Legacy Healing Center Blog

Small Steps Add Up to Long-Term Success in Recovery

It has often been said that breaking free of addiction is more of a marathon than a sprint. Anyone in recovery can tell you that maintaining sobriety for a lifetime requires work and focus, and that it is worth every ounce of effort.

While many who have never struggled with addiction do not understand the long-term nature of recovery or the importance of developing healthy coping skills, those who do have that direct experience understand it well. So how can you develop the coping skills you will need to maintain your newfound sobriety for a lifetime? And what life hacks can you use to stay sober in a world filled with triggers? 

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Tips and Tricks to Help You Stay on Track in Recovery

Here are some tips and tricks you can use on your sobriety journey to help you stay focused while achieving a lifetime of addiction recovery:

1. Focus your mind on exercise and physical activity. Whether you hold a yoga pose for five minutes, meditate twice a day to focus your mind, or run around the block, physical exercise is a great way to enhance your addiction recovery and maintain your sobriety.
2. Develop strong coping skills. The development of coping skills is a vital step on the road to addiction recovery, so look for ways to cope with the challenges you will face along the way.
3. Find a support group that understands your background and meets your needs. Whether you attend AA or NA meetings or join a group of like-minded former addicts, the community support will do you and your sobriety wonders.
4. Identify your triggers. When you are in addiction recovery, it is essential to avoid the activities that could trigger a harmful relapse, but you need to identify them to help prevent them. Make a list of your triggers, then come up with strategies to avoid those risky situations.
5. Break free of toxic people and influences. Sometimes you will need to let go of people in your life to maintain your sobriety, so do not be afraid to make a clean break when you need to. Being surrounded by others who are urging you to drink or consume drugs is no way to live, so look for ways to replace those toxic influences with a more supportive group of friends.
6. Seek out spiritual support and guidance. Spirituality can be a critical part of addiction recovery, but spiritual life does not always follow a predictable path. Whether you return to the religion you once knew or embrace a brand new one, the spiritual guidance you develop could be critical to your long-term recovery.
7. Lean into the support of family members and friends. No matter how alone you might feel in your addiction recovery, you have people in your life who care about you. So please resist the urge to push them away out of fear or embarrassment; don’t be afraid to depend on their support and use it to guide you in your sobriety.
8. Learn as much as you can about substance use disorder and addiction recovery. Substance abuse disorder is not a personal failing or a sign of weakness; it is an actual disease that can impact anyone no matter their age, income level, or gender. As you continue in your addiction recovery, learn as much as you can about addiction and recovery, so you can build on your sobriety and maintain it for the rest of your life.

Getting clean and sober is the first part of the recovery journey. Staying on track requires support, self care, avoiding toxic influences, and improving your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Legacy Healing Center is dedicated to helping patients heal from the inside out and learn valuable life skills that lead to successful long term recovery.  If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse, call Legacy Healing Center today at 888.534.2295.  Our intake specialists are available 24/7 and calls are completely confidential.