Five Ways Exercise Helps You In Recovery

Do you hate to exercise? Did you know that exercise not only helps to repair the physical damage caused by addiction, but the psychological damage caused by addiction as well? In this article, we will discuss five ways recovery and exercise go hand-in-hand.

1) Exercise Reduces Stress

Exercise lowers both your physical and psychological stress. While you work out, you can feel the tension just melting away.

• It allows you to release any negative emotions you might have been holding in.
• Unlike housework or yard work, focused exercise cleanses your mind and your body.
• It uses both physical and emotional energy that could find a negative way of escaping.
• Instead of feeling tired afterward from working, you will feel a burst of energy after working out.

Exercise does all of this, because it also increases production of a chemical your body makes naturally that moderates the brain's response to stress.

2) A Natural High

Exercise also alters the brain's chemistry and releases endorphins, which gives you a feeling of euphoria. Those same endorphins were released when you got high, but through exercise, it is natural.

• Getting high interferes with feelings of satisfaction, pleasure, and happiness, while exercise promotes them.
• It balances out your brain chemistry when those pleasurable endorphins are released.
• Recovery and exercise reintroduce the right amount of endorphins that are supposed to be in your system.
• It reteaches your body that it is capable of regulating your brain chemistry and moods.

You may never be a gym rat, but you will get a happy buzz from simply working out for just 30 minutes two or three times per week.

3) It Builds Confidence

Regular exercise will brighten your entire outlook on your life and your recovery. Your feelings of anxiety and depression will decrease.

• The body regulates itself through exercise.
• Feelings of self-worth and confidence are nurtured.
• Your will have a sense of pride when you reach your recovery and exercise goals.
• Your goal of sobriety will be reinforced.

Regardless of your age, weight, size, or gender, you will always feel more attractive after having exercised.

4) Meditation inMmotion

Recovery and exercise has been deemed meditation in motion, because concentrating on the physical gives us psychological and emotional benefits.

• Through movement, you focus your attention on the physical, which offers relief from any problems you may be experiencing.
• You will have a clearer head after working out.
• You will feel rejuvenated and optimistic.
• Finding clarity through the chaos will help you stay sober.

You will learn that by exercising, you are actually preventing any cognitive decline as well as physical decline. That's because it boosts chemicals in the brain responsible for memory and learning.

5) Meet New People

It can be quite challenging to remove yourself from people, places, and things from before you became sober. It is hard to create a network of sober friends after living in addiction for so long.

• Through exercise, you will meet people with some of the same goals.
• New friendships will begin and flourish.
• Like-minded fitness enthusiasts are a positive influence on you.
• It will help you to leave your old life behind and begin a new one.

Studies have shown that most people perform better when they are paired up with an exercise buddy. Giving exercise a try can help you make a few new friends as a result.

There are a wealth of positive things that are either created or emphasized through the power of recovery and exercise, whether one is in recovery or not. For those of you on the wagon, you will find that recognizing the mind/body connection is a critical part of recovery.