There is no relapse prevention and experiencing a quality of life in recovery without mental health care and support. Without question, it is essential to preventing relapse. You may have heard the difference between sobriety and recovery: Sobriety is about abstaining from harmful behaviors or substances. Recovery is about learning to take care of ourselves, including our mental health. The stigma against mental health continues to leave a path of destruction in the lives of billions of people on our planet. Neglecting your mental health exponentially and inevitably increases the risk of relapse. Even if you neglect your mental health and you don’t relapse, you are at risk of becoming what is called a “Dry Drunk”: Someone that may be sober, but continues to have the same old thoughts, old behaviors, and old ways of someone who is drinking/drugging/engaging in harming behaviors. Caring for our mental health helps us heal from the past, create healthy boundaries, learn how to cope with disappointments in a healthy way, increase our communication skills, and more. Here are some mental health care tips to support your emotional well-being.
- Actively participate with individual/group therapy to receive professional treatment for needs such such as anxiety, depression, bipolar or trauma. Stay open to the process.
- Develop and practice CBT/DBT skills to challenge and replace catastrophizing, overwhelming perspectives with more balanced, empowered points of view.
- Developing distress tolerance (DBT) skills, such as Radical Acceptance, will help you learn to set healthy boundaries and release what is outside of your power and control.
- Practice mindfulness and meditation to develop the ability to ground in the present moment, gain personal insight and insight into others perspectives, and increase self-awareness. See the blog on Intentional Living for more information.
- Develop your emotional intelligence by learning emotional literacy and develop your ability to identify, feel, and communicate your emotions. This will also help you learn to not take responsibility for the emotions of other people while also developing empathy for others and their experiences.
- Learn communication skills to help you learn to communicate your needs and boundaries effectively and confidently, rather than passively, passive-aggressively, or aggressively, interacting with others. This will also help with managing conflict resolution within relationships. See the blog on communication for more information.
- Engage in physical activity as a form of self-care to improve your mood, gain mental clarity and reduce stress.
- Learn sleep hygiene, the benefits of nutrition on mental health, and the importance of regular primary care physician check-ups, which are fundamental to supporting health. Quick note: Many people are anxious, afraid, and ashamed about going to the doctor or dentist because they stopped taking care of themselves, and so they are afraid of receiving bad news. I understand. Jumping to a conclusion is not a fact. Don’t operate your life based on catastrophizing opinions. Check the facts and act accordingly. Remember, you are learning to give yourself the message that you are important, and you matter!
