Woman in pink exercise gear stretching her arm.

How Can I Listen to What My Body is Telling Me About My Health?

If you pay close attention, you can catch certain signs about your health by listening to cues from your body.

One thing to keep in mind is that every person is different, so it is essential to learn your own body cues. Various health indicators can show up in different ways from person to person.

How to Listen to Health Cues from Your Body

The first way to make sure that you are ready to listen to your body’s cues about your health is to make sure that you know what is normal for you.

To get used to your baseline health indicators, you can keep a journal of how you are feeling daily. You don’t have to limit yourself to writing down just physical changes—tracking your emotions and mental health is beneficial, too.

There are many apps out there that you can use to log how you are feeling each day. Of course, writing things down in a notebook or journal works too.

By tracking your health and any changes each day, over time, you will have a good understanding of your general health and well-being, and you will be able to notice small changes that could be significant.

If you notice something unusual, consider doing a little research to clarify or isolate your concerns. While online research is certainly not a substitute for medical care, it can give you a little more clarity on the topic and allow you to explain your concerns to your doctor better.

Listening to your body and paying attention to any changes is crucial for your health, especially as you move forward in your sobriety journey.

A sober living home facility can be beneficial in many ways. If you are interested in learning more about this option, contact us today at Tharros House.

Woman relaxing with a cup of coffee

Relaxation Techniques for Times of Stress

One way you can help manage your feelings of stress is to begin practicing relaxation techniques. When you think about relaxing, the first thing that comes to mind might be enjoying a hobby or experiencing peace of mind. However, there is much more to it than that.

What Does Relaxation Do for Me?

Relaxation is a process that allows you to decrease the amount of stress on your body. By incorporating relaxation techniques as a daily part of your life, you can learn to cope with everyday stressors better. Additionally, relaxation techniques are useful in helping you manage long-term stress or health issues caused by stress—such as heart disease.

Relaxation Techniques to Work On

Many different relaxation techniques can be effective, so it is vital to find the right ones for you. Below are some standard relaxation techniques.

  • Visualization – To use this relaxation technique, simply begin visualizing mental images that allow you to imagine a peaceful and calm setting. It is helpful to sit somewhere comfortable and quiet and to close your eyes.
  • Progressive Muscle Relaxation – When using the progressive muscle relaxation technique, you begin by tensing and then slowly relaxing each group of muscles. This process helps you become more aware of physical sensations and learn to distinguish between tensing and relaxing.
  • Autogenic Relaxation – With this relaxation technique, you will use both awareness of your body and visual imagery to reduce your stress levels. Simply repeat phrases or words in your mind that help you relax and reduce muscle tension. For example, think about being somewhere peaceful and focus on breathing in and out slowly and lowering your heart rate.

Relaxation techniques are a simple way you can work on reducing your stress levels.

Tharros House

Tharros House is a sober living community in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Contact us today to learn more about what we have to offer.

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Does Meditation Help with Addiction?

Meditation has been found to support addiction recovery since it can help you feel calm, cope with triggers, and ultimately, help you to avoid a relapse. Although meditation cannot wholly replace a full addiction treatment program with professional medical support, it can still be a helpful tool.

Many rehabilitation facilities include mindfulness and meditation as therapy techniques. Whether you are currently battling an addiction, in treatment, or have been sober for many years, practicing meditation can be incredibly beneficial for your recovery.

What is Meditation?

Meditation is a mind and body activity that is intended to promote feelings of calmness and relaxation. It can also help people improve their well-being and cope with illnesses.

You can begin meditating by sitting comfortably in a quiet environment. Next simply and effortlessly notice your thoughts as they come and go, allowing internal and external distractions to pass by without assessing them. Meditation may also involve deep and purposeful breathing during times of stress.

There are two main types of meditation. These types include guided meditation and unguided meditation. To practice guided meditation, a trained meditation or mental health professional will guide you through the session and work with you. Unguided meditation simply refers to meditation that is practiced on your own.

How Does Meditation Help Someone with an Addiction?

For those dealing with drug and alcohol addictions, everyday stressors can be challenging to cope with and may even contribute to a relapse. Multiple studies have concluded that mindful meditation can reduce certain symptoms like anxiety, depression, poor sleep, and drug cravings. Meditation can also help people feel more aware of their thoughts and have better control over their emotions.

Compassion with Meditation

As you begin to simply allow thoughts and distractions to come and go, you may notice all kinds of wanted and unwanted thoughts / emotions. This is completely normal. It is important to keep an open mind no matter what comes up, and understand that there are people everywhere experiencing very much the same thing.

By sitting and allowing without getting involved, it is allowing your mind and body to activate its natural healing capabilities. Much of the excess thoughts and feelings are simply reverberations of past experiences, so this sitting meditation allows all of the noise to pass by. At first it may seem daunting, but as with anything, practice makes perfect.

Sober Living at Tharros House

Tharros House is a sober living community located near Boston, Massachusetts. Sober living communities are a great place for sober individuals to thrive and continue working on their sobriety among peers who share similar goals. Contact us today so that we can help you decide if our sober living community is right for you.

Sober girl on top of the mountains in nature

How Nature Can Help with Sobriety

Nature seems to have a certain healing power that simply cannot be explained. When you go outside and experience what nature has to offer, there seems to be a healing and uplifting balance that restores and nurtures your mind, body, and soul.

Nature and Physical Recovery

One of the ways that nature can help a person maintain their sobriety and advance in their recovery is through physical activity. There are many different ways to go outside and experience nature, such as swimming, running, hiking, or biking. All of these activities can help you maintain a healthier lifestyle. These outside activities not only strengthen your body, but they can also strengthen your mind and mental state.

