Addiction recovery is filled with many ups and downs. Even if you receive treatment, it doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to achieve lifelong sobriety. Nearly 40-60% of individuals who receive substance use disorder treatment relapse at some point in time. Relapsing is a recovering individual’s biggest threat to long-lasting sobriety. Fortunately, there are healthy coping skills for addiction you can use to effectively fight against triggers and cravings to relapse. Keep reading to learn coping skills in recovery you can use to help maintain your sobriety.
Outpatient Los Angeles is a premier outpatient drug rehab in Los Angeles that is committed to helping clients safely and effectively achieve sobriety. Our compassionate team of addiction specialists is here to help you every step of the way on your road to recovery. We offer a wide variety of outpatient addiction treatment in Beverly Hills so you can receive the right care for your recovery journey. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you overcome addiction.
7 Tips for Healthy Coping Skills in Recovery
Learn to Communicate Your Feelings
Attending support groups and communicating your feelings with others you trust for support can help maintain your sobriety long-term. Rather than bottling up your emotions and struggles, communicating your feelings helps you connect and relate to others. Whether it’s in a support group with people who can relate to what you’re going through, or among loved ones who are there to love and support your recovery journey, communicating your feelings can help you feel supported in maintaining your sobriety.
Try Journaling to Get Your Thoughts Down
Journaling is another healthy coping skill in recovery you can use to get your thoughts down on paper. Rumination and constantly sitting with negative thoughts can be damaging to not just your mental health, but also put your sobriety at risk. Therefore, next time you are struggling with negative self-talk and can’t immediately talk to a trusted loved one or friend about it, consider writing down your thoughts.
Attend Therapy
Even if you’ve been sober for years, attending therapy can serve as another highly effective coping skill to help maintain your recovery. Meeting with someone who is a licensed professional will ensure you are receiving expert guidance to effectively progress along your road to recovery.
Establish a Healthy Support System
Your friends and family are another vital component of your sobriety journey. You should never feel like you have to progress along your road to recovery alone. Establishing a healthy support system of loved ones, peers, and mentors allows you to reach out to people for support when you’re struggling so you can reduce your risk of relapsing.
Prioritize a Healthy Lifestyle
Next, it’s important to prioritize a healthy lifestyle, which includes getting quality sleep each night, eating a well-balanced diet, and exercising consistently. A healthy lifestyle will ensure you are living a balanced lifestyle to best support your road to recovery.
Invest in Activities and Hobbies You Love
Doing activities and hobbies you love are more healthy coping skills in recovery you can turn to support your sobriety. Whether it be running, hiking, swimming, painting, or reading, there are endless sober activities you can do that are not only fun, but will help you lead a healthier, happier life free from the chains of addiction.
Practice Self-Care
Last but not least, it’s important you practice self-care often on your sobriety journey. Even if you have been sober for years, it’s important to take time out of your day, even if it’s for five to 10 minutes, to check in with yourself and how you’re feeling. Otherwise, failure to address feelings causing your stress can eventually lead you to turn back to old unhealthy habits to cope with those negative feelings.
Help Is Available
Coping skills in recovery and beyond are essential for maintaining long-term sobriety. This is because inevitably at some point in your recovery journey you’ll be faced with cravings to abuse drugs, which can put your sobriety in jeopardy. However, with coping skills in addiction recovery, you can learn how to work through cravings and maintain your sobriety without falling back into old habits.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, help is available. At Outpatient Los Angeles, we offer a comprehensive range of California outpatient drug and alcohol rehab programs so you can receive individualized support for your unique recovery needs. You should never feel too ashamed or afraid to ask for help in leading a happier, healthier life. Contact us today so we can help you on your recovery journey.