Healthy Coping Skills to Try
Avoid Relapse By Coping with Situations and Feelings in a Healthy Way
Stressful conditions, external pressures, challenging emotions, and trauma are just a few of the factors that can contribute to drug and alcohol abuse. When a person is unable to cope with these feelings or situations healthily, they may turn to drugs for relief or escape.
Drugs are addictive substances that trigger the pleasure circuit of the brain, releasing excessive amounts of dopamine and causing users to feel euphoric. When these addictive substances are used to cope with or escape difficult emotions, a person can become dependent on them to function and feel normal. This is typically when the addictive cycle begins.
To deal with drug addiction, a person must first comprehend the source of the problem: what feelings, experiences, and traumas push them to drink and use drugs? Then they must retrain themselves on how to cope with these stressors without the use of drugs or alcohol, which was once the norm.
Coping strategies to try
To avoid relapse, those in recovery can learn healthy coping strategies. Here are a few coping skills that you can try:
Mindfulness & Meditation - Use mindfulness and meditation practices to help you progress past unpleasant ideas and emotions. It can help you focus on the present moment and observe and accept your mental experiences without judgment or criticism.
Keep occupied - You probably spent a lot of your time in the past looking for, using, or recovering from drugs. You must now substitute positive activities for the negative ones. Cross items off your to-do list and make time for the things you've been putting off.
Stay healthy - Getting healthy physically is an important part of the recovery process; the drugs, without a question, had a toll on your physical well-being. Give your body the minerals and nutrients it needs by eating healthy, fulfilling meals, and getting some exercise.
Journal - Instead of internalizing your feelings, anxieties, and thoughts, write them down in a journal. Writing is a terrific technique to let go of and work out any thoughts that are bothering you.
Make an appointment with a therapist, counselor, or your sponsor – Are you repressing emotions or feeling isolated in your sobriety? Your sponsor, counselor, or therapist is there to listen to you, prevent you from relapsing, and protect you from thinking negatively. They can also assist you in working through unpleasant emotions or situations and correctly interpreting situations.