Blog

We all feel better when we spend time in nature. Let’s explore how the great outdoors can help our mental health and recovery journey. In our contemporary lives, we are often inundated by technology and endless parades of emails, text messages, social media, and artificial lighting. It’s easy to forget about the healing powers of nature and how we all have relatively easy access to a free mental health boost whenever we want. Whether it’s a local park in your city, the beach, the woods, or the mountains, getting back to nature is a wonderful way to reconnect with mother earth, yourself, and the world around you. Let’s discuss why getting back to nature is so vital for our mental health. Additionally, this article will explore simple ways to spend more time in nature.

We all feel depressed sometimes. In fact, it’s completely normal to feel downtrodden, sad, or just plain blue, at one point or another. Life has its ups and downs and as humans, we have a myriad of different moods and feelings. However, when feelings of sadness and depression persist, and in fact start to become the norm, it’s time to seek help for depression. Here, we’ll examine some common signs of depression and how to spot them. The most important thing to know is that you’re not alone. Depression is treatable and common.  Depression can be defined as unhappiness or sadness. Feelings of hopelessness are a telltale sign of depression. If you’re feeling dejected and as if there’s no hope in sight, it’s time to reach out to a trusted friend or therapist and talk about your feelings. Additionally, depression can make us withdrawal from activities that we used to find really enjoyable. If you used to love Tennis and now you have no desire to hit the courts, it could be a sign of serious depression. Likewise, depression can present itself as a general lack of interest in your life, things you used to enjoy, your friends, or family. There seems to be a dark cloud floating over everything and the world looks less technicolor and more grey. Decreased sex drive, irritability, anxiety, loss of appetite, persistent feelings of fatigue, or low energy are all signs of depression.  While it’s normal to feel depressed from time to time, if you or someone you love is experiencing persistent and unmanageable depression symptoms, there is help available. You deserve to be happy, vibrant, and healthy. If you have reason to believe that someone you or someone you know is considering suicide, please get immediate help from a crisis or suicide prevention hotline. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

Reading good books in recovery is a healthy habit and a great way to feel mentally stimulated. There are plenty of great books out there about addiction, mental health, and recovery. They range from great personal stories of hardship and triumph to more research-based books on the topics. There are also plenty of novels and stories with themes pertaining to addiction and recovery. Reading helps us gain perspective and feel more connected. Above all, it expands our minds and makes us more empathetic. Here are a few recommendations, all pertaining to addiction, mental health, and/or recovery. Additionally, if reading about these topics is triggering or not enjoyable for you, choose other novels, poetry, or memoirs that are more in line with your reading interests. There are really no rules when it comes to a reading list and each book will open you up to a new world.

Starting a regular yoga practice is a great idea. When we truly commit to mindfulness practices or exercises, we start to reap the rewards. Yoga is no exception. When we start to practice yoga regularly, we start to feel more connected to our minds, bodies, and the world around us. We start to feel more flexible, strong, and clear-headed. We start to notice our breath, become more mindful and less stressed, and we begin to feel a deeper connection with spirit. Sometimes the prospect of starting a new habit or routine can be daunting and the mental stress of thinking about it can prevent us from starting it all together. Here are some tips for how to start a regular yoga practice so that you can experience the wonderful mind-body benefits.

During active addiction, we often forego our creative impulses and self-expressive tendencies, as our substances of choice took over our lives. The truth is, we are all creative and self-expression is a necessary and enriching part of daily life. In fact, during active addiction, we can forget our sense of self and who we truly are, let alone how to express that inner self. Well, there are myriad ways to express yourself and once you start to use your own unique voice, you’ll never want to stop. Self-expression can be defined simply as an expression of one’s feelings, thoughts, or ideas. The way in which you express yourself is up to you. The options are endless. Some positive ways to express yourself include journaling and writing, drawing, painting, dancing or other physical movements, and many other hobbies.

It’s completely normal to feel anger and rage sometimes. In fact, when we get sober and start recovery, many of the feelings that we had been repressing begin to come to the surface. This is good, as it allows us to see ourselves more clearly and begin to deal with our issues head-on. However, difficult feelings can often be extremely scary and overwhelming, especially if we don’t know what to do with them. Here are a few simple and healthy coping mechanisms for anger.

Walking is one of the most natural and effective ways to exercise our bodies and minds. Walking is such a fundamental activity that we often overlook the many benefits of this simple and accessible exercise. When incorporated into your daily exercise routine, walking at a brisk pace can help you stay in shape. Mixing it up with hills, hikes, and beach walks will also keep your muscles guessing and help you avoid boredom on your walks. There are also many mental health benefits of making walking part of your daily life. On our quest for complicated workouts and quick fixes, walking often gets a boring wrap. However, it’s all about our mindset and how we approach the activity. Here are some benefits of walking and ways to incorporate it into your life. Walking can keep our hearts healthy, improve sleep quality, and aid in the release of endorphins. Walking is great on rest days from heavier workouts or as a workout on its own if you’re hiking, walking hills, or walking briskly with a friend. There are also several mental health benefits of walking, which include decreased depression, clearing the mind, and boosting confidence. Going for a long walk is great way to think through a problem that you’ve been having, gain some perspective, and clear out any mental clutter that’s been plaguing you. This is where the term “walk it off” comes from. We’re able to release tension and get perspective when we hit the pavement, hiking trail, or sand.  Make walking a fun, regular part of your daily life by using it as a form of transportation when possible, walking with friends, planning hikes or beach strolls, and walking around your neighborhood in the morning. Walking can be a great meditative practice when you add mindfulness to the mix. Try going on a walk around a familiar spot while fully noticing everything in your environment, as well as your state of mind. It’s all about staying present in the moment.