Nature and Renewal

For someone who is recovering from an addiction, nature can offer the perfect place for a fresh start. Nature itself is a great example of life and recovery. Each new day begins with the rising of the sun, while every spring brings new life. People who have experienced difficult situations due to their addictions can also find their fresh start and new beginning while at one with nature.

Nature and Sober Living

An effective tool that can assist someone with sober living is nature. Experiencing nature outdoors in a natural environment can help to restore and support your recovery process. Sometimes, even just getting a breath of fresh air can make a big difference in your outlook and the way you are feeling.

The Tharros House is a sober living home located in Boston, Massachusetts. At the Tharros House, you will have many different opportunities to get outside and experience the joys of nature. We offer different outdoor group activities, such as hiking, rock climbing, and sailing in the Boston Harbor. Our residents love the many opportunities they have to experience all that nature has to offer.

Mindfulness for Addiction Recovery Boston Massachusetts

Mindfulness and Addiction

Mindfulness is generally understood as a state of mental focus and awareness that is used in meditation practices. More recently, it has become a popular aspect of cognitive behavioral therapy and has been used to help with addiction recovery.

What Exactly is Mindfulness?

When you are practicing mindfulness, you become aware of your inner self and your external surroundings. While engaged in mindfulness, you are focused on your responses to things that are going on around you in that present moment. The main goal of mindfulness is for you to become aware of your surroundings and feelings without getting attached to what you are experiencing in the moment.

Mindfulness itself is not difficult; however, it does require some self-discipline. When practicing mindfulness, it is important to bring your focus only to what is presently happening around you.

How Can Mindfulness Help with Addiction Recovery?

While mindfulness seems like a simple concept, it does require focus. It can help people who are working on recovery from addiction because it forces them to slow down and achieve a sense of tranquility and calmness. As you practice mindfulness during your recovery, you will be able to appreciate things that you did not notice before while engaging in substance abuse. When you allow yourself to slow down and take in the wonderful experiences that life has to offer to all of your senses, it can help you want to stop seeking out pleasure through your past addictive behaviors.

Mindfulness can also help you with recovery in that it can make you more aware of your reactions to what is happening around you. When you become more aware of this, you can start to better understand your own feelings and your own mind. This can help you stay in control of your mind moving forward and be less likely to return to substance abuse.

Another way you can work through the recovery process is to live in a sober living home. At Tharros House, we offer our residents many benefits as they work through recovery. Contact us today to learn more.

mindfulness for sobriety in Boston Massachusetts sobriety home

How Mindfulness Helps with Addiction Recovery

If you are working toward recovery from an addiction of any kind, you already know it can be an uphill battle. Fortunately, there are some techniques you can use and different approaches you can try to help you on your path to recovery.

Mindfulness and Addiction Recovery

One approach to addiction recovery is mindfulness therapy. Mindfulness is a state of mental awareness that is used frequently in the practice of meditation as well as cognitive behavioral therapy. The goal of mindfulness is for you to become aware of what is going on around you without becoming too attached to your experiences.

Achieving mindfulness requires self-discipline in order to get yourself to focus on the present instead of getting caught up in thoughts about the past and the future. Mindfulness can help you as you work to overcome your addiction because it forces you to focus on the present and to take in your surroundings rather than dwell on past mistakes or get anxious about the future.

When you experience mindfulness, you focus on the joys of the world around you in the moment. This brings you a natural feeling of pleasure and can help stop you from seeking out pleasure by falling back into your old habits of addiction. Entering a state of mindfulness can also give you an opportunity for self-reflection. This self-reflection can help you process what is going on around you and help you stay on the path to recovery from your addiction.

Practicing Mindfulness at the Tharros House

At Tharros House, we offer guided mindfulness meditation, and connect our clients with outside mindfulness groups if they find this technique useful.  There are also many other opportunities for exploring new tools in recovery. Contact us today to discuss what we offer in more detail and to find out if Tharros House is the right fit for you.

Sober Living in Boston Massachusetts

Holistic Treatment Program for Addiction

Holistic drug treatment is one form of addiction treatment used in rehabilitation centers in the United States.  While there is no body of research confirming this is an effective method of treatment, there is some research that indicates that a person’s satisfaction with their treatment is a motivating factor to continue treatment and finish with a program, which is a major factor in achieving recovery in the long-term.

What is a Holistic Treatment Program?

A study done by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health found that more than one third of adults in the United States use a form of holistic medicine.  Holistic rehab programs use a mental, physical, and spiritual model in order to treat addiction and substance abuse.  These types of techniques are generally referred to as alternative treatments and tend to be based on practices close to nature or practices that come from cultural traditions.  Some examples of holistic treatment include massage, yoga and meditation, herbal medicines, acupuncture, and Reiki and other forms of energy work.

Goals of Holistic Treatment

Holistic treatment has the goal of treating the whole person instead of just one aspect of a person’s symptoms or their behaviors.  Effective treatment for addiction should address the individual as whole rather than just the behavioral aspects of the person’s addiction.  This is because the goal of the treatment is to address all of the underlying reasons that helped cause the destructive behavior to begin in the first place.

Tharros House

An effective form of recovery support is staying at a sober living home.  Tharros House is one such sober living home located in Lexington, Massachusetts.  Tharros House residents have the benefit of a support group plus access to counseling services.  Many people suffering from addiction can benefit from participating in a sober living home as part of their recovery process.