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Woman stretching in bed at sunrise, with soft morning light filtering through sheer curtains, creating a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

The ABCs of Getting More ZZZs: The Importance of Sleep in Recovery

Three interrelated areas in your life can provide ongoing support to your recovery: good nutrition, regular exercise, and restful sleep.In the first two cases—eating and exercising—it is easy to see how the choices we make lead to better or worse outcomes. More fruits and vegetables? Good. More candy bars and sodas? Bad. A 30-minute walk...
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Two people sit outdoors on yoga mats with eyes closed, each placing one hand on their chest while practicing mindful breathing in a sunlit park.

Mindfulness and Yoga Can Help You Stay Present in Recovery

Do you ever find yourself replaying mistakes you made in the past? Most everyone does—and a person in recovery from a substance use disorder could easily fall into the habit of revisiting bad choices made while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That kind of regretful look backwards is known as rumination.Do you ever...
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Woman making a bed in a bright, organized bedroom filled with plants, books, and home decor.

Straightening Up Can Help Keep You on the Straight and Narrow

When you are in recovery from a substance use disorder, you know there are a number of things you can do to help yourself continue to steer clear of drugs and alcohol. For example, you know the importance of attending 12-Step meetings such as AA or other recovery meetings so that you can get and...
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Close-up of a person's hands gently holding a glass of dark liquid,

New Reason to Give Up Alcohol: It Causes Cancer

People who are struggling with a substance use disorder centered on alcohol (sometimes called alcohol use disorder or AUD) are already facing all kinds of problems. After all, ongoing and excessive consumption of alcohol can have a ruinous impact on your mental and physical health, your job and financial situation, your relationships, and so much...
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A multigenerational family.

There May Be Relationship Work to Do in Recovery

All of us—even the most introverted among us—have lots of relationships in our lives. For example, you have relationships with your family members, your collection of friends, your coworkers, your faith community, and the list goes on and on. If you are a person in recovery from a substance use disorder, you also have relationships...
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Alternatives to Keeping a Traditional Journal in Recovery

In previous blog posts—like this one—we have suggested that keeping a journal can be a useful activity for a person in recovery from a substance use disorder. We have even provided some prompts to get you started. We continue to believe that journals—whether it is a gratitude journal; a journal for tracking your progress with things...
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Bingeable Series from Our Blog

Here’s an experience you may have had. You and a friend or partner are trying to decide what to watch on your favorite streaming app. At first, you consider a range of movies—maybe a rom-com or a thriller or that one movie starring that one guy—but eventually you decide that it is kind of late...
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person taking some herbs off their plant in their kitchen to cook with - gardening in recovery - cooking in recovery

How Spending Time in the Garden and Kitchen Supports Recovery

Of late, we have been writing quite a bit about healthy eating in recovery—a key strategy for maintaining your physical health, your mental health, and your hard-won freedom from drugs or alcohol. In keeping with that theme, we want to explore a couple of ways that you can be even more directly involved in what...
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photo of a healthy, balanced meal

Making Good Dinner Choices in Recovery

This post builds on two previous blog entries about healthy eating in recovery. The first zeroed in on healthy approaches to breakfast and hydration. The second centered on quality choices when it comes to lunch and afternoon snacks. In this post, we will focus on dinner and late-night snacks. We are dedicating an entire series to...
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Friends having a cookout.

Make Plans to Make it a Sober Summer

Summertime is practically synonymous with relaxation. For kids, there is an extended break from school. For many folks, there is the promise of a vacation. More light in the evening and lovely weather make a whole host of restful and enjoyable activities possible. Heck, some companies even shorten their hours over the summer as a perk...
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