How Can You Overcome Triggers and Cravings in Recovery?
Triggers and cravings can make staying sober all that more difficult. They remind you of your substance use and the way your body felt while using. This can make you forget about the bad things that went along with the pleasurable feelings. It's easy to forget about the withdrawal symptoms, the way addiction affected your friends and family, and the way you saw yourself while using versus the way you see yourself when sober. This is when healthy coping techniques come in handy to alleviate these cravings.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Meditation is the practice of mentally focusing on a sensation, sound, mental image, or repeated phrase. This practice has been used in a variety of cultures for years. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that emphasizes awareness of the present without bias. These practices have been the subjects of numerous studies as ways to help with a multitude of health problems, both mental and physical.
A study done in 2018 published in the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) showed that meditation and mindfulness were as effective as evidence-based treatments in treating anxiety and depression. Further, a review of studies done in 2018 and published in NCCIH found that mediation and mindfulness decreased cravings and promoted abstinence.
Meditation and mindfulness work to bring you awareness of feelings and thoughts that act as triggers for cravings. They reveal what to look out for so you can decrease the effects of cravings and implement healthy coping mechanisms.
Outdoor Activities
Outdoor activities can get you outside of your head and outside in nature. They provide a clear, healing environment to give you some breathing room and fresh air. When you participate in activities outdoors, you get a break from stress, triggers, and cravings, and something good to look forward to. Some outdoor activities to try include:
Hiking
Fishing
Bike riding
Gardening
Sports, such as basketball, football, soccer, track, baseball, snowboarding, softball, or tennis
Photography
Camping
Fruit/flower picking
Skiing
Rock climbing
Yoga
Music, both listening to and creating
These can be done as group activities with friends and family, or singularly if you just need some time to yourself to work through your thoughts. You can try different things, new things, or stick with something you're familiar with and comfortable with.
Indoor Activities
There are a million and one activities you can try to help you relax and bring your focus away from anything substance use-related. Finding something you are passionate about doing and want to continue to grow in can be a bit of trial and error. However, once you do it can give you an outlet you weren't aware you needed. While indoor activities don't provide the benefits of fresh air and nature, there are also numerous ones that can take your mind off your cravings. Some indoor activities to try include:
Rock climbing
Bowling
Photography
Knitting/crocheting
Reading
Movie marathon
Yoga
Cooking/baking
Escape room
Karaoke
Spa day
Painting
Sports
Go to the gym
Martial arts
Music, both listening to and creating
Some of these activities can be done indoors or outdoors depending on weather and preference, which allows you more room to try different things.
How Recovery Companions Help You Manage Cravings
Next Level Recovery uses recovery companions, which are personal support helpers who are hand-picked to assist you during all phases of recovery. They are there to provide stability, encouragement, accountability, and compassion while you work to achieve and maintain sobriety.
There are many ways they can help you including determining triggers and risky environments that can endanger your sobriety. They can help you create healthy routines that include self-care and recovery-supportive activities to decrease the effect of cravings and triggers. Your recovery companion can even accompany you to social events and vacations to help limit the risk of relapse. When you need something else to focus on when the cravings start to become too much, they can help you discover new activities or hobbies to give you an outlet.
Your recovery companion may help you recognize environments, sensations, people, or even foods that provoke a behavioral change in you that makes you more vulnerable to relapse. They can present this to you so you are aware of the trigger and can avoid it as much as possible. If you can't avoid it, you can at least acknowledge the change so you can take steps to ensure the behavior doesn't worsen.
Recovery companions also act as a buffer between you and the things that can knock you off track and back into substance use. They are meant to be the shoulder you can lean on and the push you need to keep fighting to stay sober.
Working through life after treatment and being out on your own can be hard. Being surrounded by triggers and things that cause cravings can make your desire to stay sober waver. The reminders of the good things about your substance use can make you forget about all of the negatives, and the impact it had on you and those around you. If you need help fighting these cravings, figuring out triggers, or just need extra support, reach out to Next Level Recovery Associates now. Our recovery companies are standing at the ready to assist you in any way they can. They are hand-picked to be a compatible match for you. We at Next Level Recovery want to provide you with a personalized experience to ensure you get everything you need to thrive in your recovery journey. For more information, email us today at consult@nextlevelra.com.