When we are in recovery from years of drug and alcohol addiction, our bodies as well as our minds are prone to exhaustion. It can take two full years for the brain and body to be considered “in remission” from the effects of addiction. Sleep is important to get as much as possible as often as possible so both the mind and the body can heal. Unfortunately, life cannot just be slept away. During treatment and the earliest months of recovery there is ample time to take naps and get full night’s rest. Until we get jobs, go back to school, and assume life responsibilities, we have an opportunity to engage in rest. Once life starts picking up again, we have the tools we need to cope. However, we may find we are still exhausted. Eventually, “early recovery” isn’t to blame. If we notice we are tired more often than we should be, as in tired all the time, we may need to investigate other issues which could be contributing to our chronic exhaustion. Feeling tired all the time can be attributed to different factors ranging from emotional to hormonal to stress related.
Food Imbalance
Exhaustion due to food is typically blamed on too much sugar, too much caffeine, or too many complicated foods which are difficult to digest. However, food imbalance can cause deeper problems in the body like candida, yeast infections, or allergies. When we are unaware of how food affects us, we can be unaware of how food can make us exhausted. Some of our favorite foods might be some of the worst foods for our specific body type.
Thyroid Problems
There is such a thing as too much stress. Much of relapse prevention techniques learned in treatment are at heart stress management techniques. Managing all kinds of stress, from physical to emotional stress, is essential for maintaining balance in recovery. Stress can cause a thyroid to become unbalanced. Likewise, an unbalanced thyroid can cause difficulty in coping with stress.
Poor Sleep Habits
Going to bed too late, drinking caffeine late at night, restlessness, too few hours of sleep- there are many ways to design poor sleeping habits. While the advocated amount of sleep used to be 6-8 hours, today scientists feel that the human brain and body needs at least 7-9 hours in order to optimally function.
Depression And Anxiety
Both depression and anxiety are known to cause ruminating thoughts and sleep disturbances which can lead to insomnia, tossing and turning, or just general poor nights of sleep. Depression and anxiety are common co-occurring mental health disorders with addiction and alcoholism, but can also be passing symptomatic phases throughout recovery.
At Cypress Lake Recovery, we aim to create balance, foster confidence and achieve total restoration of mind, body, and spirit through our residential treatment programs. We provide excellence in addiction treatment in our programs and recovery services catered to drug and alcohol addiction as well as treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders. For information, call us today at 866-217-2636.
