Healthy Coping Skills for Addiction Recovery

Whether you are struggling with addiction, just started addiction recovery, or are in your aftercare, developing healthy coping skills is an essential part of addiction recovery. The first and most important thing to remember is you are never alone.

There are plenty of people who face the same challenges you face every single day. Realizing that you are not alone can help you from feeling isolated. Secondly, there is support and help available from numerous sources, including:

Group Meetings
Sponsors
Peer Support Specialists
Recovering Peers
Individual Counseling
Rehab Center Alumni Programs

Why Do I Need Healthy Coping Skills for Addiction Recovery?

Part of the reason for your addiction is usually related to unhealthy coping skills you used to have. For example, when you were faced with highly stressful situations, you could have drunk alcohol or experimented with different types of drugs. Based on your previous habits, you discovered that you could alleviate unwanted stress by drinking or using a particular substance. However, what you did not know at the time was that you were on the path to dependence and addiction by abusing alcohol or drugs.

By taking the time to learn healthy coping skills, you can face various situations that could trigger thoughts of drinking or using drugs. Then, instead of turning to your substance of choice, you can use your healthy coping skills to avoid a relapse.

How Do I Learn Healthy Coping Skills for Addiction Recovery?

The process of learning healthy coping skills for addiction recovery begins while you are in rehab. You will start to uncover different triggers that were associated with your substance abuse problem.

Once you uncover your triggers, you can then set about developing healthy coping skills to be equipped to use them should you ever need them. Furthermore, as you progress in your recovery, it will be full of new discoveries and learning, including developing new healthy coping skills when your current ones become less effective.

What Are Tips and Tricks to Learning Healthy Coping Skills?

Maintain a healthy sleep schedule and diet. When you get plenty of rest and eat well-balanced meals, you are in a better place to address triggers when they arise.
Maintain a regular exercise routine. This, too, helps your body remain healthy and keep your mind focused on your sobriety.
Adhere to your treatment program and aftercare program. It is essential to stick with the treatment process and your aftercare plan to develop healthy coping skills.
Attend group meetings often. Never miss a group meeting, even when it may seem inconvenient. Skipping meetings can cause you to falter in your recovery and relapse.
Have people you can call when you need immediate support. Keep a list of phone numbers stored in your phone for your sponsor, peer support specialist, peers, etc. Having someone to talk to can be exactly what you need when facing a trigger.
Continue to create short-term and long-term goals. Having goals to work towards can help keep you focused on your recovery.
Do not be afraid to ask for help when you feel you need it. It is okay to admit you are struggling with sobriety and ask for help. Remember, you are not alone.
Take things one day at a time. Do not worry about what happened in the past or what could happen tomorrow. Instead, concentrate on getting through today sober.
Sever ties with unhealthy relationships. The last thing you need is people in your life who are a bad influence and encourage you to start drinking or using drugs again. It is better to end these relationships for your own health and well-being.
Be open and willing to make major changes to your life. Change can be good, especially when it helps with your recovery. For instance, you may find living in a sober living facility provides the stability you need to remain sober.
Seek help at a recovery center if you feel overwhelmed. It is okay to check back into a recovery center if you feel you need additional help and support you are not currently getting.
Re-evaluate and adjust your coping skills as needed. If a coping skill does not seem to be working, it is okay to discard it and use a different effective one.
Celebrate the progress you have made. Do not forget to celebrate the small accomplishments you have made in your recovery so far. For example, if you have gone 30 days without drinking or using drugs, celebrate this accomplishment.