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The Importance of Physical Activity in YOUR Recovery

lman_15

lman_15

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
508
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concrete jungle
Physical activity has become an important part of my recovery process. Before I started using heavily I was into sports and weight lifting and as I got into using more and more sports and exercise rapidly slipped away. Now I am 20 months clean and sober and have been back on my exercise grind since August 2013. At first I got heavily into running then switched over into weight lifting and now I am boxing (a hobby which I really enjoyed until I allowed my addiction to strip it from me). I have personally found that exercise is great for a number of reasons. It is esteem building in the sense that you see the gains and improvement in your own ability over time. Not only that but you said you were going to work out ___ amount of times in the week and you did! The natural high is pretty phenomenal I must say. Personally I get pretty high when I do a long run or good lift! It definitely helps me sleep better at night. I find when I'm working out and focusing on my fitness I tend to eat and drink a lot healthier. Lastly, it helps me stay out of trouble, before when I was first getting sober I would still hang around dope spots, bars, strip clubs, etc. on the weekend, now I hang around the gym its a safe environment that is benefiting me and a great place to spend a friday or saturday night and keep me out of trouble! OH did I mention its a great place to socialize!

If you find physical activity an important part of your recovery process please share your experience! I really value what it has done for me and my life in recovery and don't think it is mentioned enough.
 
neversickanymore thanks for sharing those links and I will definitely be joining in on the thread!! I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.

421 I definitely agree. Have been guilty of it myself many of times.
 
neversickanymore said:
I wholeheartedly agree. Exercise is one of the corner stones of my recovery. Here are some links I post allot that have to do with exercise and neurochemistry and neuroregeneration. There is also a group of us that participate in this thread and I hope you consider joining in Iman:)

Exercise and Brain Neurotransmission
Neurobiology of Exercise
Exercise 4 Health, Mental Health, and Addiction vs. I worked all that out
Click to expand...

Agreed, but lets not forget, even going to work is physical activity. Going to the store, going to the park, among others. Some can't exercise, while that is the best road, anything besides laying in bed or on the couch. Physical activity is as much physical as it is mental, and helps both, IMO, equally.

Thanks,

Bob
 
I have to be on the go and do stuff around the house to avoid empty time that could lead to craving, make sure i get out early in the morning for a walk/bikeride, and i go for a run 4 to 7 times a week.
On the other hand it is just as important to sit still daily and read a book or stroll through bluelight or something.
Its about balance, not too much of either things.
Structure and day/night rythm as well as physical activity and healthy foods, seeing people...those are the keywords for my recovery.
 
In a world of ratio and common sense, we forgot all about intuitive thinking.
Its as real as it can gets.
We all know that feeling like 'something is up', pick up a vibe in a room or feel something is slightly off.
We forgot to listen to that '6th sense'.

I used to battle againt that feeling, rationalising that 'i need this run, need this excersise', while i didnt, went anyway, and didnt feel good about. If i didnt do it, i would feel guilty.

Now i listen to it, i feel if i need to recover and just take a walk, or if its time for another 10km on the asphalt.
 
Very important, I have just started lifting (again) and am enjoying it. Last time I was in shape I put on a lot of muscle.

However, for me, I have to be really careful not to get too crazy about it. As an addict, I want to do everything to the extreme. It is quite common for men (and maybe women) to develop some slight body dismorphic issues when getting clean. In my experience, I have noticed it especially prevalent in white middle to upper middle recovering addicts. This isn't scientific, just more observations through working with lots of addicts and stuff.

This summer I worked a very physical job, but I wasn't eating nearly enough.
 
It is SO important for me. I gained a bunch of weight on my relapse in the span of three months and it's coming off quick now that I'm sober. Alcohol causes a massive inflammatory response in my system. I'm down 5 belt notches in less than a month, and thats with eating at least 2,000 calories a day with daily workouts. Not even straining my system, it's just falling back into sober equilibrium. Feels good man.

:D
 
If you want to get in shape you should DEFINITELY go kickboxing or anything.

Did that for a while, as well as jiujitsu, and i cant remember any class where i wasnt about to throw up at the end :D

I dropped that all though, i realise now it only pumps me up and make me more anxious, im a runner now, at least 3 x 7km a week. Love it.

Anybody in recovery should AT LEAST take a long walk daily (proven theuropatic effect, actually works better for mild depression then a antidepressant) but better: work out!!! do it! youll feel better!
 
i did track in high school and love running. it feels good and i get a natural high from it. kind of got out of the routine but am trying to get back into good running shape. i think it helps me stay sober as i get rid of a lot of stress and anxiety and lifts my mood up a lot. ive been feeling a lot better this week as i was last week and im still sober :)
 
Exercise has always been my major coping strategy. But, I have to be careful cuz I can hurt myself and or inflame old injuries. I used to not have to worry about that but I'm not in my 20s anymore.
 
It's great you pointed the importance of physical activity out. I got caught up in the "pain game" for quite some time and physical activity has been incredibly important to deal with the amount of pain that my body forces to experience these days. Instead of thinking that using is all that can help, I have learned that most times leaving the car in the driveway and walking 5 or 6 miles (very quickly) or jogging to the store to spend a buck will eliminate the pain and the psychological chaos involved that I would have used as a justification to dull down my state in the past. At my worst, I was a sluggish 264 pounds but at last check, I'm finally adding lean mass for the first time in my life and I've returned to my more natural state of 149 pounds but on the uptick because of using my body. I slept for nearly five years, it took a lot to reverse all that.
 
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