by Recovery Rob and Co-Authored by Nicole Grodesky
Getting sober takes a lot of courage, and staying sober can be a lifelong journey. Living a sober life is important, but living a happy and healthy sober life is essential. Don’t let old emotions hold you back and keep you “stuck” in an old pattern. But how do you stay happy, healthy and sober when troubling emotions surface sporadically? Here are some ideas to help you or your loved one through the recovery process and staying sober.
Yoga
Yoga isn’t just for the trendy yuppies – it’s perfect for recovering addicts as well. Take a look at the website Recovery 2.0 Beyond Addiction. Tommy Rosen, a self-proclaimed recovering addict, decided to develop a yoga program to help others work through their process of overcoming addiction. Through yoga, Tommy helps people get out of feeling “stuck” and guides them through all of the various emotions in order to get them “unstuck”.
“Yoga recovery will vary depending on the teacher. The major difference is how the language relates to concepts that relate to addiction,” said Rosen.
Through yoga, you can learn many techniques that will help you transcend the emotional binds you are coping with. It might take a lot of hard work, dedication and an open mind, but through it all you will find many emotional growth opportunities.
“I beieve all humans are struggling with addiction in one way or another,” adds Rosen. “This [Yoga] is going to help your life more than you can image. So, go get on the mat!“
Art Therapy
Art therapy dates back to the 1940s and aims to help with self-understanding, emotional change, and personal growth. These are all emotions that recovering addicts can either relate to or will eventually need to confront. Through art therapy, a person is encouraged to express images they are feeling from within versus what they are seeing in the outside world. Art therapy helps the recovery process by giving a feeling of control over the recovery process by enhancing confidence. This new found empowerment and self-awareness helps people work through the many difficult emotions that may come up during and after the recovery process.
“The reason why people utilize art therapy is because it often expresses what people cannot put into words,” said Brianne Chavez, a Counseling Psychology student at Pacifica Graduate Institute. “Since we experience the world through all of our senses we have a hard time processing events just by talking. Art therapy helps tap into the sensual and visual experience people have. It also taps into the unconscious and lets it speak through the art.”
Diet
You’ve probably heard the saying “eating your emotions.” When it comes to maintaining a healthy body and mind through recovery, eating healthy should be at the top of your list. A lot of people deal with their emotions by eating. This can lead to more emotional turmoil if you’re not choosing to fill up on a healthy diet. Not eating the right foods can trigger your overall emotional well-being and cause depression, anxiety, and many other health problems.
So what foods should I eat?
Stay away from foods that contain high levels of sugar, pump up the protein, and eat raw foods. Easier said than done, right? It’s really important to add healthier foods into your diet to achieve emotional balance. There are many resources out there, but a great resource and a good place to start is Mark’s Daily Apple. You’ll find information about all the various types of raw foods, nutritional facts and tasty recipes.
There are a lot of steps to a healthy recovery, like getting certified medical treatment from professionals and attending a long-term treatment facility with individual and group counseling. Not knowing how to identify and cope with emotions after treatment can lead to reverting back to unhealthy patterns. There are supplemental ways to cope with, confront, and grow out of those old patterns. If you or someone you know is struggling to cope with the recovery process, there are helpful supplemental activities and many others out there to help.
Recovery Rob BIO
Recovery Rob is a 49-year-old man who has been sober since August 23, 1992, whose drugs of choice at one time were alcohol and drugs. Recovery Rob has worked in and around the field of addiction for more than 30 years. Recovery Rob is also the main contributing writer for Pat Moore Detox and has his own website: www.askrecoveryrob.com, where he continues to reach out and help people work through their own addiction and recovery process. In his spare time, he is a professional writer with two published novels and currently working on his third. He has been writing and working as Pat Moore Foundation’s premiere blogger and content writer, which helps keeps Pat Moore Foundation’s addiction and recovery blog top-rated.