A big part of recovery centers on taking care of yourself. Too often, individuals struggle to find a balance between caring for themselves and caring for others, and whether this is in a personal or professional capacity, it can have trickle-down impacts on mental and physical well-being.
When this happens, individuals are more susceptible to chronic stress leading to addictive behaviors and self-medicating with drugs or alcohol.
As a key part of recovery, it’s important that you build 12 steps to self-care.
What Does Self-Care Mean in Recovery?
In recovery, self-care refers to prioritizing your needs and learning to set boundaries or communicate those needs in as expeditious a way as possible.
For example:
- Sometimes individuals need to promote their physical well-being by setting aside time to exercise so that they can capitalize on endorphins.
- Sometimes clients need to prioritize sleep and that might mean saying no to going out to an evening activity or avoiding certain foods.
- Sometimes clients need to develop strong relationships with people who can help them or learn to practice kindness.
- Sometimes people need to get help from others or conversely spend time alone to journal or to be in nature and meditate.
The 12 steps to self-care will look slightly different for everyone but focus on things you can do to build your sustained recovery and overall health.
Examples of 12 Steps to Self-Care in Recovery
So what are some examples of 12 steps to self-care in recovery?
#1 Exercise
One of the biggest ways to take care of yourself physically and mentally is to exercise. Exercise is a key part of any residential treatment program because it helps to release chemicals like endorphins that boost your mood, improve your sleep, and have an impact on several other areas of life that promote overall well-being.
Moreover, addiction can often interfere with your neurotransmitters and neurochemicals taking away from a positive mood or good sleep while exercise can help overcome this.
#2 Healthy Food
A good diet is equally essential to things like motivation, mood, sleep, and more. Often those in recovery are dealing with detrimental impacts to their physical well-being from poor nutrition and learning to incorporate healthy meals on a regular basis can fix this.
#3 Sleep
Good sleep and proper sleep hygiene goes a long way toward improving your recovery and helping you stay sober while giving you the energy you need to develop things like coping skills and to remember your 12 steps to self-care.
#4 Journaling
When in recovery you’ll have time for journaling and reflection because these serve as important ways to release stress or anger, putting your thoughts down onto paper so they don’t continue to disrupt your everyday thinking and behaviors.
#5 Honesty
When in recovery honesty will be an important part of your self care. That honesty can extend to being honest with yourself, admitting how you feel, communicating with others, setting boundaries, and making sure that people treat you the way you deserve.
#6 Kindness
An attitude of gratitude goes a long way toward helping with recovery so learning to practice compassion and kindness toward yourself and toward others is essential.
#7 Mindfulness
When you practice mindfulness you get an opportunity to detach from all the things that are distracting you in your day and really focus on how it is you feel and what it is you need.
#8 Meditation
Just like mindfulness, meditation is a key form of self-care that can be used while driving, walking, eating, or right before bed.
#9 Medication or Therapy
If you have underlying mental or physical health conditions, it’s important that you get the right medication or therapy to treat these co-occurring conditions in order to improve things like your mood, your focus, and your overall well-being.
#10 Values
As you transition from addiction into a life of sobriety you’ll need to create values for yourself, figuring out what matters most to you and what things bring you happiness. From there find ways to focus on those things and incorporate them into your daily life.
#11 Sober Activities
Another form of self-care is to start participating in sober activities that bring you joy. This might mean learning something new, joining a group in your area, or simply participating in support groups.
#12 Relationships
Finally, developing strong relationships with new, sober individuals or repairing your relationships with friends and family who support you in your sobriety is crucial.
12 Steps to Self-Care with Multi-Concept Recovery
At Multi-Concept Recovery, we know that treatment for substance abuse and mental health requires individualized care. That is why our 12 steps to self-care will focus on meeting the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each client.
A critical part of this success is building a foundation, whether you are participating in an intensive outpatient program or a partial day program that centers on holistic treatment and individualized self-care. What works well for one client may not necessarily work well for another, but our team is here to find what works best, continually reviewing your progress to ensure the best possible results.
To learn more about the 12 steps to self-care, call our team at 866-935-6081.
