Recovery Wellness at Home Posted On

Understanding recovery wellness is important, especially when spending more time at home.  The stress of having to change routine and spend all our time with the same people (or no people) can feel overwhelming.  We’d like to offer some tips to stay well.

What is Recovery?

When we speak about recovery from problem gambling, we speak about a lifestyle free from problems associated with gambling.  For most people, a recovery lifestyle is a life free from any gambling activities.  This is because any gambling can be a trigger for uncontrollable gambling.

A trigger is anything that causes someone to feel the need to begin gambling.  This trigger can be an image of gambling, it can be the sound that reminds them of a gambling game, or any stress that sparks the idea to gamble to escape their stress. 

Recovery from problem gambling can be a life-changing time.  It can be a time of rebuilding family relationships and becoming more connected with loved ones. It could also lead to the person in recovery becoming healthier physically, emotionally and financially. 

Family with house clip art

Wellness Tips 

While everyone is spending more time home than usual, there are tips for keeping ourselves emotionally and mentally well.  These tips are great for being well while spending more time home and continuing a life in recovery from problem gambling.  

Stick to a routine.  Routines are important for staying healthy.  Routine structures like regular bedtime, getting up the same time, and planning work and play activities are important.  These regularities help give you a rhythm and things to look forward to during each day.

Find time for movement.  Each day, you should plan some type of movement to keep your body moving and healthy.  If you’re alone, there are many wellness videos to move indoors, if outdoors is not an option.  If you’re with a family, you can make it fun by playing games such as tag or hide and seek, or enjoy family yoga.

Connect with others.  We are social animals and we need socialization.  During this time of distancing, we can still stay connected.  This is much easier today than any time before with apps like FaceTime, Skype, calls and texting to seek support, humor and connection with loved ones.

Healthy diet.  A healthy diet is pivotal for a healthy wellbeing.  Drinking enough water and eating a healthy diet will keep your mind strong.  A healthy diet can lead to a healthier mindset, which leads to making better choices for a healthier wellbeing. 

Find retreat space.  If you’re currently alone, this is easy.  For those of us living with a family, this may not be so easy.  Finding a space in your home for 30 minute peaceful moments can help keep a healthy outlook.  The way it works is, while using the time and space, you give your mind time to let go of thoughts and focus on the moment of being calm.  This will help alleviate some tension from feeling pent up and keep you calm during stressful moments at home.

Enjoy daily humor.  We’ve all heard, “laughter is the best medicine.”  This couldn’t be more important than today.  If you have young ones at home, find humor in the spills and silly things that happen around them.  Find humor in the things pets do, such as falling off the couch and chasing their own tail.  Find humor in the things loved ones do, such as going into a room and forgetting why they went there.  These are all things that are not big issues, but could bring us all together in laughter.  If you’re completely alone, check in on the light-hearted videos of people and animals being silly and having fun.  Regular laughter can keep us all well.

Local Resources ARE Available

Although many businesses have recently reduced staff or closed for the time being, your local Problem Gambling Resource Center is fully operational.  They know it’s hard to know every resource that’s available and they want to make sure they’re available for you to reach out to.  Reach out today to learn about local resources, information, and services available to you.

Your wellness during stressful times can make all the difference.  There are many things you can do to take action and improve your own wellbeing.  We hope these tips help keep you on track and help create a personal environment of healthy wellbeing.