Our addictive tendencies have the potential to infect any of our behaviors, even in sobriety. Our predilection for compulsivity can turn any seemingly innocuous habit into an unhealthy obsession, toppling the balance we’ve achieved in recovery and threatening our continued sobriety. You should exercise your newfound self-awareness and powers of introspection to keep an eye out for any warning signs of compulsive behaviors invading your daily routine. Here are some things to be mindful of as you seek to stave off addictive behaviors from resurfacing in your life.
Hopefully you have established a scheduled routine which includes a variety of activities throughout the week. While you may go through phases of waxing and waning interest in some of these activities, but it is important to maintain balance and variety in your life. Should you see your schedule becoming dominated by one particular interest or activity, you should seek to correct this imbalance before it takes root. As with many other pieces of your recovery program, communication with others provides another layer of protection against the insidious nature of addictive behaviors seeking to creep back into your life. Take heed of your sober supports admonishments against any imbalance in your routine, as they may see something which has escaped your attention.
In addition to monitoring your actions, you should be mindful of what is preoccupying your thoughts on a daily basis. The mental obsession with our substance of choice could easily sublimate to a different subject in sobriety, such as a career goal or desired relationship. If the majority of your mental energy is expended dwelling on one particular subject or situation, your recovery program will suffer from the resulting lack of attention being allocated to it. On the other hand, our recovery programs should not become an obsession of their own as this does not lend itself to your overall health and sobriety either.
Compulsivity is just one more symptom of the underlying malady which resulted in our developing a substance abuse disorder. The perils of developing an obsession or unhealthy preoccupation with one particular subject do not evaporate when we get sober. On the contrary, your addictive personality will be actively seeking a new object of focus, which is why it is so important to establish and maintain variety and balance in our lives in early recovery. At Evolutions Treatment Center, our holistic approach to substance abuse treatment offers clients support and guidance in formulating a life of satisfaction and balance in order to maximize your chance of achieving lasting sobriety. If you a re new in sobriety but are struggling to achieve balance in your life, call our Admissions Counselors today at 833-818-3031 and inquire about enrolling in an Aftercare program to help cement your sobriety.