The New Year symbolizes a time of change for many of us and for those in recovery, setting resolutions can really help to boost your efforts to stay clean. Below are five great ideas if you’re looking for some achievable New Year resolutions for 2018.
Develop your social circle
In the beginning stages of recovery, it’s natural that you may want to avoid social situations because this is a time when we’re most likely to feel temped to relapse. While socialising with others who have addictive behaviors is never encouraged, if your drug addiction therapist feels you’re ready, the New Year is a great time to develop your social circle.
Associate yourself with people who are going to be a positive influence on your recovery – such as friends and family who have been helping you to get better. Building up friendships with others in recovery can also offer a number of benefits because it reminds you that you’re not alone, they can keep you on track when you’re feeling tempted and importantly, they’re also someone to talk to when you’re having a bad day.
Create a specific recovery goal
If you work with a therapist on a regular basis, create a recovery goal that you can work on with their guidance. Whether it’s a short or long-term ambition, it should help you to grow in your addiction recovery. If you’re not having counselling, set a resolution with a friend or someone else who is in recovery so you can support and encourage each other to stick to it.
Improve your diet
Research has shown that a person’s diet can go a long way towards helping drug addiction recovery because the right nutrition can help you to feel better both mentally and physically.
If your diet isn’t great, create a plan for the New Year which incorporates the following food groups:
Carbohydrates – try to stick to whole grain versions such as wholemeal pasta and bread. Sweet potato, chickpeas, vegetables, oats and fruit are also great sources of healthy carbohydrates and will help to give you energy.
Protein is essential to help the body repair itself. Great sources include meat, nuts, yogurt, beans, cheese, tofu, lentils and seeds.
Fats are another source of energy and they’re also required for some chemical reactions. Make sure you stick to good fats however such as nuts, avocados, cheese, dark chocolate, eggs, fatty fish and extra virgin olive oil.
Vitamins and minerals which are found in fruits and vegetables are needed by the body in order to perform essential metabolic activities.
Adopt a positive attitude
The brain is a powerful tool and what we believe, we achieve. If you go into recovery adamant that you’re going to fail, chances are that you will. If you’re determined to beat your addiction however, you’re already off to a great start.
Some great techniques which can help you to maintain a positive attitude include:
- Exercise – reaching your goals and seeing improvements in your body is a great way of increasing confidence and helping you to feel good about yourself.
- Get a hobby or sign up for a course – we get a huge sense of achievement when we’re good at something.
- Focus on your career – doing well in your career gives you a reason to stay clean.
- Help others who are going through recovery – studies show that the people who are the happiest are those who help others.
- Set yourself a target – this helps to improve self-control and reaching your target will motivate you to stay on track.
- Read self-help books.
Make sure your resolutions are realistic
One of the biggest mistakes we make with goal-setting is trying to do too much too soon. Say for example you resolve to exercise four times a week. If you miss a day because you’re busy or you’re not feeling well, you’re going to beat yourself up about it and probably end up giving up. Instead set yourself the goal of simply exercising more because this allows for leeway when necessary.
If you would like more information about drug addiction therapy in Toronto, please feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to help.
