7 Tips for Dealing with Stress in Sobriety

Nothing can hijack sobriety progress quite like stress. The emotional response can trigger cravings, disrupt emotional stability, impair decision-making abilities, undermine coping strategies, and exacerbate mental health issues. That’s why it’s absolutely essential that a person in recovery has strategies for dealing with stress in sobriety. Here are 7 healthy ways to cope with stress during recovery. 

7 Ways to Deal with Stress in Sobriety

Dealing with stress can be especially tricky for someone in recovery.  Not only because drug use can disrupt how their minds process emotions, but because their substance of choice was very likely their main coping mechanism. Maintaining sobriety means losing that past source of comfort — which often ends up being its own source of stress. 

The difference between a healthy and an unhealthy coping mechanism is the long-term impact on a person’s well-being. Bad coping mechanisms harm physical, emotional, or mental health and often have other negative consequences to either the individual, their immediate surroundings, or the larger community. 

By contrast, good coping mechanisms are constructive and sustainable, and have only positive consequences for both the individual and the world around them. Incorporating these suggestions into your daily life will help improve your overall emotional resilience.

1. Move your body

One of the best things you can do for your physical, mental, and emotional health is to exercise. You don’t need to exert yourself so much that you’re red-faced and out of breath. A 15-minute brisk walk is enough to get the blood pumping and your brain firing off those feel-good neurochemicals. 

2. Meditate/Deep breathing

These practices promote a state of relaxation, reduce physiological arousal, and calm the mind. Meditation also encourages individuals to become more in tune with themselves, allowing for greater emotional awareness and regulation. 

3. Skip the caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant that activates the central nervous system. It can exacerbate stress by heightening feelings of anxiety and restlessness as well as amplifying stress’ physiological effects by increasing heart rate and blood pressure. Caffeine is also counterproductive because it makes it harder for the body to come down from its state of high alert. 

4. Smile!

The mind-body connection is powerful, and one easy way to trick your body into feeling happier and calmer is simply to smile. Doing so signals to the brain that you’re feeling good (why else would you be smiling?) which in turn, causes the release of dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. Smiling can also counteract muscle tension, thereby activating the body’s natural relaxation response. 

5. Spend time outdoors

Spending time in natural environments, such as parks, forests, or near bodies of water, has a soothing and calming effect on the mind and body. Surrounding yourself with greenery has been scientifically proven to have calming effects. The sounds of nature can help too. Multiple studies found that participants who listened to bird calls had reduced feelings of anxiety, depression, and paranoia. 

6. Listen to music

Listening to music you enjoy can uplift your mood and evoke positive emotions and serve as a useful distraction to whatever puts you in a bad mood. Listening to calming music (which may not be your usual genre), might have the greatest benefits.  Slow-tempo music with soft melodies and gentle rhythms can help lower cortisol levels, and directly counteract the effects of stress by slower breathing, reduced heart rate, and decreased muscle tension.

7. Journal

Journaling is a productive form of self-expression that also encourages self-reflection. By writing about your experiences, challenges, and stressors, you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your reactions to certain situations. This self-awareness can help identify patterns and triggers that contribute to stress and help you evaluate how you handled them and what did or didn’t work about your approach. 

Need help dealing with stress in sobriety?

Stress is unavoidable, whether the cause is work, money, or relationships. When it strikes, higher-level thinking, self-restraint, and decision-making take a backseat and our base primal instincts take control. Bad news for those in recovery.

Rather than trying to avoid stress entirely, it’s far more practical to learn how to deal with stress in a healthy and productive way. These natural stress relief methods are easy to incorporate into your daily routine. For more ideas on how to deal with stress, there’s no better source than your peers. 

Consider attending an AA meeting or NA meeting today to connect with other people who are in addiction recovery and know first-hand the struggles you are facing. If you’re dealing with chronic stress or another underlying mental health condition, talk to a medical professional to discuss possible medications for stress that could help you.