You’ve got the 6 a.m. walk down pat. You never miss a group meeting in North Charleston. You always call your sponsor on the drive home. You don’t think about any of it anymore—you just do it. But as you grow in recovery, you may feel the need to tweak some of the habits that have gotten you this far.
And that’s what it’s all about. Making, breaking, and reshaping habits. But our understanding of habits is under study. A Johns Hopkins team studying mice recently poked a hole in an old theory: habits form after slow, sustained repetition. What they saw instead was the mice abruptly changing strategies—from one trial to the next, suggesting that habits can be built faster than we think.
Of course, mice are not people, and this article isn’t about throwing away the healthy habits you worked hard to form. Instead, we’ll focus on ways to reshape early-recovery habits to fit the life you’re living now.
Relapse Isn’t The Only Time For Reflection
Many of us may only examine our recovery habits after a relapse. Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a physician who writes for Harvard Health, confirms this tendency. He notes that a relapse is the final manifestation of a breakdown that started much earlier. So it is a great time to reconsider things, but we don’t have to wait until we fall back into use to examine and further optimize our behaviors.
We can pick one habit and ask an interesting question: “Even though this has worked for me in the past, is this still doing what I installed it to do?” Waypoint’s Continuing Care and Recovery Management program can help you answer that question after you finish reading.
Reshape Habits Safely With Waypoint Recovery Center
The function of healthy habits is sacred (connection, honesty, structure, asking for help—those can definitely stay), but their form is flexible. The 6 a.m. walk is simply a delivery mechanism, and delivery mechanisms are allowed to change when your job, zip code, or craving-management skills change. And, if you’re steady and seasoned, those new habits can be tested as soon as the life change occurs.
Plus, individual therapy in Cameron can help you get the new version of your habit running before you safely retire the old one, so unexpected negative effects don’t pop up in between. Here are some ideas for cautiously reforming habits as you master independence and craving control:
- Try replacing every other group meeting or scheduled sponsor call this week with an exercise class or another physical activity with friends.
- Rather than attend SUD-centered therapy this month, consider finding a therapist that specializes in what you’re dealing with now: self-esteem, career questions, or family dynamics.
- Introduce a new form of meditation or relaxation into your routine today that helps you manage stress, and swap out the old habit that may feel boring now.
Stress-Testing Reformed Habits at Waypoint
As you introduce these modified habits into your routine, you can make sure they hold up under cravings with the following:
- Remembering HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired). Does the new routine still help you manage hunger, anger, loneliness, and fatigue?
- Continuing to make space for gratitude. Even if you’re feeling great after moving away from journaling, can you still mentally run down a gratitude list?
- Moving. If the reformed habit prevents you from reducing stress, sleeping well, and regulating your mood through regular exercise, it may not be the right kind of change.
- Asking for help. If the habit makes you feel strong enough to do everything on your own, it’s best to reconsider the change.
- Keeping people around. If you notice your habits isolate you, that probably isn’t the reshaping you need.
Update Your Support to Match the Life You Have
Your life in recovery changes shape as you mature. Whoever and whatever carried you through month three may not be the ones who carry you through at month thirty-six. And that’s okay. If you need to run some of your ideas for new habits by someone who cares, Waypoint’s Alumni Coordinator is available seven days a week to anyone who has completed residential or outpatient care.
Growing in Recovery With Waypoint
Nothing you’ve built in recovery is welded in place, which also means nothing you’ve built has to keep fitting you forever. And if you slip while you’re working it out: don’t beat yourself up. Self-compassion can get you through no matter where you are in recovery. If you need support as you navigate the process of reshaping your habits, contact us today.
