When we start to analyze ourselves and our addictions more closely, we’re able to gain more understanding around what purposes our addictions were serving in our lives. This process can help us to find better, healthier replacements for them. The idea is to develop healthy coping skills we can rely on instead of the default coping mechanisms we were using that were self-destructive. We want to confront our pain head on rather than using our drugs of choice to try to escape it, to distract ourselves from it, and to self-medicate ourselves and numb our pain.
We can look at our inner pain and discover exactly what it is we’ve been trying to avoid. It might be the memory of a traumatic experience. It might be a fear we have yet to face. It might be a life circumstance or relationship issue we haven’t resolved. It might be deeply rooted emotions we haven’t processed yet. Whatever it is, as soon as we’ve done some soul-searching and unearthed it, we can find healthy replacement coping skills for our addictive behaviors.
If it’s anxiety we’re trying to avoid, we can explore mindfulness exercises that help us to calm ourselves down and find our center. We can do deep breathing exercises, or ground ourselves by walking barefoot on the earth and hugging trees. We can practice meditation, or try journaling about all our anxious thoughts to help ourselves process and then release them.
If what we’re trying to escape are our feelings of depression, we can try working with a therapist or spiritual guide, especially if we’re still working through difficult life issues and could use some extra guidance. We can start a gratitude practice where we list everything we’re grateful for. This trains our minds to start seeing the good in everything and to always look for the many blessings all around us. When we’re focused on gratitude, it’s much harder to stay mired in negativity. Another great natural remedy for depression is exercise. The endorphins we produce during exercise are a natural mood-lifter.
We can explore different spiritual practices and self-care rituals to help ourselves heal. Working with crystals, energy healing such as reiki, tapping and yoga, journaling, songwriting and other forms of creative expression are all incredibly powerful. Making time for self-care and solitude, giving ourselves time to be alone and immerse ourselves in silence, are so beneficial along our healing journey. They help us create the stillness and spaciousness we need in order to heal from the addictions and mental illnesses that have been plaguing us. Finding healthy replacement coping skills for our addictive behaviors is one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves in our recovery.
Corner Canyon Health Centers’s foundation is client-centered, relational, and empathic to the addict and their family and loved ones. We create an atmosphere of caring and respect which enables clients to feel comfortable and to settle in quickly and do the work that is necessary for recovery. Call 1-866-399-3469 today.
