How To Maintain a Balanced Lifestyle In Recovery

Balance in all things is at the heart of Buddhist teaching. It’s also a core principle for recovery from alcohol use — eating a balanced diet, maintaining emotional well-being, staying physically healthy, connecting socially, growing through personal interests. When things are going well, these practices for sustaining balance are easy enough to do. But what about in challenging times? 

Prioritizing balance in tough physical and emotional times can be difficult but also beneficial! Let’s explore why balance in recovery is so important and how we can implement it effectively in our lives.

Does Quitting or Cutting Back on Alcohol Affect Balance in Your Life?

Quitting or cutting back on alcohol means making the decision to work towards a better relationship with alcohol. Recovery from alcohol use affects the balance in our life because it impacts our thought patterns and actions. When we’re drinking, alcohol can occupy our time, take over our thoughts, and control our actions. When we make the decision to quit or cut back, our brain needs to adjust physically and mentally to not having the same amount of alcohol.

Our recovery mindset often consists of prioritizing the actions we need to take to better our relationship with alcohol. However, becoming consumed with thoughts of recovery also can be harmful. That’s why it’s so important to live a balanced life during and after recovery. But what does that mean exactly?

What Does Living in Balance Mean?

Living in balance during recovery means maintaining our focus on actions to improve our relationship with alcohol while, at the same time, we sustain joy in our life. It calls for us to keep multiple parts of our life in play to achieve a happier, healthier life.

Physical Health

Essential to our life balance is physical health, which we can improve and maintain in several ways.

• Staying active. Exercise doesn’t have to mean pumping iron at the gym every day (but, hey, great if you do!). The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity movement a week, but we can do it in a balanced way. Balance with exercise means not overdoing it. For example, we can plan out our week to include 150 minutes of movement, but if we happen to miss 30 minutes due to other priorities, it’s not the end of the world. 
• Eating a balanced diet. This is a suggestion we commonly hear, but a balanced diet can look different for everyone. Generally, a balanced diet includes the main food groups, with the focus on quality protein, fruits, vegetables, healthy grains, and dairy for a range of nutrients. We can keep a good balance in our diet and enjoy those “treats we love — moderately. Think about adding, rather than taking away. A pastry might be just what we crave for breakfast, but it probably won’t give us the energy we need or keep us satiated for long. Add some Greek yogurt and a side of fruit with for a more balanced plate.
• Staying hydrated. Experts recommend drinking around 9 to 13 cups of water a day. Finding balance with hydration can mean prioritizing hydration from water rather than other sources and finding fun ways to ensure we get enough water. Find a fun water bottle or set timers throughout the day. 
• Getting medical care. This means regular check-ups for preventative care and seeking support when we’re not feeling well. Sometimes we may brush off our health needs or put preventative care on the back burner, but regular medical care is important in maintaining good physical health. It ensures we don’t wait until something is wrong or it becomes too late to treat.

Physical health is important, but that’s not all. Let’s look into other key aspects of our health.

Emotional Well-Being

Good mental health doesn’t mean that our life is stress-free. Instead, it’s about increasing mindfulness to identify triggers for stress and developing positive coping strategies. Let’s say that every time before a big test or presentation, we notice that we get extremely stressed and turn to unhealthy ways to cope such as drinking. Maybe we identify fear of failure as a trigger. Now that we’re aware of it, we can develop strategies to help us regulate our stress — meditation, reaching out for support, or other mindfulness practices. Mindfulness in particular has been shown to reduce stress and improve psychological functioning.

Finding mental health balance doesn’t mean being positive 100% of the time. In fact, forcing positivity into every situation is known as toxic positivity. Think of balancing our mental well-being as recognizing and acknowledging negative thoughts and emotions and working to reframing them.

Social Connection

Building and maintaining healthy relationships serves both our mental and physical health. Research shows that social connection and support are beneficial especially in recovery as strong connections with others can go a long way in preventing us from isolating ourselves.

Finding a good balance can mean making the effort to connect with others but also making sure we take time for ourselves. This can look like joining sober communities, setting boundaries with family and friends, and making new friends during alcohol-free social activities. While we may be focusing on ourselves during recovery, social connections are an integral part of a fulfilling life. 

