How to Maintain Motivation in Your Recovery
The decision to seek help for an addiction is lifesaving, but it is never an easy choice to make. The first step is admitting you have a problem you can’t solve on your own. Next, you must commit to putting your normal responsibilities on hold while you pursue your well-being, and summon the strength to walk into a treatment center and follow a healing plan laid out for you by addiction professionals.
Once you have successfully completed treatment, you may be full of enthusiasm to pursue your new lifestyle. However, after accumulating some months of sobriety outside the structured environment of a rehab facility, you might find your motivation waning as you confront the reality that you must continue managing your addiction for the rest of your life. Perhaps stress at work or at home is overwhelming you, tempting you into a relapse. Or maybe you feel lost because you haven’t found new hobbies to fill the hours you used to spend drinking and using. Whatever the reason, these six tips can help you get your motivation back.
1. Start a Recovery Journal or Blog
Journaling or writing about your feelings is a therapeutic act because committing your thoughts to paper – whether physical or digital – helps give you clarity and purpose. You can choose to keep your thoughts private, or share them with the world. Either way, periodically reviewing your past journal entries can help you appreciate how much progress you’ve made and how you’ve grown as a person over time. If you don’t enjoy writing, you can record your journal entries digitally and save them on your computer.
2. Give Back Through Volunteering
Another way to stay motivated and find a new way to spend your free time is by getting involved in the community. Whether you want to read to schoolchildren, socialize stray pets to get them ready for new homes or stock shelves at your local food bank, plenty of deserving organizations could use a helping hand. Volunteering also helps you feel good about yourself because you are serving others who need something you can provide.
3. Have a Daily Schedule
Intentionally creating more structure in your life is another way to keep your recovery routine running on the right track. When you were enrolled in treatment, you likely had designated times of day for counseling sessions, meals, exercise, recovery coaching, etc. Life outside of rehab can feel overwhelming without a day divided into regimented sections. You can mimic this structure for yourself by planning each day: when you will wake up, work out, eat, rest, enjoy your new sober hobbies and go to sleep. Keeping these times consistent will help you avoid having hours of unaccounted-for time on your hands.
4. Find Time for Self-Care
If you find your motivation flagging, it could be because you haven’t done anything lately to recharge your batteries. When you plan your daily routine, make sure to include room for self-care. Devoting even 20 to 30 minutes a day to reward yourself with activities like meditation, yoga, napping or listening to music can give you something to look forward to.
5. Continue Attending Therapy
When you get discharged from inpatient treatment, your journey toward healing yourself mentally, physically and spiritually is only beginning. To ensure you can continue to stay on top of your recovery goals, you should regularly meet with a therapist who can help you make further progress toward addressing the root cause of your addiction and any co-occurring mental health disorders you may have developed. You should also keep going to meetings of groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. If you find your current group is not inspiring you the way it used to, don’t be afraid to switch things up and find a new one in your area.
6. Celebrate Your Milestones
Reward yourself for each new landmark on your recovery path. For example, take yourself out to a fancy dinner at the 90-day mark of your sobriety. Plan a vacation when you complete your first year in recovery. You deserve treats for the hard work you’ve put in. Plus, once you are no longer spending all your money on buying drugs and alcohol, you will have extra savings to splurge with.
Fresh Motivation Awaits You Here
At Beach House, our Florida addiction treatment retreat, you can find the tools you need to start over with your life. We provide comprehensive, evidence-based solutions for adults who need help breaking the cycle of addiction and substance abuse. Contact us to verify your insurance coverage with one of our caring recovery counselors.