Self-care is vital for recovery.
It’s a rare addict who starts the recovery process while engaging in a healthy, well-rounded program of self-care. That said, listening to our bodies, engaging in healthful habits, and maintaining realistic interpersonal and time boundaries are important aspects of healthy, sober living. Stephen Covey popularized this principle of self-care in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, writing about a lumberjack who worked tirelessly all day to cut a tree, expending much more time and effort than his colleague who stopped from time to time to sharpen his saw. Nowhere is this story more needed than with addiction recovery. As recovering addicts, we often think we must constantly battle our addiction to the exclusion of all else. Socializing and having fun seems like letting our guard down and begging for relapse. However, it’s exactly the opposite. When battling an addiction, taking a few minutes to meditate, exercise, socialize, and just plain have some fun isn’t wasting time. We’re simply sharpening our tools of recovery.
Task for Today
Engage in at least 30 minutes of ‘frivolous’ self-care. Share about your experience with this in therapy or a 12-Step meeting.