Cultivating a strong sense of connection and compassion toward yourself when you're stressed out helps you enter into a natural, joyous journey. Many people find it challenging to find comfort in addiction recovery when they experience stress. Learning to connect with yourself deeply by practicing compassion builds your tolerance to stress by ensuring that you have ways to deal with stress when it comes. In addiction recovery, the more you show yourself compassion and alleviate stress, the more successful you'll be.
A strong sense of compassion and patience is not easy to acquire. Being self-compassionate builds stronger relationships and motivation, but maintaining a positive mindset becomes challenging when stress impedes your life. In addiction recovery, you learn to embrace various elements of yourself and accept the inner and outer perfections. Furthermore, you know practicing compassion, finding comfort, and exercising your strength can build resilience to stress.
Self-compassion is a means to boost inner strength and not a sign of weakness. Likewise, having a comfortable environment boosts your morale while providing the atmosphere to maintain a healthy outlook. Without compassion and comfort, stress eats away your motivation and may make you more likely to put blame on others, feel inadequate, even get more cravings and triggers for the drug or alcohol you were previously addicted to.
Feeling some stress is normal, but when stress overpowers you to the point where you feel stuck, your resilience can fade, tipping you toward difficulty and suffering. In addiction recovery, recognizing areas in your life that cause you stress and finding ways to mitigate them is important for your continued sobriety.
The recovery journey ignites hope and enlightenment in your life, and one of the things you first learn is that you’re not alone. So often, individuals who struggle with substance use find themselves experiencing loss, rejection, humiliation, loneliness, and pain, thus enabling isolation and a negative self-image. When you don't have a good way to deal with unfavorable events or feelings, the situation can evolve into stress and low self-compassion.
Many researchers study self-compassion to allow those who struggle with stress to find healthy ways to deal with it. This is especially important for those in recovery from substance use disorder. These researchers found that individuals with higher satisfaction and social contentedness are better able to fight stress with empathy and acknowledgment. Learning to combat stress in addiction recovery can have relevant meaning in your journey. Fighting stressful situations may seem awkward initially, but once you practice it, you'll develop instincts that help you kiss stress goodbye.
A few ways to fight stress include:
In addiction recovery, there will be times where distressing situations occur, and your anxiety, depression, or stress can make you feel trapped. Addiction recovery is not a simple process, but in the end, getting help and implementing self-discipline result in a joyous and more meaningful life. It’s vital to your recovery to allow yourself comfort and compassion through stressful times.
When you dwell on negative experiences, your emotions can make them more complex and put you at risk for relapses. When you instead dwell on — and create — happy experiences, it will improve your overall well-being. Eliminate the cycle of distress with self-compassion and comfort.
In addiction recovery, you get to expand your emotional regulation skills and find helpful ways to manage your stress levels. You learn to be more actively engaged in your environment and practice self-compassion to become more content and satisfied with the things around you. Furthermore, when you ignite your comfort and compassion, you build a consistent pattern of self-awareness to motivate yourself during stressful times.
At NorthStar Transitions, we help you practice self-compassion in a comfortable environment so you can take the experience and coping techniques to prepare you for unforeseen situations. When you are more prepared with problem-solving modalities, you can take positive steps to deal with stressful things when they arise. NorthStar Transitions has a compassionate team that is here to help support you with professional care and treatment to help you gain a greater sense of connection with yourself and others around you. If you or someone you love struggles with substance use, let us help you break free from addiction and learn how to show yourself compassion. You deserve to get sober and learn how to use healthy methods of dealing with stress before it becomes a trigger for relapse. Reach out to our team today for more information on how you can allow yourself comfort and understanding when you’re stressed out. Call NorthStar Transitions at (303) 558-6400.
