These programs offer patients much-needed social support, goal setting and direction, and structure. In addition, wellness programs are known to contribute to one’s overall health, emotional, and mental well-being. Most patients require a positive mindset and confidence when it comes to sustaining long-term abstinence. At Spark To Recovery, we offer an array of wellness programs to assist patients in overcoming addiction and co-occurring disorders.
What are Wellness Programs?
Achieving wellness is the process of becoming more aware of oneself and making decisions that push you toward the goal of living a meaningful life. Patients in addiction recovery wellness usually begin with abstaining from mind-altering substances. There are three primary types of wellness, including:
Physical Wellness
Individuals need to get their physical wellness in order before being able to build a sustainable recovery. Because their bodies have taken a physical toll due to active substance use, their bodies need time to heal in recovery. Important building blocks of physical wellness include healthy sleep, hygiene, proper nutrition, and physical fitness.
Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness plays a critical role in both recovery and everyday life. Active substance abuse can cause a person’s emotions to become highly dysregulated. Therefore, patients require support in identifying and managing the various emotions that they may experience in early recovery. It is essential to note that emotional wellness is not only about experiencing joy or being happy. It also involves building awareness of one’s behaviors, thoughts, moods, and other feelings that can help or hinder recovery.
Spiritual Wellness
When we are excited, challenged, anxious, or overwhelmed, a spiritual foundation can help keep us grounded and focused. In addition, a sense of community, well-being, and comfort can help fuel a patient’s addiction recovery.
What Addictions can Wellness Programs Treat?
The Importance of Wellness Programs
Nutrition, physical exercise, and other aspects of wellness help an individual’s mind and body feel strong and healthy. Continual improvement in one’s health and wellness helps reduce drug cravings and diminish thoughts that using alcohol or drugs to feel good is necessary.
When Do You Need Wellness Programs?
When a patient enters rehab, his or her specific health history and needs will be reviewed by a supervising physician. Doctors will also assess the physical and psychological effects that substance abuse has had on them. For example, physicians will take note of potential physical ailments, nutritional deficiencies, severity of cravings and other substance abuse history details. Through this information, doctors will then advise patients on the types of wellness programs they require.
Steps to Wellness During Treatment
Evaluation by a health care provider to identify wellness needs
Each person’s needs will be unique. Some people may require a nutritional approach to help them overcome addiction, while others may need guidance on how to get better sleep at night. Others will need a strong community around them when they are going through treatment programs. A healthcare provider will be able to assess a person’s physical and mental needs to help them overcome alcoholism, heroin addiction, and other serious addictions.
Identify nutritional requirements
Did you know that people who abuse substances may also have nutrient deficiencies? One of the steps in a wellness program for addiction is to evaluate any unmet nutritional needs. By doing this, nutritional therapists can create an eating plan unique to the person in treatment.
Identify exercise requirements
Some people might be underweight because of opioid addiction, while others might be obese due to a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits. A wellness program for addiction will address things like building muscle tone to strengthen the body, focusing on cardiovascular exercises to strengthen the heart, and using a combination of these to help people reach a healthy body composition. Putting on muscle mass is critical when someone is underweight. It also means they would need to consume more protein and healthy nutrients, and a good health and wellness program will incorporate all these factors.
Incorporate holistic activities
People require more than food and sleep to survive. Holistic activities could include journaling to improve emotional wellness. Patients in drug addiction treatment may benefit from outdoor walks in the sunshine, learning meditation or mindfulness techniques, and even massage or acupuncture. All of these holistic activities are part of a holistic mental wellness program that recognizes the benefits of these endeavors.
Design a wellness plan to incorporate into treatment
The goal of treatment is to help the patient design a lifestyle that is filled with goals they can reach, meaningful relationships, and healthy habits that support a sober and clean life. Practitioners work together to create unique wellness plans for each person who enters drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
Once they have detoxed from drugs and alcohol, the real work begins. Some recovering addicts may need to re-learn how to cook healthy foods, how to shop, how to exercise regularly, and how to set aside time for themselves when they get overwhelmed. They may need to practice healthy de-stressing activities or to make time for hobbies they enjoy. Some might need a community around them that can support them and cheer them on.
Wellness programs address many aspects of a person’s health. They may offer support for career and finances, along with things like encouraging spiritual practices that support a person’s emotional and spiritual health. Addiction recovery is multifaceted because people are holistic beings. All of these steps and more will be part of a holistic treatment plan for people recovering from addiction.
Begin Treatment with Spark To Recovery’s Wellness Programs
At Spark To Recovery, all of our wellness programs for addiction recovery are facilitated by a highly trained staff and board-certified doctors. Patients can recover in a safe and comfortable setting and receive ample support to prevent a relapse.
For more information about wellness programs, feel free to contact Spark To Recovery today. You can call (855) 805-4508 to schedule a consultation with us.