It is not just medical detox and therapy, with drug addiction recovery there are other methodologies as well. A very important aspect of recovery is to follow a proper exercise and nutrition routine. Exercise in drug addiction recovery is one of the most important changes recovering addicts can make to their lifestyle. It can go a long way to ensure a healthy recovery from the painful clutches of drugs!
Yes, we are talking about the different nutrition and physical exercises that will help you get to the other side of addiction. Sobriety will be fun if we incorporate some new hobbies while going through the journey of recovery.
When we speak about the different physical exercises and nutrition, we are talking about how they are actually helping your body, mind, and soul. It’s not just about fitness or strength gainz.
If you are still wondering how a short yoga or running can help you more in your addiction recovery, then keep reading. In this post below, we will be discussing:
– What your body goes through during drug addiction
– How eating healthy and having a good exercise regime can help you.
What Happens To Your Body During Drug Addiction
These are some of the physical and mental changes that your body goes through when you are constantly under the influence of drugs.
If you know someone who is dealing with these mental and physical ailments, you can see the different treatment options. Ocean Recovery provides drug and alcohol addiction treatment as well.
1. Hair Thinning
The patient loses their appetite, and whatever nutrients or water is reaching their body is mostly consumed by the harmful chemicals of the drugs.
So, what will happen next?
Your hair will get the first hit; it will either start thinning or start falling out completely. Since drug addiction also creates an aversion to hygiene, patients will also stop caring about their hair.
2. Extreme Loss Of Weight
Since we already discussed that proper nutrients are not reaching the body, then evidently, the next noticeable thing in the body would be weight loss.
There have been cases of heroin addiction patients losing pounds of their weight in just one a week. This is what drugs do to your body.
3. Dry & Flaky Skin
Dehydration is another major factor in taking too many drugs.
The chemicals are known for drying out all the water from your body no matter how much you drink it. Soon the body starts getting itchy, dry, and flaky because of the lack of moisture.
4. Panic Attacks Causing Respiratory Issues
There is an endless series of mental health issues when you are subjecting your body to so many harsh chemicals forcefully.
Some of the common are increased heart palpitations causing panic attacks. In the long run, this can cause respiratory issues in your body.
5. Body Dependency
When your body sees that an external object is responsible for all the hormones and mood, it will automatically get dependent on that.
Soon, your body will stop producing hormones like oxytocin and dopamine because it will just wait for the drugs to do it.
The Importance Of Physical Exercise & Nutrition
Now that you know the negative effects of drugs on your body during recovery, here are the positive effects that a good diet and a run or an intense lift every day can bring. These points demonstrate the true importance of exercise in drug addiction recovery and how important it is to make the right choices to help recovery to stick.
1. Getting Your Strength Back
Your body and mind are exhausted from the chemical reaction, withdrawal pain, panic attacks, and insomnia. This is why along with medical detox, a recovery patient should always have a good diet.
This will help them get their strength back, a strength that is required to cope with all the stages of recovery, especially withdrawal.
2. Energy To Cope With Withdrawal
Talking about withdrawal, drug addiction withdrawal is extremely painful. A patient has to deal with anxiety and depression on the mental health front, and then some of the physical ailments are,
– Insomnia.
– Excessive hunger or loss of appetite.
– Seizures and hallucinations.
– Nausea and Vomiting etc.
But, if you take the right nutrition along with the withdrawal medicine given by the doctor, you will be able to deal with the withdrawal pain.
3. Nutrition Is Not Just For The Body
When someone goes for recovery, it is not the body that the experts are concerned about. They also work on the mind and soul. Overall, complete 360-degree healing.
A healthy meal a day, accompanied with some good mindful exercise, can easily help you heal your mind as well.
A healthy body also contributes exponentially to good mental health. This is why we don’t feel positive when we are sick.
4. Getting Your Appetite Back
The drugs in your body not only devour the nutrients but also destroy your body’s natural instincts.
One such natural instinct is definitely hunger, and patients don’t even feel like eating for days. Plus, they are mostly throwing up whatever they are eating due to the withdrawal symptom.
This is something only a good diet can fix!
5. Physical Exercise Is A Healthy Distraction
Physical exercise is used as a form of distraction in many recovery centers. Physical exercises are known to release some of the good mood hormones like endorphins and oxytocin.
Whenever a patient feels the need to relapse, they are often suggested to get into an exercise regime. It works as a good distraction and prevents relapses.
6. Helping To Cope With Urge Of Relapse
When someone starts taking care of their body through physical exercises and a good diet, they acquire this excitement.
Now that they look good and feel good, they themselves are the advocates of good health.
Soon, they will not need supervision to cope with the urges of relapses; they will just do it on their own.
7. Give You A Sense Of Routine
Constant drug addiction can make people isolate themselves. Not concentrate on their personal hygiene, work, or school.
With a daily regime of exercise, one can get that zeal back. They will wake up in the morning, get their running shoes on and count the steps to a sober, much more positive world.
Is Getting Fit > Continuing Addition? You Decide!
Getting fit will always seem like a difficult option, but some may say it’s even more difficult watching your life slip away due to drug and alcohol abuse. Now you know the imporance of exercise in drug addiction recovery you can choose which ‘difficult option’ is most important to you.
The euphoria acquired from a drug will die down. But, when you get your natural happy hormones from eating healthy or doing yoga, the ‘high’ will linger for a long time.
So, the choice is yours.
Tags: addiction, addiction recovery, drug abuse, drugs, exercise, fitness, recovery
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