Recovery From Meth Addiction: Creating New Habits and Routines
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75% of people recover from drug addiction. This is fantastic news. The vast majority of people who are struggling with addiction have strong futures ahead of them, but it's not easy to reach that point.
If you're in recovery from meth addiction, you already know that. Every day is a challenge, but you're meeting each challenge head-on.
Once you've started the recovery process, it's time to establish healthy new habits and routines to enrich your life and get you back on track.
But why do those habits and routines matter? How can you get started? Let's talk about it.
Read on to learn all about the importance of routines during meth addiction recovery and how you can start building a healthy new routine today.
Benefits of Routine During Meth Addiction Recovery
You may wonder why it's so important to establish routines and new habits while you're going through addiction recovery. Many people think that when they're not actively in the meth rehab clinic, they can just continue their day-to-day lives as they were before. While you certainly can do that, it may make recovery more challenging.
For most people, establishing new routines and building new habits, rather than falling back on old ones (even if they weren't harmful) is the best choice. Here are a few benefits of establishing a routine both during and after meth rehab.
Distraction
As you continue your healing journey and make your way through the rehabilitation process, distractions will no longer be as important. At first, however, they can change your life.
It's helpful to keep yourself busy (with time for rest, of course) with a routine during the early stages of recovery. When you always have something to do, whether it's interesting or essential, you'll have less time for your mind to wander.
This isn't to say you won't have cravings. You will, and that's normal. You will be able to distract yourself with other things that can enrich your life rather than harm you.
Predictability
Predictability is fantastic for people who are struggling with their mental health in any capacity. For some, predictability feels boring. While it may be "boring," it's also safe and secure.
Many people, when they're in recovery or even just experiencing normal anxiety, feel like they're in a constant state of fight or flight. This puts them on high alert at all times, and often, they're always anticipating the worst.
When you have a predictable routine, there are no (or few) surprises to worry about. You always know how your days will go from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep, aside from small bumps in the road or surprises (which are usually manageable).
When you start experiencing a predictable routine, you may be bored, restless, and unenthusiastic. You'll likely also be calmer than you were before.
You don't need a strict routine forever. Establish one now so you have it when you need it.
Executive Function
Do you struggle with your executive function? Many people start using meth as a response to untreated mental health conditions that impair executive function. Even if that wasn't the case for you before, it's clear that using meth can further impair executive function.
Executve function is what allows you to complete tasks and move through your day. It gives you internal motivation to do things and allows you to not get trapped in thought spirals.
It's common for people who are struggling with their mental health during recovery to have a hard time getting out of bed, much less completing tasks. This relates to their poor executive functioning skills.
Having a routine can help. The structure of a routine, as long as you break your tasks down into small parts and give yourself time blocks, can take over where your executive functioning skills are failing.
You don't have to motivate yourself as much when the schedule is motivating you. You don't have to think about what your tasks of the day are when they're written down and timed out.
Routines can be exhausting, but they'll keep you going.
Returning to Normalcy
Was your life disrupted by your meth addiction and rehabilitation? There's no shame in that. Now, however, it's time to return to normalcy and keep moving forward.
This can be challenging at first. How do you even go back to working, hanging out with peers, and taking care of yourself? You start by establishing routines and developing new habits.
When you establish routines, you're pushing yourself into new patterns of behavior. They may be uncomfortable at first, but you will adapt over time. Those healthy patterns will become habits, and soon, they'll become second nature.
Normalcy may not be here yet, but by developing new habits and establishing healthy routines, you'll be on your way toward it.
How to Establish a Routine
So now that you understand the benefits of routines, how do you actually establish a new one?
Your routine is going to be made of several small habits throughout your day, and it's going to take time before those habits feel normal. Here are a few tips that can help you start creating a functional routine that you can stick with long-term.
Keep a Physical Planner
This is a big one. It's not essential for everyone, but it is helpful for a large number of people. A physical planner (or some type of visual representation of your daily routine) can be a game-changer.
When you have a physical planner, you don't have to rely on your memory to guide you through the day (which can be challenging for people who are working on recovery). You'll have everything written down for you.
Using a physical planner over a digital planner is ideal unless you need the alarms from a digital planner. Writing things down can help you remember, so a physical planner is pulling double duty when it comes to keeping you on track.
