Fitness as a Replacement for Addiction

If you or a loved one has suffered from addiction, you know how hard the recovery process can be. Spending time in rehab facilities, countless meetings, and relying on family and friends are all great tools in the recovery process. As you may know already, sobriety is a life-long commitment that requires constant work to become healthy and maintain that lifestyle. Another key factor in health is, of course, your fitness.

Some people incorporate fitness within their recovery process to become an overall healthier person but what if you used fitness as a replacement for addiction? Studies show that combined with other traditional treatments, exercise shows a lot of promise in aiding with recovery rates. Many people say that exercise is a distraction from their cravings and adds structure to their day leaving them feeling more accomplished. Here’s a more in-depth look into the benefits of overcome addiction with fitness.

Fitness Will Surround You with Healthier People

Typically, when beginning your sobriety, the only people you know are people still struggling as you were. This can be extremely harmful to your recovery as it can lead you back to that dangerous lifestyle. Instead, if you are working out on a regular basis, you are generally surrounding yourself with healthier people and forming genuine friendships. Being around like-minded people can make it easier to forget old habits and form new healthier ones.

Fitness Can Rebuild Your Self-Esteem

Recovery is hard. Most of the time you feel as if you have hit rock bottom leaving you with little to zero self-esteem or confidence. Exercising, whether it be lifting weights, running, or other sports can help you see progress and improvement. Hitting accomplishments shows that you can move forward, and you can reach goals giving you better self-esteem. It can also give you a greater sense of purpose and seeing the changes in your body that you created physically can also boost overall confidence.

Fitness Gives You A Healthy Outlet

Instead of coping with everyday stresses with drugs or alcohol, working out gives you a healthier option to relieve stress. Exercise is known to release endorphins to help ease the anxiety or stress that has been built up throughout the day and is an excellent tool to have during recovery. This is a positive solution to coping with certain situations and gives you a much- needed healthy outlet.

You Become More Accountable for Your Actions

When exercising and seeing results within your body/mind and how you have the control of those things keeps you accountable. You will be more reluctant to miss gym sessions knowing the progress you have made could be compromised. Knowing that teammates or friends are counting on you will help you follow through with commitments to make sure you are accountable for all of your actions.

A Note from GR8NESS

All in all, overcome addiction with fitness is certainly a great alternative to leading a healthier lifestyle. Fitness communities are not just places where you can get the perfect body but rather a place for people in recovery to find acceptance, hope, and build confidence.