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An individual moving through recovery to overcome addiction or address mental health disorders will encounter a great deal of change. Navigating this discomfort is an essential part of the recovery process, and overcoming these emotional hurdles can take a lot of planning and time.    While facing one’s unique trials throughout the recovery process, massage therapy can be utilized to address the physical and emotional distress that may be prevalent throughout the day. Massage therapy’s relaxation and meditative properties can be instrumental in providing necessary breaks for the body and mind, offering a degree of ease amidst stress and change.

Our mental health is essential to our physical and emotional well-being. However, we can shy away from beginning therapy because we don’t want others to think we are “crazy.” The fear of being labeled or what happens in therapy can keep us from addressing our mental health needs.

Covid-19 and its variants have changed how we interact with each other. As a result, we think about the health implications of our actions and social interactions. For example, the prospect of returning to quarantine or social distancing practices can affect our mental health.   We can’t seem to get away from news about the coronavirus or its variants. We don’t know what to do with so much information. As the Delta variant spreads throughout the country and discussion about mask mandates and lockdowns increase, we can wonder what will happen; will we need to isolate ourselves again socially?

Breaking free from an unhealthy, traumatic relationship takes a significant weight off of one’s shoulders. However, many lingering effects can continue to impact an individual long after the relationship has ended. Feelings of anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and a myriad of other emotions can be prevalent, and it is essential to acknowledge and move through this stage of one’s life slowly.    Getting over a traumatic relationship is not easy, especially with the new perceptions about romance that may have developed during the experience. However, recovery is possible, and there are vital steps to take when beginning to rebuild a new identity separate from that of a traumatic relationship.

Sobriety has many benefits. One of those benefits is waking up in the morning aware of what we did the night before. Another is not worrying about having to apologize to others for things we said or did.    When we were using a substance, we tended to act recklessly. We did what felt good on the spur of the moment. Sometimes we didn’t understand our thought process the next day. Sometimes we didn’t remember why we thought we needed to say what we said or did what we did. Many times upon realization of our actions, we felt shame, guilt, or embarrassment. Maybe we went through the events of the night before and realized we owed apologies.

Your perception of well-being may exist in your mind, but the things happening outside of your head have a tremendous influence over the current state of your mental health. Sometimes a change in scenery can do wonders for our mental health, and that can be due to our everyday surroundings impacting us in ways we do not realize. Whether it’s the people you are around everyday, the memories certain places hold, or the clutter in your own house, all of these things can have an effect on your mental health.

Just because you may have kicked your drug or alcohol addiction doesn’t mean you are off the hook for your newly-found shopping addiction. This practice of simply replacing one addiction for another is known as cross-addiction and is a type of relapse in the disease of addiction. When overcoming addiction, both your original addiction and a cross-addiction require positive lifestyle changes. This is so negative habits do not form into new dependencies or addictions to replace a previous one. Someone struggling with one addiction is more susceptible to developing a cross-addiction. Remaining mindful of your behaviors in recovery is an essential preventive measure to take to avoid slipping into another form of addiction.

Personality disorders are a subset of mental health disorders that revolve around unexpected or illogical thought and behavioral patterns. They can alter the way that one handles personal and social situations. Personality disorders fundamentally change the way that an individual addresses and perceives the world around them, develops relationships, and/or copes with daily stresses.    One of the most difficult kinds of these disorders is narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD. It has an incredibly detrimental effect on one’s relationships and mental health state. Identifying traits of narcissistic personality disorder and taking the first deliberate steps toward addressing the condition is crucial to begin the journey of repairing relationships and creating a healthier, more secure worldview.

Setting boundaries is an essential part of the recovery process. Most people think this relates only to setting boundaries with others, but setting boundaries with themselves is a pivotal aspect as well. Personal boundaries are the mental, emotional, and physical limits we decide to hold ourselves accountable to as we navigate the world. Setting boundaries is not always easy, but the benefits they will bring to you are worth any initial discomfort.

It is sometimes easy to forget the weight our words of encouragement and praise carry and their effect on others. Being intentional about sharing the good you see in your loved one’s progress in recovery can assist them to stay motivated as they encounter the ups and downs along their path of sobriety. Actions such as sharing praise or rewarding someone when they exhibit a healthy change in behavior crucial to their recovery, are examples of positive reinforcement.

Your body and mind respond to situations and circumstances, but you can use willpower to mold your choices. Willpower is highly contagious, especially in treatment and especially when it creates positive results. Many people understand that by using your strength and mindset, you can achieve anything. Willpower gives you the motivation to pursue a goal in life and offers self-control, but how does willpower work with addiction recovery? Can it influence others?

Trauma has a way of affecting us in not just an emotional sense but also our physical bodies. Because of its effects on the brain, our mental and physical functioning will change due to trauma. Although trauma can alter our bodily functioning, the body has an amazing healing process when unprocessed trauma gets reintegrated into the mind. In addition, many researchers believe that working to release the energy of stored trauma in the body will also help release the tissues and muscles that have been locked in a holding response pattern since the initiating traumatic event.