Dealing with stress in sobriety?

[Rio Fantastic]

Hey guys

Just wondering how you personally deal with stress and problems in sobriety?? I have been clean all of 2019 other than subutex but some stressors I have at the moment trigger cravings even though I know it would just make everything worse.

I was dealing with it by exercise but my gym membership expired and I cant afford to renew it for a while. What do you guys do to deal with stress without using??

 

[cyberius]

Get sleep, not too much not too little. Set a little time aside to just sit and let your mind do whatever it wants.

Something little that calms me down when Im working and stressed out is feel the air around you as if you?re underwater, move slowly and mindfully and it puts you in your body

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Therapy can be good if stress is a major problem for you, and I mean that it has helped myself *slightly* and I'm still willing to give it a try for what it is worth. I don't want to suggest to others to do it if it sounds condescending but it's not a terrible idea nonetheless.

Exercise, talking it out with friends and family helps too. Patience with yourself and life helps.

 

[Mafioso]

CBT helped me with the way I perceive and deal with stress. Some things can't be avoided but it doesn't mean it has to cause a mental breakdown. A lot of how we react to things is defined by how we think.

Exercise like others have said. Even if it's just walking, jogging, or body weight type exercises. You don't have to be pushing your max at the gym for it to be effective and beneficial. Yoga really helps to relax me as it forces me to focus on breathing while stretching.

Meditation can help over time as well, but at first it might seem counter productive. Simple things such as taking deep breaths and grounding or centering yourself in times of stress can have pretty big implications. Over time you can develop the habit of staying centered and responding logically rather than reacting emotionally, and it is a habit even if it doesn't seem like it at times. This might involve digging deep and asking yourself some hard questions.

 

[Chris42393]

When you say "using" are you talking about ALL drugs (legal or illegal), Like Kratom and/or Heroin?

Sleep is a great way to relieve stress for me. In my job (Firefighter/Paramedic), and in 'regular life' I don't get much sleep at all. Im lucky to get 4 hours a sleep a night. But if I can catch up on a few hours, it seems like all the stress goes away once I wake up, even if its just an hour or two. Are you trying to get rid of stress natural ways? (ie. sleep, meditation, exercise) or are you looking for an alternative 'medicine', like 'tea's' to help take that away as well? I also took kratom and kava to help get rid of stress. Kratom acts as an opiate and Kava acts as a benzodiazepine. When I take either of those, every one of my problems disappears as well.

 

[tathra]

meditate. it can be hard to get started, but once you've been doing it for a while it only takes a few deep breaths to get calmed down

 

[Stargazer]

Hi Rio-

Long time no see. That's a tough one. It depends on the stress level.

For feeling annoyed and impatient, deep breaths, try to talk yourself through it.

For overwhelming stress, I'd put a plan in place ahead of time, such as calling someone your comfortable with. Sometimes just getting out of the current situation and getting tea or coffee really helps.

It's tough to learning (or relearning) how to cope without drugs. But, it most definitely can be done.

You don't need the gym to workout. Run, walk, use body resistance excercise, lift at home. I get liking to go to the gym - it gets you out of the house, you have friends there, etc. It's plan B time. You can do it.

Hope you're well Rio.