Use your planner to block out time so you can see when you have to start your next task.
Some people prefer planner charts that they can hang up over book-style planners. Do whatever makes the most sense for you. You may want to experiment with different types of planners until you find one that fits your needs and lifestyle.
Writing in a planner can be tough, but stick with it. Before you know it, you'll be writing in your planner every morning because it will provide comfort and structure for your day, not because you feel like you have to do it.
Look for Things You Can Schedule
Once you've gotten the hang of making your own routines and sticking to them, you will be able to plan your own days with ease. If you're struggling, however, look for actual events and activities that you can schedule that don't give you any control over the time.
Look for community events and activities to fill your evenings, even if they're simple. Cooking classes, poetry readings, open mic nights, and all other sorts of events are likely available in your area, and they make great additions to any weekly routine. You'll feel more motivated to go and make it on time because someone else is in control of the event; being late would cause you to miss it.
You don't have to have non-stop appointments and activities, but scheduled events can help you puzzle-piece your routine together when you're struggling to find ideas or motivation.
By picking new scheduled activities, you may also find new healthy and fun hobbies that could be great for your recovery and social life. Socialization during recovery is so important, and finding new hobbies to fill the void can be helpful.
Attend Support Groups
Support groups should be an essential part of your routine during your recovery. Luckily, they fit into the "things you can schedule" category. When you see support groups or meetings available, and you have a large time gap, that's the perfect way to fill it.
Support groups may feel uncomfortable at first, but that's okay. They're full of other people who understand what you're going through and who won't judge you for where you are in your journey.
They can help you stay on track.
If you're not ready for support groups, you should at least keep seeing an individual therapist for the foreseeable future. This will be one of the most important things in your weekly routine.
Start an Exercise Routine
Exercise may be one of the last things on your mind, but developing an exercise routine can help you during your recovery.
When you exercise, your body produces endorphins. Endorphins are happy chemicals that relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, give you energy, help you sleep, and more. They can also potentially curb drug cravings.
Exercise is excellent for both your physical and mental health. It's helpful to challenge yourself with exercise goals (like being able to lift a certain weight or run a marathon) so you have something to look forward to.
It's even better if you have some type of exercise group or class. Find a fitness activity that interests you and sign up for an intro class to see if you like it. It could be running, weight lifting, rock climbing, aerial arts, or any other physical activity that will get your blood moving.
Even yoga, while low-impact and slow, is fantastic for your mind and body.
Improve Your Sleep Schedule
What is your current sleep schedule like? If there's room for improvement, now's the time to do that.
You should aim to get anywhere between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night. If that means that you have to go to bed earlier, so be it. You may be able to function with less sleep, but your recovery period is not the time to test that theory.
By establishing a firm bedtime, you're building a good habit.
Start your "nighttime routine" at the same time every night, even if you don't have to be up early the next day. In the future, you can change this, but while you're trying to build new habits, you want to be consistent.
Do things that calm you and avoid your screens during your nighttime routine. You can do gentle yoga, read a book, do skincare, or do anything else you need to do to calm down.
Once you're in bed, don't touch your phone unless it's an emergency. Try not to get out of bed until it's time to wake up in the morning.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key when it comes to establishing new habits and routines. It may not be easy at first, and you may want to give up. Instead, commit to pushing through.
While many people say it takes 21 days to build a new habit, the truth is that it can take much longer than that. You may have days where you fail to do everything on your to-do list or you spend all day in bed. That's normal.
What's important is that you keep going after your off days.
Before you know it, you won't have to force your way through your routine. You'll want to exercise, go to bed on time, and go to therapy. You'll look forward to your evening stretches and your early morning wake-up time.
You'll become a healthier and more organized version of yourself.
Routines Are Essential During Recovery from Meth Addiction
The fact that you're recovering from meth addiction is incredible on its own. You've done something incredibly challenging. Now, it's time to keep up the good work and establish healthy habits and new routines that will keep you on the right path.
Use these tips to help you create healthy routines that will last you a lifetime. It's time to take your life back.
Are you or a loved one struggling with a meth addiction in Arizona? We want to help you. Contact us at Embark Recovery so we can guide you through your recovery journey.