As a young teenager I remember being told once by a doctor that some of the pain and discomfort I was experiencing in my joints was due to growing pains (I did become quite lanky pretty quickly).
The doctor knew that growth rarely happens without discomfort
And it’s the same in recovery.
1st Sober Christmas? So, you’re just a short time into your sobriety, its going well however you knew this was going to happen eventually. The festive season is here! The panic of socialising with people when you don’t drink or use anymore can be paralysing. We try to avoid & isolate. Unfortunately, such avoidance can […]
Today I am writing about my favourite topic. PATIENCE. Patience can be defined as: “The ability to bear pains and trials calmly without complaint.” I’m not writing it because I am a patient person, no, it’s for the exact opposite reason. I am a work in progress too. The desire to have something right now is […]
Another Covid-19-inspired post. So, I am self-isolating at home, sitting on my ass feeling sorry for myself and eating yet another TV-sized bar of chocolate. I have been ordering takeaways, feeling lethargic and unmotivated. The last time I was eating like this was before my recovery and fitness journey, and these similar feelings of […]
Gary Rutherford, from Derry, set up ‘Addiction Recovery Coaching (ARC) Fitness’ following his own previous battles with substance addiction to support people in North West Ireland to recover from drug or alcohol misuse through fitness programmes. Gary struggled with addiction for 15 years before turning his life around, training as a mental health nurse and […]
From the Inside out: Recovery & Nutrition.
Another Covid-19 inspired post.
So, I am self-isolating at home, sitting on my ass feeling sorry for myself and eating yet another TV sized bar of chocolate. I have been ordering takeaways, feeling lethargic and unmotivated.
The last time I was eating like this was before my recovery and fitness journey, and these similar feelings of being sluggish and tired were coming back. It got me thinking about how important good nutrition is to everyone, but is it more important to those battling entering recovery?
Patience: Easier said than done?
Today I am writing about my favourite topic. PATIENCE.
Patience can be defined as; “the ability to bear pains and trails calmly without complaint.”
I’m not writing it because I am a patient person, no, it’s for the exact opposite reason. I am a work in progress too. The desire to have something right now is easy in today’s environment, food, movies, amazon prime. We hate to wait. I hate to wait.
Now imagine what that feels like for someone coming to terms with recovery. When I mention the word ‘patience’ to anyone I know struggling in early recovery I am almost feel the imaginary ‘punch in the face’ they have just given me.
RUMINATION: Chewing on the Past.
“Only cows ruminate Gary”.
I was told this at a recent training course, and it got me thinking about writing this blog post. SO, you may ask, what has rumination, addiction recovery and cows got in common? Quite a lot!
Rumination is the process by which the cow regurgitates previously consumed feed and chews it a second time. The re-chewed feed is then swallowed a second time. Cows usually spend more time chewing during rumination than they do when they eat.
In my early recovery I frequently ‘chewed’ over past event, past hurts and negative situations caused through my addiction in the insane hope that’ chewing’ it over would change things. I relayed and replayed and replayed stuff over in my head to the point that effected my mood and behaviour. I spent more time ruminating than reflecting.
Self-Isolation & Withdrawal
So the S#@t has hit the fan.
Who would have thought 4 weeks ago that we were going to be looking at a pandemic, social distancing, shielding techniques and self-isolation. With some countries even looking at lock down. It crazy and uncertain time in our society and we will need each other more than ever to share resources, information and skills.
If you are a dependent alcohol or drug user this may be a difficult time and testing time for you coming up. You could see dramatic changes in you substance use – reduction in supply, quality of drugs etc.. Because of this you may run the risk of Withdrawal.
One Size Fits All Recovery?
There are more choices today of paths to recovery than ever. These have all been driven by traditional approaches; tried and tested results, scientific research; but most importantly – individual preferences.
We are all unique, have experienced different things and developed our own view of the world. Sometimes when it comes to recovery we have been trying to – squeeze square pegs into round holes.
Despite our individuality the common denominator in our recovery is the need to changing one’s self, understanding that you cannot keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.