Importance of Fitness During Addiction Recovery
Drug addiction is a chronic problem. It has the tendency to impact the structure of your brain and body, pushing you toward compulsive behaviors. When you choose to pursue addiction recovery, you must involve yourself in healthy habits and practices that will keep you from being inclined to use.
The recovery process starts with detox, continues with therapy, and is followed by an effective aftercare plan. But the completion of a treatment program is only the beginning. Recovery is a long journey, and to achieve sobriety you have to accept that your lifestyle must change. This lifestyle needs to be adorned with healthy and positive habits. Rehab programs have several methods integrated in their approach that allow patients to safely detox from drugs, build a support network, and undergo therapy to help in changing their overall mindset.
Alongside the fundamental approaches of drug rehab, there are complementary treatments that assist the recovery process substantially. Physical fitness is one of them, and has become a mandatory part of addiction treatment during rehab and aftercare. It has proven to be an effective way of addressing underlying psychological issues and serves as an outlet for emotions such as stress and frustration.
Being in a healthy physical state serves as a huge defense against cravings for illicit drugs. Physical activity allows you to express your aggression and tension in a healthy way, rather than seeking refuge in drugs. During addiction recovery, your mind and body are learning to stray away from addictive behaviors and overcome dependencies. When you work on keeping a healthy diet, maintaining an appropriate sleep cycle, and participating in physical exercise, your chances of a better recovery and long-term sobriety are increased substantially. Exercise helps combat any negative thoughts going through your mind, and assists in fighting urges and temptations to use.
Drug addiction recovery has a high probability of relapse. Triggers can pull you off of your recovery road if you do not have a plan on how to cope with the inevitable challenges you’ll face. Exercise can help fight off these triggers and keep you focused as you continue to work toward stability and good health.
Below are some of the benefits of fitness during the addiction recovery process. This blog aims to highlight the important reasons why you should focus on physical exercise during and after treatment.
A Healer For Your Body and Brain
It is an established fact that physical exercise has a positive impact on alleviating stress. Your body and mind are under the direct influence of the thoughts that depress you. Addiction recovery is a tough process that forces you to give up behaviors that you’ve been addicted to for years. Rehab requires you to work on your mind, body, habits, and lifestyle.
The entire process can be quite overwhelming. Physical exercise during recovery can serve as a beneficial source of reducing any stress resulting from the process. Maintaining a consistent fitness schedule can help you deal with conditions like depression and anxiety, as exercise improves overall body and brain function.
Brings Schedule in Your Life
When you have a long history of drug abuse or alcoholism, it is likely that your life has lost any form of structure. This lack of routine has the tendency to subject addicts to a chaotic state of being. Entering a rehabilitation program ensures that your body is cleansed completely from any prevailing toxins and harmful content left behind by drug abuse.
Working out amidst this process helps your mind and body generate a certain focus that allows you to regain control of yourself and your life. It helps create a schedule and gives you the opportunity to let out any stress and negativity from your mind.
When negative thoughts are eradicated from your mind, it gives you the ability to restructure your thought process from scratch. It allows you to evaluate things properly again, this time with a positive mindset. As a result, the chances of you falling back into your addiction are substantially lowered.
Promotes Positivity
When you indulge in physical fitness and exercise, your body releases endorphins. These endorphins have the ability to create a natural high that has no detrimental effect. Allowing your body to produce these feelings on its own is very important, as drug abuse leads to imbalances in your brain that interfere with the feelings of pleasure, happiness, and satisfaction. Aside from giving your body a healthy composition and your mind a strong structure, fitness helps regulate brain chemistry and keeps you healthy in natural and safe ways.
Before recovery, drugs were probably your ultimate source for escaping things like depression and negative thoughts. But as you travel down the road to recovery, fitness and physical activity can help substantially in staying positive and relieving stress.
Exercise has proven to be a miracle tool for people who are struggling with substance abuse disorders. The road to recovery can be quite overwhelming after losing yourself so deeply to compulsive behaviors. Fitness helps you regain confidence in yourself by promoting the belief that you can still take control of your mind and drive it towards positive activities.
At Arizona Addiction Recovery Center, we implement an excellent fitness program alongside drug rehab treatments to help our patients recover from their compulsive behaviors in the best way possible. We prioritize your wellbeing and strive to facilitate the processes that come with your decision to combat drug abuse.
To us, your health and improved quality of life are of utmost importance. To know more about which program might be best for you, give us a call at 602.346.9130.
