What Are the Most Important Factors in Recovery from a Drug Addiction?
What does it take to be successful at beating drug addiction? It’s a simple question, but the answer isn’t as clear. Recovery is dependent on many factors, including if you get professional treatment and the impact substances have had on your body and brain. Yet there are ways you can improve the odds and create more confidence that you will get through this successfully.
What Are the Odds?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services completed a report on the current state of substance abuse and mental health in the U.S. in 2021. The data provides a clear look at just how widespread substance use disorder (SUD) is, with 46.3 million people over the age of 12 meeting the criteria for an SUD diagnosis. Digging deeper, though, it found that 7 in 10 people who have ever had a substance use disorder consider themselves to be in recovery.
That means there’s a good chance that you, too, can enter recovery. Recovery doesn’t mean your addiction will be cured; addiction is considered a chronic illness with a fairly high relapse rate. However, when you put in the work and seek support from both peers and professionals, you can maintain long-term sobriety.
What Factors Play a Role in Successful Addiction Recovery?
The following are some of the most important factors that play a consistent role in recovery success.
- Understand Your Disease
Addiction is a disease that impacts every facet of a person’s life. It’s complex, but there is a science behind it. To overcome this disease, you need to understand how it works, why it takes hold, and why you need to be aggressive.
Take the time to learn what addiction is and why it happens. Learn as much as you can. It can be very empowering.
- Improve Your Mental Health
Co-occurring disorders mean that a person with an SUD also struggles with a mental health disorder. Co-occurring disorders are very common. Treating both conditions at the same time is necessary to empower healing and improve overall health.
If you have not done so, ensure you’re screened for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or other conditions you may have symptoms of. Treating your mental health will help you find long-term success in addiction recovery.
- Improve Your Diet
Your diet plays a significant role in your ability to heal from addiction, the same as it would for those facing any other type of health complication. Fueling your body with the most nutrient-dense foods may help you to see a better outcome.
Focus on eating more fruits and vegetables. Move away from processed foods. Give your body three meals a day. Work with a dietician to help modify your diet so it can better suit your body’s specific needs to support tissue repair, cognitive function, and your immune system.
- Get Exercise
How can getting in a workout or going for a walk matter this much to recovery? Exercise improves the body’s overall health, but it also helps to regulate hormones, especially the stress hormone. If you’ve ever had a good workout and thought, “I feel so much better now…” that’s because of the way physical exercise changes the hormone balance in your body. It’s an excellent tool for supporting self-confidence as well.
- Improve Your Sleep Hygiene
Sleep is a contributing factor to addiction and drug and alcohol misuse. A person who doesn’t sleep enough or get quality sleep could be at a higher risk of developing health complications. More so, your body is healing, and sleep is an excellent way for you to encourage that process.
Aim to get sleep on a consistent schedule, sleeping around the same time each day. Most people need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a day, but listen to your body. Adjust your sleep schedule to fit your specific needs and goals.
- Foster Healthy Relationships
From family members to friends to significant others, relationships play a role in the success a person may have with addiction recovery. Some relationships shouldn’t be maintained because they put you at risk for relapse. Any relationship that fosters your continued substance use or is abusive in any way should be considered toxic. Do what you need to release yourself from these relationships.
At the same time, put your energy into healthy relationships, like good friends and family members who can offer support, encouragement, and sober fun. Work to focus on building new relationships with sober friends and rebuilding those you care about most.
What Will Your Success Rely On?
Look inward to determine what you need to be successful with drug and alcohol addiction recovery. What is holding you back now? You might discover that a few small changes will make a big difference in your recovery. Or, you might decide you need to return to treatment to reevaluate your plan.
At The Ranch at Dove Tree in Lubbock, TX, we’re here to help you. Let our team work with you to create an individualized treatment plan to address your needs. Just fill out the form on this page or call us. We’re here 24/7 to meet your needs.
