Most people have a basic understanding that movement and exercise are good for your health. Additionally, movement and exercise have proven benefits in improving mood. This can be incredibly helpful when in recovery from addiction. As you may know, addiction treatment often includes multiple approaches and therapies in combination to help you heal. We believe incorporating movement and exercise can also be beneficial in sustaining recovery from your addiction. If treatment with us is the right fit for you, we can help you incorporate movement and exercise into your recovery.
Benefits of Movement and Exercise in Addiction Recovery
As previously mentioned, movement and exercise can have mood and mental health benefits. As the Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry explains, regular exercise can actually aid in alleviating depression symptoms. Moreover, there can commonly be a connection between mental health issues and addiction so movement and exercise may be a great option to help ease some of your mental health symptoms when in recovery.
In treatment for addiction, we can utilize movement and exercise as more than just a way to fill time. Some benefits of movement and exercise can include developing an appreciation for your body and its abilities. In addiction recovery specifically, appreciating your body could be an important piece to your recovery. Learning to honor your health and treat your body well with movement and exercise could be helpful on your recovery journey.
Another benefit of movement and exercise includes improving your physical health. This refers back to treating your body well; setting obtainable fitness goals could be something you learn to do as well. It is important you know we are not suggesting you necessarily take all of your energy and put it into movement and exercise, as this could become unhealthy too. Designating some time regularly throughout the week to move your body could absolutely be feasible. Learning to listen to your body and knowing your limits could also be a helpful piece to your recovery. Recognizing when you need to rest or when you need to ask for help can be key.
Connections Between Physical Activity and Long-Term Recovery
Utilizing movement and exercise in your addiction recovery journey can give you additional places to focus your energy. Having places in your life where you can put time and effort into something, like movement and exercise, can allow you to create healthy goals. In addiction recovery, this can be crucial. We understand that addiction can be time-consuming, so learning how to use your time safely and healthily is part of the recovery process.
Using movement and exercise could be a new or healthier way to cope with uncomfortable experiences. We know there is a link between stress, poor coping skills, and the development of addiction. With this in mind, you will learn new coping skills in treatment. Movement and exercise could be some examples of coping skills you try. Coping in healthy ways takes time and practice, but we believe at Renaissance Ranch we can provide the necessary support to help you along the way. Eventually, we believe this will allow you to know how to cope better with stressors on your own. This skill could essentially help you sustain recovery.
Movement and exercise are important to the health and well-being of most people. Getting your body moving can even help release toxins from your body. Doing any kind of activity that gets your body moving can help release endorphins too. Releasing endorphins through movement and exercise can be a safe and healthy way to improve your mood. That in combination with therapy can help sustain recovery.
Ways We Can Support Movement and Exercise in Your Treatment Plan
Treatment at Renaissance Ranch will include a 12-Step base approach. We can also include services such as weight lifting, CrossFit, and yoga in your treatment plan. These options for movement and exercise can allow you to create healthy goals for yourself. It can give you a space to “blow off steam” or to explore mindfulness depending on the practice. We want to best support every man that comes to us for help regarding their addiction and we will do our best to cater to your needs with these movement and exercise options.
After completing treatment with us, we can also offer our Band of Brothers to you, which sets us apart from other treatment facilities. Our Band of Brothers is an alumni program that allows our alumni to stay connected with weekly outings and a variety of extracurricular activities. These activities can include camping, marathons, sporting events, and so much more. We believe the incentive of staying connected with alumni can also give men the opportunity and motivation to continue on their recovery path.
There are different methods and therapies that can be offered to help treat your addiction. We believe that movement and exercise can help you sustain recovery in combination with therapy and the 12-Step approach. Movement has proven benefits of improving mood which is crucial to those in addiction recovery. Moving your body regularly can also give you a safe space to process emotions or connect to others who also enjoy movement and exercise activities, all of which can help ensure you maintain your recovery. At the end of the day, your recovery is what’s most important and we believe we can help you by incorporating movement and exercise. Please call (801) 308-8898 for more information.