Plan for a Healthy Lifestyle

If you are reading this post - I am hoping you have taken the time to read the common traps we fall into! As promised, here is a tool you can use to start addressing the areas in your life that need some leveling up.

One of the most important aspects of recovery management is to develop healthy alternatives to replace the use/compulsive behaviors that served a purpose in your life. Your acting out gave you something pleasurable or took away something that was painful.

You cannot just cut compulsive behaviors out like a tumor. You need to “transplant” new, healthy behaviors in place of the old, destructive ones. For example, when you expressed anger through your food use/other addiction outlets/compulsive behaviors, that was an unhealthy, destructive way to manage anger. You are always going to be faced with things that make you angry. You need to figure out healthy ways to manage anger, such as effective communication techniques, exercise, or “letting go” of anger you have no control over.

The Plan for a Healthy Lifestyle exercise is designed to help you discover healthy alternatives to emotions, thoughts, and situations which could potentially contribute to relapsing and/or returning to compulsive behavior. Get brutally honest with yourself because you are the only person who can develop a realistic, practical, and adaptable healthy lifestyle.

As humans, we all have several different parts of our lives. The following is a listing of the different areas in a person’s life that are important to analyze, and possibly change, to prevent a relapse of use and/or compulsive behavior/acting out.

Take each component and write out a detailed plan outlining how you will maintain a healthy lifestyle in that area. Use the following guidelines to help form your plans. List 3 to 5 concrete manageable, behavioral goals to stay healthy in each of the areas listed. Remember, the plan needs to be realistic, simple, specific and behavioral.

EMOTIONAL LIFESTYLE

How will you manage anger, depression, anxiety, boredom, rejection, loneliness or any other negative emotion that is related to your use/compulsive behavior(s)/acting out in a healthy way?

COGNITIVE/THINKING LIFESTYLE

How will you manage any fantasies that creep into your mind? What will you do to avoid use/compulsive behavior/acting out fantasies? What will you do to avoid and/or manage your defense mechanisms, thinking errors, and permission-giving statements? How will you manage negative self-talk?

SELF-ESTEEM LIFESTYLE

How are you going to maintain positive self-esteem? What messages do you need to tell yourself about yourself? What are your “weak” areas of self-esteem, and what will you do to protect those areas? How will you get your needs met in a healthy manner?

EMPLOYMENT LIFESTYLE

What is your plan to prevent the stresses of work from causing negative emotions, hurting your self-esteem and damaging your marriage and family life?

INTERPERSONAL LIFESTYLE

What is your plan to avoid isolation, and a secretive lifestyle? How will you develop and maintain friendships? Who is in your support network? Who can you count on for support?

PARTNER/MARITAL LIFESTYLE

What is your plan to maintain a healthy, intimate relationship?

PHYSICAL LIFESTYLE

How will you maintain your physical health and hygiene?

CHEMICAL/COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR LIFESTYLE

How (or can) you use food, drugs or alcohol in your life in an appropriate way? If you have a chemical problem, what is your plan to maintain sobriety? How (or can) you use compulsive behaviors such as gambling, sex, shopping in your life in an appropriate way? If you have a compulsive behavioral concern, what is your plan to change it?

PARENTING LIFESTYLE

What is your plan to raise healthy, happy, and secure children?

EMPATHY LIFESTYLE

What is your plan to maintain empathy and compassion for your fellow man, and any potential victims (family members/stores, etc.)? How will you “stand in another man’s/woman’s shoes?”

SPIRITUAL LIFESTYLE

What is your reason for being here? How will your spirituality help you to not return to use/compulsive behaviors/acting out? What is your plan to demonstrate your spirituality? How will you be sure you are acting in a moral way that isn’t harming others?

Let me know if you have any questions!