A healthy nighttime routine for optimal relaxation and rest will set you up for a night of good sleep. Here are some tips. Our lives are often jampacked with obligations, meetings, jobs, transportation, and screen time. If we try to transition directly from this overstimulated mode into sleep, we’re setting ourselves up for restlessness. A nighttime routine for relaxation and rest can help us unwind, reflect on the day, and prepare our minds and bodies for sleep. Sleeping is one of the most fundamental and necessary parts of wellness and when we set ourselves up for 7-8 hours of sleep, we’re doing our minds and bodies a big favor. Ultimately, your nighttime routine has to work for you, your needs, and your schedule. You’ll probably have to spend some time experimenting with different routines that help you feel calm and relaxed. Everyone is different. No matter how you unwind, it’s important to remember that these moments of self-care are vital for your health and recovery. Before recovery, we may have used drugs or alcohol to relax at the end of the day. Now that we’re developing healthy and sustainable habits, a new, positive nighttime routine is essential.  You might want to consider avoiding screens, such as your iPhone, laptop, or TV for 30 minutes to an hour before bed. This will relax your eyes and nervous system, setting you up for undisturbed rest. Additionally, taking a hot bath, lighting some candles or using essential oils, meditating, practicing slow and deep breathing, or quietly reflecting on your day are all great ways to unwind. Additionally, reading a book for a few minutes in bed has been shown to help with relaxation and decompression after a long day. No matter how you choose to set up your nightly routine, know that you’re choosing to make time for rest, repair, and reflection, thereby taking your health and recovery into your own hands. Bravo!

Our society is filled with media programming, images, and subliminal messaging that’s aimed to keep us emotionally numb. Phrases like “suck it up” or “walk it off” are part of our everyday life, encouraging us to stuff our emotions down and not giving proper value to the weight of human emotion. Men are especially subject to this kind of societal stereotyping. Men are often told to “be a man” and that “boys don’t cry.” This is unhelpful, to say the least. Conversely, women are often told the opposite -- that they are “too emotional” or “dramatic.” This, too, is marginalizing and hurtful. So, where’s the middle ground and how do we step out of emotional numbing in a culture that is so confused about feelings? Here, we’ll explore some ways to move past feelings of emotional numbness and into a life filled with nuanced emotions and joy.

A simple, positive, and mindful morning routine can set the tone for the whole day. Here are some tips for getting into a healthy morning groove. When we wake up, we have a choice about how to start our day. Oftentimes, those first few precious hours between waking and starting the day can set the tone for our whole day ahead. We can choose to use them productively, setting ourselves up for a positive day. Alternatively, we can squander those hours and set a negative tone for the remainder of the day. It’s empowering, as it’s our choice. However, sometimes we need the knowledge and tools to truly know how to start the day with mindfulness and positivity. Here are a few tips for a morning routine that will support your life and recovery.

Lately, it seems as though there’s a yoga studio popping up on every corner. Yoga is an ancient practice for connecting the mind and the body and it’s way more than just exercise. Yoga can have spiritual and mental components, as well. The word “yoga” translates as “to yoke” or “to unite” and it’s all about uniting the mind and the body through our movements and breath. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the amazing benefits of yoga and why it’s so wonderful to have a regular practice. If you’ve ever completed a yoga class, you know that you feel very different at the end than when you walked in. Yoga has a way of resetting the brain and making us feel both calm and energized, aware and soothed. Our bodies are more limber and our minds are clearer. Physical benefits of yoga include increased strength and flexibility, as well as improved heart health and reduced inflammation. If you’re doing a very physical type of yoga, such as vinyasa or Ashtanga, you’ll notice a serious boost in your stamina and overall aerobic capacities. Additionally, yoga helps us to become more aware of our mental states, our breath, and the intricate connection between body and mind. Yoga is a practice of concentration and when we look at it as a way to connect as opposed to just a physical exercise, we start to notice some of the mental health benefits. It helps decrease stress, anxiety, and depression, while also increasing overall mood, memory, and concentration. The spiritual aspect of yoga helps us to feel more connected to not only ourselves but the world around us. When we start to get in the flow of breath and movement, we realize that we are one part of a whole and that everything truly is connected. In this sense, we can see yoga as a path for spiritual transcendence and heightened awareness.

It’s so important to allow ourselves to truly feel our feelings. Here are a few tips for accessing your emotions and why it’s so important to do so. When we start our recovery journeys, we’re often coming from a past of numbing our feelings with drugs and/or alcohol. Additionally, other addictive behaviors and negative coping mechanisms like avoidance and dissociation can add to this numbing effect. We enter recovery with months or years of accumulated emotions that we haven’t dealt with. In addition to those stored emotions, we also have a whole slew of other feelings that arise because we’re in a new place, learning new things, meeting new people, and most of all, we don’t have our substances of choice to lean on. The process of getting to know our deepest emotions is not easy and it’s not a straight line. We spend time and effort in recovery learning to get to know ourselves again, learning about our triggers and our strengths, and discovering how to access our long-neglected emotions. It’s a lot to deal with and it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed or even like you don’t know where to begin. Here are a few reasons why it’s so important to access our emotions and truly let ourselves feel them, as well as some tips for how to go about this very rewarding process.