Addiction Recovery is long road that many travel. Exercise is known to aid in this healing process. Exercise works at the same locations as drugs and alcohol. Namely, the whole body.
Addiction really beats up both the mind and the body. Brain chemistries get jumbled, which affects the mental health of the person. Organ systems are damaged locally, which leads to systemic failures over time.
In conjunction with other addiction recovery therapies, exercise acts directly on these affected areas and contributes to a healing process over both the short and long-term.
Exercise and the Addict
That addiction affects such a widespread population, cutting across social and economic boundaries, addiction recovery continues to resolve on an individual basis. The introduction, or reintroduction, of exercise into the lifestyle of the recovering addict has shown a consistent benefit. Such benefit is regardless of the person’s background.
Exercise directly affects brain chemistries by naturally producing pain-killing chemicals called endorphins. Additionally, “feel good” brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine are likewise increased with exercise. This is why the experience of exercising keeps bringing us back to do more of it. Our brains love it!
With our brains happy, moods improve, we sleep better, and stress is reduced. In the recovering addict, this is so essential in preventing relapse.
There is also a direct effect of exercise on the physical body. Most obvious is the effects on the muscles and skin. Muscles develop in shape and strength with use. Resting muscle tone improves the appearance of the overlying skin, fat pounds are shed, and metabolic changes improve the appearance of the skin itself. It is not about body beautiful but how such positive changes contribute to the self-esteem of the individual and resulting mental health. You can certainly pursue a gym body but the intent is to be happy and healthy.
Starting Exercise in Addiction Recovery
Getting started with exercise in addiction recovery is the same as with any deconditioned individual. Slow and easy building of activity is the key. As I share with many patients, it took years to make the body you have now. Building it back up will take just a little time.
Aerobic exercise, an activity you can do and still carry on a conversation, is a great starting point in an exercise program. Working under the guidance of a healthcare professional, distance and duration are gradually increased.
Strength training, whether in a gym setting or at home exercises, can be introduced as a way of improving overall muscle tone and fitness.
What it all boils down to is the start of an exercise program for addiction recovery is really no different than anyone else doing the same. The difference is that with addiction recovery, consequences of failure are much more serious.
Added Benefits of Exercise
As an individual’s addiction produced whole mind and body responses, exercise does the same. In recovery, you are replacing older established activities with new. Much the same way as the addictive behavior started.
Recovery is a process by which a person returns to being normal. The journey may be unique but the intended destination is that of being Healthy. So as the addict mind and body detoxify, natural systems come back on-line. The happy results are things like the immune system improve and the person experiences less sickness. Metabolism increases and they experience an increase in perceived energy.
Add in increased social interactions during recovery, and you have an improving life experience that many take for granted. The self-confidence that addiction took away, recovery brings back.
So whether recovery is for a behavior addiction (like sex or gambling) or a substance addiction (nicotine, alcohol, opiates), using exercise as a tool towards returning to Health can be very effective. Truly, if you have your Health, you have everything.
A Personal Note
This post, while still factual (and hopefully helpful!) like my others, carries with it a personal message. I come from a family of addiction. I have lost loved ones to addiction and have myself passed through dark days, only to return to the light provided by recovery. When I write about the benefits of exercise in addition recovery, I am attesting firsthand to its true power in healing. I hope others in need will also find it true.
-Dr. Hal
I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you’ve done.
– Robert Downey Jr.
You must be logged in to post a comment.