We surround ourselves with luxury in our lives. Homes, cars, boats, and other material things that give us comfort and joy. But then we neglect our souls. Through substance abuse, we condemn our inner selves to the existence of pain and poverty, even if our lives are the opposite on the outside. Through recovery, we can bring our souls back up to a decent standard of living. But it is regular self-care that brings our inner quality of life up to meet our outer quality of life. Self-care is a luxury for the soul.
Learning to Care for Ourselves
Recovery is often referred to as a second chance, an opportunity to start over. And while we do still have to deal with our everyday lives and face the same people and situations we had before we began recovery, we do have the opportunity to step back into our lives with a new-found balance and are equipped with new ways of thinking about ourselves and caring for ourselves.
Self-care is what we do to nurture and care for ourselves. Making sure that we form good habits in our mental health and that we maintain them regularly. This includes the way we think about ourselves and approach our lives as well as outward, physical activities that enhance our bodies and minds and give ourselves a higher quality of life.
Basics of Mental Wellness
Life is full of negatives, but that is a lot easier to face if we have fed our souls with positive experiences. We don’t need to wait until positive things come to us, we can actively seek things daily that bring us joy. This can be anything from hobbies or activities we do just for us or spending time with people or pets that make us happy. It also includes finding the joy within our daily routines of family or work. When we seek or acknowledge the positives in our daily lives, we are telling ourselves that we are worth being happy.
Self-confidence may seem like it is difficult to cultivate, but there is something we can do every day that will build our self-esteem and increase our confidence. We can look for ways to improve ourselves and our skills every single day. Having a sense of accomplishment strengthens our image of ourselves, which in turn strengthens our resolve. We can try new skills or improve on the things we are already doing. But challenging ourselves to continue to improve reinforces a positive self-image that can continue to grow in the face of difficulties in our lives.
We can’t possibly know all of the challenges that life has for us, but we do know that there will be stressors. Particularly in recovery, we know that we will face triggers that could lead us to drinking or using again. So as part of our self-care, we can plan ahead by developing a strategy to successfully cope with situations that might be difficult for us. When we are prepared to face challenges, we are more likely to succeed at overcoming those challenges. This kind of personal success can make us feel like a million dollars.
Treating Ourselves to Compassion
As hateful as people can be on social media or on the freeway, sometimes we are more hurtful to ourselves with the expectations and criticisms we give ourselves in our own heads. From the shame, excessive criticism, unhealthy comparisons to others, to the perfectionism or unhealthy need to win, we are sometimes our own worst enemies.
This is where compassion comes into play. We can be kind to ourselves in the way we evaluate our thoughts and actions. We can be gentle with ourselves when we feel embarrassed, ashamed, or have made a mistake. We can continue the daily outer routines which feed our mind and body to show ourselves that we are worth the effort to feed our soul. And we can give ourselves the kind of reaffirming and compassionate self-talk that we would outwardly give to a loved one. Being compassionate is showing that we are worth loving, starting with ourselves.
Luxuries of Daily Routines
In recovery, we learn the skills that we can use daily to keep us mentally and physically strong. These include meditation, healthy eating, exercise, good sleep, and avoiding prescription or recreational substances that alter our mood and put us at risk for relapse. All of these daily habits reinforce the new ways of thinking and living that bring us greater joy and happiness. By caring for our bodies, we improve our quality of life and prevent future substance abuse. These habits can actually help reduce cravings, depression, and more, while simultaneously increasing our mental resiliency. Most importantly, taking the time to do these things for ourselves tell us and those around us that we are worth it, that we deserve to be the best we can be.
Make the decision today to give your soul all of the luxuries you deserve. AToN Center can teach you everything you need to know to improve the status of your mind and body. When you show love for yourself, you give yourself a gift that money cannot buy.
Find your inner luxury while surrounded in the outer luxury of AToN Center in beautiful San Diego, California. All it takes is a phone call for you to upgrade your soul to first class. Call (888) 535-1516.
