Most of us have worked for a bad manager. And many of us have worked for a good manager. If you have worked for both kinds of managers, you know that the difference is profound.
When it comes to managing stress when you are in recovery from a substance use disorder, the difference between good management and bad management in three key areas—your time, your money, and your social media—can be the difference between maintaining your sobriety and risking a relapse.
Let’s look at these three areas of your life and the ways in which good management firms up the foundation of your sobriety.
Manage Your Time
It can often seem like time is the scarcest of all resources. We have too much to do—and not nearly enough time to do it. Or so it seems much of the time (see what we did there?).
Good time management practices can help with this problem. And those practices can take a variety of forms.
At work, for example, you may want to build breaks directly into your schedule. It may seem counterintuitive, but taking a break for a brisk walk or to eat lunch (you really should eat lunch away from your desk) can increase productivity. But don’t leave these breaks to chance. Build them into your schedule along with the meetings, the memos, and the projects. (Here’s one very specific option for building in the breaks you need.)
Managing your time at home can be a good thing as well. From building time into your schedule to pursue a hobby you enjoy to setting a regular bedtime, managing your downtime in positive ways can have a real upside when it comes to supporting your sobriety.
At work and at home, you want to give yourself a chance to rest and to recharge. Doing so supports your physical health, your mental health, and your sobriety.
Manage Your Money
Few things cause as much stress in our lives as money does. The cost of groceries and gas is frequently on our minds. A surprise car repair or medical issue can wipe out months of savings. The difference between a vacation and a staycation comes down to dollars. And the household bills just keep coming.
Almost everyone knows that creating a budget can be a helpful way to lower stress around money—but not everyone actually does it. More people should—especially people in recovery—because having a clear sense of the money coming in and the money going out can help reduce stress and help you make good decisions that lead to better financial well-being over time.
In turn, that sense that you have your finances under control supports your sobriety.
Manage Your Social Media
Be honest: Have you caught yourself doomscrolling lately? Maybe even today? Do you find yourself somehow unable to turn away from your social media feeds?
It’s a common problem—and one that increases your levels of anxiety and causes symptoms of depression. Scrolling and scrolling in the evening can even disrupt your ability to get a good night’s sleep.
There are a number of ways to better manage your social media use. For example, you could turn off the notifications on all of your apps and move those apps to the second or third screen on your phone so that you have to make a conscious decision to open them. You can set timers that alert you that it might be time to close an app and do something else. You could even delete your accounts altogether.
The key is to find the level of social media use that enhances your life (staying connected to friends, seeing everyone’s back-to-school photos, following a favorite celebrity) rather than undermining your mental health (participating in harsh political debates, reading worrisome news articles that come up again and again, encountering ads and “suggested posts” that seem unavoidable).
Managing your social media is all about making good, conscious choices—choices that support your mental health and sobriety.
We Can Help You Manage Your Return to Sober Living
If you are ready to give up drugs or alcohol, we are ready to help you reclaim your sobriety. At Wooded Glen Recovery Center in Henryville, Indiana, we provide medically supervised detoxification, a rehabilitation program that includes treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders, and a continuum of care that helps you get your recovery journey off to a strong start.
When you are in the grips of a substance use disorder, it might seem as though you will never manage to get sober. But you can. And we can help you get there.