After using drugs over a long period of time, the way your brain works may become altered. An essential part of recovering from substance abuse and addiction is retraining your brain to reverse any adverse effects caused by drug or alcohol use.
To learn more about why retraining your brain is necessary for recovery and tips on how you can retrain it, continue reading.
The Importance of Retraining Your Brain After Substance Abuse
Recovering from substance abuse is a big mental battle between avoiding triggers and curbing cravings. Retraining your brain to become more robust and have more willpower can heavily affect your chances of recovery and reduce the risk of relapse.
Your brain is a vital tool that will help you reach your goals of recovery and sobriety. For those looking for help on this journey to recovery, here are some tips for retraining your brain after substance abuse.
Tips on How to Retrain Your Brain After Substance Abuse
Automatic Responses
The most well-known most challenging experience recovering addicts face is the inclination to utilize drugs following a particular trigger. Stress, crisis, fatigue, depression, and anxiety are normal feelings that many individuals escape by abusing substances.
Has substance use has been your “go-to” choice when you experience a trigger? If so, then you might have fostered a computerized reaction, similar to a reflex, for managing that trigger. Thus, resulting in the use of substances to soothe those feelings away.
Recognize Your Triggers
Since you’re calm, it’s an ideal opportunity to retrain your brain to new, good robotized responses. The initial step is perceiving which feelings, contemplations, practices, or encounters trigger your drive to use substances.
There might be a couple of triggers, or you might have several of them. You want to recognize and make a note of whatever appears to encourage you to use substances as a coping mechanism. The key here is to be straightforward and honest with yourself.
Effectively Choose New Responses
Whenever you’ve recognized your triggers, you can start retraining your brain to pick unique, better choices.
Assuming you see that one of your triggers is feeling bored or restless, you will need to find a new response to distract yourself. Take up a leisure activity, find a new line of work (or a subsequent work), or join a new social hobby group. Occupy your time, so you never need to confront the dangers of boredom again.
If anxiety is your trigger, attempt an assortment of stress-and nervousness gentle exercises until you find the ones that turn out best for you. Avoid situations that you know make you anxious if possible.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help
You’re not superhuman, and that is fine! Recovery is rather tricky, and nobody anticipates that you should be able to recover in an instant. If you are attempting to keep up with your sobriety, getting the proper support you need can make a world’s difference.
It is wiser to get help than battle with healing alone and increase your relapse risk. So, don’t be shy and reach out for help if things begin to feel like they are getting too heavy for you to carry on your own.
