Recovering from any form of addiction is not easy. This is due in part to the fact that you can’t recover by simply stopping the usage of whatever substance or behavior that you are addicted to. Doing so makes you vulnerable to all the same factors that helped develop your addiction in the first place.
To recover, you need to change your life and remove the factors that try to tempt you back into the clutches of addiction. You also need to learn coping skills for addiction and coping skills for recovering addicts to help ensure your newfound sobriety.
Coping Skills for Recovering Addicts
If you’ve ever found yourself asking the question, “What are coping skills for addiction?”, you’re in luck. We’ve created a list of useful skills that are known to work and will help you on your path to addiction recovery.
1. Be Honest With Yourself and Others
When it comes to coping skills for recovering addicts, none are more important than learning to be honest with yourself and others.
Addiction creates a vicious cycle that begins with lies. You lie about getting the substance and again about you using it. The more you lie, the better you get at it and the more you begin to hate yourself. This self-hatred leads to more usage which leads to more lying, etc.
Honesty is the only way to begin the path to recovery. If you can’t be honest with yourself and others about your addiction, you’ll never be able to recover.
2. Avoid High-Risk Situations
If you are trying to gain coping skills for addiction, you can’t keep putting yourself in situations that leave you vulnerable to your addiction.
Avoiding high-risk situations means that you can’t keep visiting locales where people receive and use addictive substances. For example, if you are addicted to alcohol, you shouldn’t visit bars or clubs anymore as the temptation is too great.
Developing this skill is often difficult as it may mean that you have to cut off relations with drinking buddies or other “friends” that you would use with. However, sobriety requires creating new habits and life for yourself, which will require sacrifices on your part. Trust that it will be worth it in the end.
3. Avoid HALT Symptoms
HALT is an acronym that stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. Anyone of these situations or emotions can lead to relapses.
While you can’t always avoid these situations, there are simple solutions which you can employ to help:
- If you are hungry, eat a well-balanced meal.
- If you are angry, try engaging in an activity that you enjoy to calm yourself.
- If you are lonely, try to talk to or be around people who are a positive influence.
- If you are tired, make sure that you get the rest that you need.
Taking care of your needs will help you to resist relapses and is essential to gaining coping skills for addiction recovery.
4. Develop a Strong Support Network
One of the best coping skills for recovering addicts to learn is how to develop a strong support network with other recovering addicts.
When recovering from addiction, it’s imperative to know that you aren’t alone. Having a network with other addicts will allow you to receive the help and encouragement that you need. It also grants you the opportunity to help others on their path to recovery, allowing you to be part of something meaningful and worthwhile.
5. Exercise Regularly
Another essential coping skill for recovering addicts is developing a habit of regular exercise.
Exercise brings numerous health benefits, not the least of which the release of your body’s natural “feel-good” hormones. These hormones can be a crucial tool in your recovery from addiction.
As you take better care of your body, you may find yourself better able to handle the stress of your daily life and become a happier person overall.
Steps Recovery Centers
Going to therapy sessions and/or rehabilitation centers can help you understand what are strong coping skills for addiction and can help you develop said skills.
At Steps Recovery Centers, we offer rehabilitation services that are designed in helping recovering addicts develop critical coping skills. If you are struggling to recover from addiction, get the help that you need through our Utah drug rehab or alcohol rehab services.
When the going gets rough on your journey to recovery, remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel where a new and better life awaits. You can do it!
