When people address the mental and emotional causes of addiction, it’s common to neglect their physical health in the process. However, to achieve long-term addiction recovery and sobriety, a person must cultivate both mental and physical wellness. By focusing equally on physical and mental well-being, clients can become more engaged in their recovery process. When clients invest in physical health and wellness, this can yield better results in the recovery process.
First Steps Recovery offers programs that help clients regain physical health while working through the mental health aspects of recovery.
How Is Physical Health Important in Recovery?
What exactly is involved in improving physical health during recovery? Physical health can include several lifestyle changes, ranging from exercise routines or dietary measures. Pairing regular treatment and therapy in recovery with holistic approaches that improve one’s lifestyle, in general, can lead to better recovery results. A research analysis published in PLoS One revealed that individuals who regularly practice physical exercise have lower rates of substance use disorders (SUDs) than individuals who do not. Physical exercise, for instance, helps clients connect their minds to their bodies.
Aside from improving the mind-to-body connection, physical activity can also improve other areas of one’s life. Being active improves brain health, can help with weight management, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bone and muscles, and enhance one’s ability to complete daily activities. The brain health benefits are important, as keeping one’s thinking, learning, and judgment sharp can improve chances of success in recovery. Mental clarity allows clients to navigate recovery with better stamina and focus.
Upkeep of physical health and wellness also helps mental well-being. Physical activities can improve anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep, which some clients struggle with during addiction recovery. In general, bolstering physical health helps clients build a greater quality of life.
How Does First Steps Recovery Prioritize Physical Health and Wellness Equally?
At First Steps Recovery, the staff prioritizes both physical and mental well-being equally. Health and wellness are important pieces to the recovery process. First Steps prioritizes health and wellness by offering holistic care with options that address the physical side of recovery. These options include recreation, yoga, horseback riding, and health and wellness programs. First Steps Recovery encourages the healing of the mind, body, and soul.
Addiction can be detrimental to one’s physical health. Clients often come to First Steps Recovery underweight and undernourished. Additionally, due to addiction, the brain can suffer from a lack of oxygen, keeping it from maintaining a chemical balance. As the staff is aware of these factors, they work to bring clients back to a physical state of health. Investing in one’s physical health makes mental well-being and success in recovery more achievable.
The Health and Wellness Program at First Steps Recovery
The health and wellness program at First Steps Recovery acknowledges that addiction takes a great toll on one’s physical body and mental well-being. Addiction can cause problems in the immune and respiratory systems. The body also experiences a lack of sleep and good nutrition due to addiction. Other issues that may occur on the surface level are poor muscle tone, skin problems, thinning hair, and dental issues.
The health and wellness program focuses on all areas of well-being, including nutritional supplementation, exercise, and mental health. Bringing clients back to a state of energy and positivity helps improve their recovery journey, especially during times of hardship when clients may experience fatigue or sickness. Prioritizing nutrition and exercise can help bring the body back to a better baseline level of well-being.
Nutrition and Exercise for Physical Well-Being
Nutritional intervention can include learning to incorporate healthy fats, vitamins, and other supplements. The staff helps clients incorporate essential proteins into a balanced diet to promote the physical health of the body and the brain. While the brain takes longer to return to a state of health, keeping up a nutritious diet and active lifestyle can expedite the brain’s recovery. This change in diet begins with the detoxification process, allowing the toxins and chemicals from substances to exit the body.
First Steps Recovery pairs the nutrition aspect of health and wellness with exercise. Some options for the exercise portion are walking, swimming, aerobic exercise, weight training, and yoga. These exercises practiced regularly can help increase oxygen in the bloodstream, release endorphins, improve mood and energy, strengthen the respiratory system, and build bodily strength, confidence, and endurance.
By practicing yoga, clients may experience improved strength, stability, posture, flexibility, digestion, circulation, alignment, and reduced pain. Yoga may also reduce blood pressure, stress levels, and anxiety while boosting mood, discipline, and impulse control. Regular exercise and improved nutrition can become integral parts of one’s lifestyle. The goal is for clients to continue to reap the benefits of exercise and good nutrition even after treatment with First Steps Recovery ends.
Here at First Steps Recovery, we promote physical health and wellness alongside mental well-being during the recovery process. Clients often experience malnourishment, cognition concerns, and weight loss due to addiction. In addiction recovery, the staff at First Steps Recovery encourage clients to partake in the health and wellness program that promotes exercise and nutrition habits to positively shift one’s life. By incorporating healthy lifestyle habits into one’s life, the physical and mental well-being of clients improves. Exercise helps oxygen to flow into the bloodstream, improving circulation, respiration, and brain health long-term. Healing the physical body helps to heal one’s mental health. At First Steps, we encourage a whole-person healing journey in recovery. Call (844) 489-0836 for more information.
