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Reading can boost mental health and help us destress. Here are some ways to incorporate reading into your daily life. Whether you love novels, newspaper articles, magazines, or blogs, reading is always a good idea. There are innumerable benefits to reading that go way beyond increasing intelligence. Believe it or not, reading can actually boost mental health and decrease stress. Here, we’ll look at some of the benefits of reading, as well as some ways to incorporate it into your daily routine for improved mental and emotional health and a more expansive recovery journey.

A pen and paper are powerful tools for mental health.  Journaling is easy, practically free, and anyone can do it. The best part is, the simple act of journaling carries an array of benefits for our minds. Journaling lets us access creativity and greater self-awareness. It’s a simple, therapeutic, and a great addition to your recovery toolbox. In this article, we’ll delve into some of the many benefits of this simple practice.

This is a look into the importance of defining yourself, owning your narrative, and getting empowered. Humans are meaning-makers. We find meaning in everything, whether it’s a novel, a scenic view, or a troubling experience such as the death of a loved one. Meaning enhances our lives and makes them richer with detail, depth, and awareness. This is similar to reading a good book. When we’re engaged in a novel, we find meaning without even realizing it. We root for the hero and we’re present from beginning to end. Similarly, we can create our own stories and define ourselves however we want. As the main characters in the story of our lives, creating and owning our stories for the ups, downs, and in-betweens, will help us more fully understand ourselves and the world around us. Here are a few ways to create your story and make meaning.

Can jogging help your recovery? Running is most known for its endurance-enhancing effects and the ability to produce mood-boosting endorphins. But can running help us with our recoveries? Exercise, in general, is great for both the mind and the body. It makes us stronger, more heart-healthy, and more in tune with ourselves. If you’re thinking about taking up jogging, you might be surprised to find that there are myriad benefits that can lead directly to a heightened overall mindset, resulting in a profound effect on your recovery and health. In this article, we’ll discuss a few of the reasons why running is a great addition to your health toolbox.

Unpacking the importance of healthy nutrition for our minds, bodies, and recoveries. Healthy nutrition is one of the essential healthy habits. Oftentimes, in our focus on sobriety and recovery, we can forget just how vital it is to be getting proper vitamins and nutrients and to be eating foods that make us feel our very best. In recovery, we need all of the physical and mental support we can get and healthy nutrition offers a foundation for greater physical and mental health. In this article, we’ll look at how healthy food choices can help us combat some of the physical effects of addiction. We’ll also examine the link between healthy eating and our mental states, as well as the importance of finding balance and knowing what works for you. Lastly, we’ll get into some of the nutritional specifics -- vitamins, minerals, caffeine, and other important factors.

Finding true friends in recovery helps us form meaningful bonds and avoid loneliness. Recovery is a brand new experience. When we start the journey, we’re often coming from pasts of isolation, loneliness, and/or friendships built around the use of substances like drugs and alcohol. Many of our family bonds have to be rebuilt from the ground up and in some ways, recovery is a rude awakening. We realize that we have to take an honest inventory of our friendships, relationships with family, and most importantly, our relationship with ourselves. Here, we’ll explore why finding true friendships in recovery is so important to our mental and emotional health.

How do we get back in touch with emotions after feeling numb? During active addiction, our emotions often get squashed beneath our dependence on drugs and/or alcohol. We learn to avoid our emotions, act on them impulsively, or stay numb to the rhythms of our feelings altogether. Negative, positive, and neutral emotions are a normal part of life. When they come rushing back in early recovery, it can be difficult to know how to sort through them or even get in touch with them in the first place. How can we access our emotions in healthy ways and understand what we’re feeling? Coping with the nuances of deep and everchanging feelings is a lifelong process. However, here are a few simple ways to get back in touch with your emotions.

The ocean is one of the most relaxing, mysterious, and expansive things on the planet. There’s a reason everyone feels great after spending a day at the beach. The ocean has many healing powers and we can reap the benefits simply by being near it. If you don’t have access to an ocean or a large body of water, visualization is a powerful tool to connect with the healing properties of the ocean. Here are a few reasons why the ocean is such a healing force.

Most of us know that exercise is a quick and healthy way to feel more positive, fit, and generally happier. Working up a sweat while using the cardiovascular system and getting in touch with the body feels good and is good for us. Exercise is known to boost endorphins, which are the chemicals in the body responsible for making us feel positive and happy. At the end of the day, the best exercise for your recovery is the one that you enjoy doing. Working out shouldn’t feel like a chore, so choose a fitness routine that you’re going to look forward to doing, rather than dread. It’s also great to switch up your routine to avoid boredom and keep things interesting. Here are a few of the best mood-boosting exercises.

The mind-body connection has been getting a lot of mainstream attention. Ancient practices like yoga, acupuncture, and meditation have become accepted complementary therapies and activities. For a long time, mainstream western medicine took the stance that the mind and the body were separate entities, largely uninfluenced by each other. Parts of the body, brain, and self were often treated as separate from the whole. Holistic medicine and practices, which have been gaining popularity and seeing a resurgence over the past several years, recognizes the intricate connections between all parts of ourselves. Holistic medicine can simply be defined as a practice that considers all parts of the whole person including mind, body, spirit, and emotions. By looking at the whole person and addressing the interconnectedness of the mind and the body, we can strive for optimal wellness and integration. To achieve health and an overall feeling of wellbeing, holistic medicine stresses the importance of the mind-body connection, and in fact the connection between all parts of ourselves, including the ways in which our environment might be impacting us. In this article, we’ll dive into the definition of the mind-body connection, why it’s important, and some practical ways we can strive to improve this connection.

Stressed out? Here are some sustainable ways to cope during hard times. Finding and living with healthy coping mechanisms is a lifelong practice that we learn to harness in recovery. There are many ways to cope, both healthy and unhealthy, which we will discuss in this article. We will also dive into the importance of self-awareness and preparing for times of increased stress using self-care rituals. Most importantly, be kind to yourself as you take the journey into healthy coping mechanisms. It’s not always easy, but it will make life more sustainable, less stressful, and more full.

A look at the profound effects of the breath on our state of mind. We breathe involuntarily. It’s one of the many functions that our body performs naturally, without our conscious awareness. Have you ever stopped to notice your breathing patterns during a stressful event? Typically, the breath is shallow, quick, and focused on the chest. It may even be hyperventalatory, meaning that you’re not taking in enough oxygen. Likewise, if you stop and observe your breath while you’re relaxed, either in meditation or sitting near the ocean or chatting with loved ones, your breath is likely to be slow, steady, rhythmic, and deep. While the breath is something that happens naturally in the body, we can also control it. The beauty of being in tune with the breath is that we can actually change our states of mind when we change our breathing patterns. Here, we’ll discuss how breath impacts mental health and a few ways to use the breath in order to live a calmer, more relaxed life.