What You’ve Learned From Living in the Pandemic Can Help Your Recovery

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Living through an entire year of the pandemic has proved challenging. Most people report experiencing stress, impatience, and confusion. As the pandemic began in Spring 2020, no one knew what to expect. A year later, the light at the end of the tunnel has shown itself. The rapid delivery of several vaccines to the public means society can reopen in a meaningful way this year.

People generally want to quickly forget the details of any difficult journey they take as soon as it’s winding down. What they often don’t consider is that they learned lessons during their difficult sojourn. Reflecting on those lessons can help a person recovering from drug and alcohol addiction achieve clarity. Applying them can make the path of recovery a little easier.

The Art of Patience

Modern-day American life often means wanting what we want when we want it. Living through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic meant learning that things don’t always come when you want them. Frustration over this became a constant companion for people of all ages.

Frustration and impatience often rear their heads during recovery. You want to feel better and stop experiencing cravings quickly. However, recovery requires patience. As long as you keep working towards your goals, time will pass. You will mark milestones that seemed miles ahead. You can carry the lesson of patience learned during the pandemic forward with you. Patience will apply to other moments in recovery. The bonus is all these lessons also apply to other life events.

Removing Distractions From Your Life

Before the pandemic, many people led lives with action-packed schedules. Jobs, children, running errands, visiting family, and hanging out with friends filled up a lot of time. When the initial shutdown of society took place, many people did not know what to do with their extra time. Some people became unemployed or underemployed. Many began working from home. Not being able to do things like dining at restaurants, shopping, and hitting the gym meant a lot of free time opened up. The necessity of filling that time caused a lot of people to rethink how to fill their days.

You may have found that you discovered new hobbies to embrace. You might have picked up an old pastime that you felt too busy for in the past. Many people discovered the joy of reading and other solitary activities. Others found joyful new ways to pass the time with family and others with whom they live. Redesigning how you spend downtime can result in better choices. Finding meaningful ways to fill your time also applies to recovery. Old habits can foster familiar desires to engage in alcohol or drug usage. However, filling your time with new routines and hobbies can help put those associations in the past.

The Benefits of Embracing Your Inner Chef

Millions used to eat many meals on the go and from delivery services. The pandemic allowed them to learn the art of home cooking. Many social media posts contained photos of homemade bread, desserts, and entire meals. Getting in the kitchen and whipping up new recipes became the latest trend. Now that a year has passed, you may have some new go-to recipes that will not disappear once restaurants reopen.

Often addiction means healthy eating goes by the wayside. Living through the pandemic means a lot of people began to reverse the process of unhealthy food choices. Eating nutritious meals and dishes with natural ingredients can improve a person’s physical health. Incorporating a new way of eating healthy can also benefit your recovery. Make a point to take this lesson with you as we move out of the era of the coronavirus.

Learning to Appreciate Loved Ones

When you see someone daily or several times a year, you can take their presence for granted. Social distancing caused many people to go for long stretches of time without seeing loved ones. The absence of a parent, child, or other family members caused a lot of difficult emotions. Not spending time together with close friends also proved daunting for many.

Last year, the holidays spent solo or at home without visitors piled up. Many people began to realize who in their lives truly held importance. The pandemic taught people who mean the most to them, reflected in many conversations regarding our true feelings toward one another. Extra phone calls, texts, and Zoom sessions gave people a way to get their messages across. Saying “I miss you” or “I love you” took the forefront.

Recovery from addiction often includes reassessing who you keep close to you in your life; learning who holds a positive influence on you is crucial. The pandemic provided people an opportunity to let those who might have a more negative impact fade to the wayside. These lessons can take root and guide you as you continue to move forward in recovery. Choose carefully those with whom you spend your time. Be sure to tell them what they mean to you. Listen with an open heart as they do the same for you.

The pandemic tested everyone in terms of how long they could deal with difficult circumstances. Feeling impatience, frustration, and floundering with the free time became commonplace. Like any significant life event, even the negative ones provide learning opportunities. The pandemic gave us chances to learn patience, refocus our priorities, and eat healthier. It also put the spotlight on who we really love and reminded us to tell them. The Detox Center of Colorado understands how to help our clients learn to embrace recovery. Our caring professionals will guide you through the detoxification process with any needed psychological and medical assistance. We also help assess your individual needs and plan for the next steps. Our inviting, cozy environment offers you a safe haven to detox. Our Denver area location provides a beautiful backdrop for your new life to begin. Call us today at (303) 952-5035 to find out how we can help you or a loved one.

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