Enduring hardship while balancing all your emotions is a skill that takes a lifetime to learn. However, many often believe that building resilience is not a matter of a learning goal (like one might go and get a degree), but rather it is more about a journey. A journey toward building a stellar emotional quotient that helps us tolerate, pacify, and manage ourselves during distressing times.
In recent times, therapists have used resilience as a matter to treat patients of addiction. They understood that whether they want the patient to stay strong in the face of temptation or not get easily triggered through the vulnerable recovery time, building resilience is the way to go.
One effective way to build resilience would be to find a perfect exercise routine for the patients. Introducing an exercise regime in an addiction recovery program has many benefits.
– It helps balance their haphazard life, affected by the touch of addiction.
– Bringing a sense of schedule.
– A goal to wake up in the morning since exercising can also increase dopamine release in someone.
– Helping build mental resilience through repeated physical programming.
– A sense of distraction when they are facing a very strong urge to relapse, even in a post-recovery program. Remember, relapse urges can hit someone at any point in their sobriety journey. Having a distraction point during any form of addiction recovery is very important.
We will elaborate on these points further in the excerpt below.
Building Resilience Through Exercise Regimes
Without any further ado, here are some of the benefits of inculcating a regular exercise regime in a recovery patient’s routine.
1. Enhancing One’s Mood
Regular exercise, especially in the morning, can help regulate chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. The chemical balance usually goes haywire during addiction, especially when their brains find it difficult to release the happy chemicals unless it is during substance abuse.
It gets even more difficult when you are going through the initial days of sobriety. This is why regular exercise is crucial in helping your neurological functions find their regular balance.
With the dopamine release patients, you will feel more zealous, energetic, and ready for life. Endorphins, on the other hand, help you ease any internal physical or mental pain. Essentially helping you diminish the withdrawal pain and physical distress. One often calls these exercises a natural drug, but we would call it a way to start your new life with a better understanding of your body.
2. Building A Self-Esteem
When something opposite to addiction can help a patient build their self-esteem, they are much less likely to go down the road of sin again. Finding self-esteem for themselves and seeing it reflected in people around them is a big motivator to remain sober.
Needless to say that this self-esteem often comes from the increase of aesthetic value from regular exercise. Their body is more toned, and they feel fit. They do not wish to impure their now healthy body with stellar core strength with substances.
Feeling physically strong is one of the biggest catalysts to feeling mentally strong as well.
3. Outdoor Exercise Are A Gift For Recovery Process
Recent studies have shown that if one exercises outside in nature rather than in the gym, it helps enhance mood more. When you are indulging in some good cardio in the open air, especially during the break of dawn, the early sunshine, which carries the best Vitamin D, gets into your skin.
This helps in the release of melatonin, which is, again, a great resource to cure depression. Chronic depression is one of the common symptoms which hits most patients post-recovery. Unfortunately, This is also one of the reasons many relapses afterward.
This is why therapists will also suggest a daily dose of exercise for dopamine and Vitamin D to help keep depression at bay.
4. Improving Cognitive Functions
It is not just about how it can help you feel stronger and improve your reflexes. Regular exercise has a positive effect on our cognitive functions as well. Which means it will help improve our mental processes.
In addiction recovery, exercise enhances cognitive function. Physical activity boosts brain health by increasing oxygen flow, stimulating neurotransmitters, and promoting neuroplasticity. This aids memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills.
Regular exercise reduces stress and anxiety, common triggers for relapse while improving mood and overall well-being. As a holistic approach, it complements therapy and supports sustainable recovery.
Engaging in consistent exercise routines fosters mental clarity and resilience, aiding individuals in rebuilding their lives and sustaining positive habits beyond addiction.
5. Great For Anger Management
Getting violent and lashing out is quite common when someone is addicted. However, this habit doesn’t just go away when they have been through recovery. In fact, post-recovery is also a difficult and vulnerable time where people can be violent in the face of distress.
During these periods of rage, they could either be physically or emotionally harmful to themselves or others. However, along with DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), exercise is one such anger management strategy.
First, it acts as a distraction. Upon a little mindful decision-making, patients are taught not to cause a scene at times of distress. Control their outbursts, and tolerate their distress by choosing any form of physical exercise. For someone who wishes to simply calm themselves, they can go for something soothing like Yoga. However, for someone who wants to release their outburst, go for something more energy efficient like heavy cardio (cycling, running, and swimming). Basically, forgetting your anger with the increase of rapid heartbeat.
Building Resilience Through Exercise – Why Have An Exercise Routine Today!
A few techniques help someone in recovery to embrace sobriety like a pro. Getting into a regular exercise regime is certainly one of them. To summarize the excerpt above, see:
An exercise routine today cultivates resilience by enhancing physical and mental well-being. Regular exercise boosts immunity, reduces stress hormones, and improves cardiovascular health, guarding against illnesses. It fosters discipline and consistency, traits transferable to life’s challenges.
Exercise triggers endorphin release, promoting a positive mood and coping skills. Individuals build physical strength, endurance, and adaptability through consistent effort, translating into greater mental fortitude.
Embracing an exercise routine fosters a proactive approach to health, instilling confidence to overcome obstacles.
In just minutes a day, this investment will help you enjoy the rewards of improved resilience, empowering individuals to thrive amidst life’s uncertainties.
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