual, while others find solace in traditional worship services and prayer.

Benefits of Spirituality in Addiction Recovery

Substance misuse often makes people feel isolated from the people around them. In contrast, spiritual practices lead to feelings of connectedness. The result can be a sense of awe, gratitude and positivity. With regular spiritual reflection, you will gradually learn to become more compassionate, tolerant and generous toward other living beings.

Becoming a more spiritual person is also a worthy goal to work toward if you want to cultivate better overall mental wellness and peace of mind. You can respond more constructively to any anxiety and stress created by addiction and subsequent recovery.

Ways to Incorporate Spirituality in Addiction Recovery

Though spirituality takes many forms, here are some that can be particularly valuable for people trying to maintain their sobriety.

• Meditation: Meditation is a way to improve your mindfulness, equanimity and relaxation. While there are a vast array of meditation techniques, the most straightforward involves sitting still in a quiet place and focusing on your breath and any sensations you might be experiencing.
• Yoga: There is a close connection between yoga and meditation, because yoga also involves specific breathing techniques as you move through a fluid series of poses. The spiritual goal of yoga is to teach you how to quiet your mind and become more aware of your place in the world around you.
• Gratitude: The practice of gratitude helps you feel more positive and learn to live in the moment. You don’t have to add anything complicated to your routine. Merely taking a few moments out of each day to jot down notes about things you are thankful for can help you feel more connected to others and increase your sense of positivity.

Finding Serenity in Sobriety

It’s possible for you to go through addiction recovery and learn how to become more resilient along the way with tools learned through spirituality. At Complete Harmony, we can help you reclaim your physical, mental and emotional health with our non-12-step, holistic approach to rehab. Connect with us today to learn more.