Work-Life Balance

Two more important life components that require balance are our work life and our personal one.  While work may take up eight hours of our day (or more!), it’s not the only thing that matters. It’s vital for us to take time to decompress after work and get away from it to maintain our physical and mental health.

Having a good work-life balance means maintaining boundaries between work and other priorities in our life. We can practice this by communicating our needs at work, taking breaks, and logging off when work is over. By managing our stress and responsibilities, we perform better and enjoy happier, more fulfilling lives. The hustle culture of today’s world makes it easy to get caught up in a bottomless pile of tasks, but it’s critical to remember that other aspects of our life should take priority. And, when it comes to our health, that should always be the priority. 

Personal Growth and Hobbies 

Personal growth means having a lifelong learning attitude. No matter our age, there’s always something new to learn. Research shows that lifelong learning improves our cognitive health, boosts our self-confidence, encourages creativity, and improves our emotional balance. 

Exploring our hobbies and interests is another way to bring joy and fulfillment into our lives. For some ideas, check out “Hobbies for Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder.” Aside from helping us find more balance, exploring our interests improves our physical and mental health. We’ve talked a lot about the benefits of balance — now let’s get into some tips on how to actually implement it.

Living a Healthy Life: Recovery Tips To Find Balance in Life

There’s no right way to live in recovery, but, to help us find greater balance, we can implement mindfulness in several useful ways.

• Set goals. Recovery can be a time of significant change. But we don’t have to have it all figured out. Set goals and change them as necessary to continue progressing toward a life you want to live.
• Keep track. Monitor your progress over time. Whether it’s a journal for our emotions or an app that documents our alcohol consumption, tracking is a beneficial tool to help us reach our goals.
• Recognize achievements. Acknowledging and celebrating our progress helps motivate us to continue on our recovery journey.
• Practice gratitude. Like celebrating our progress, practicing gratitude helps us recognize what we have and promotes a positive mindset. It enhances our physical and mental health, adding balance to our overall well-being. 
• Shift focus away from alcohol. During recovery, our thoughts can center on alcohol, even if those thoughts are about staying away from it. Shifting our focus toward other things such as deepening our relationships or exploring our hobbies prevents us from getting  stuck in the mindset of our old habits.

Let go of self-limiting beliefs. Self-limiting beliefs are doubts that we can achieve our goals. If we don’t believe we can reach our goals, then we won’t be able to take the actions needed to do so. Practice using positive affirmations, consider your values, and challenge your beliefs.

Build a support system. Having support from family and friends is crucial during challenging times in recovery, boosting our mental health and contributing to our overall well-being. Join support groups and find people with similar interests to cultivate authentic connections for both giving and receiving support.

Now that we know how to find life balance, recovery can give us so much to look forward to. Let’s review the benefits of a balanced life in recovery.

The Importance of Finding Balance in Recovery 

Balance promotes a healthy, sustainable lifestyle that ensures we’re prioritizing our health while also enjoying our day-to-day life. In recovery, balance has even more benefits:

• Promotes long-term success. Having balance ensures that we don’t get too overwhelmed with recovery, helping us continue on our path.
• Reduces relapse. Finding balance means caring for our overall well-being and reducing the risk of relapse.
• Regulates stress. Physical and mental self-care reduces stress, further reducing the risk of relapse.
• Reduces extremes. Balance doesn’t mean focusing solely on recovery and avoiding all activities that don’t support it. Reducing extreme behaviors, both positive and negative ones, will give us a more sustainable lifestyle and set us up for success in recovery. 
• Promotes a better quality of life. A balanced life means better physical and mental health, which promotes longevity and greater life satisfaction overall. 

Balance is key, but it may not always be clear how to find it. With these tips, we can find balance not only in recovery but beyond it as well!

Thriving in Balance

When we start recovery, many of us believe that our lives will fall into place after quitting or cutting back on alcohol. While we’re removing this major disruptor from our life, not only do our brain and body need time to adjust, but so does our lifestyle. Finding balance in recovery means prioritizing recovery actions, but also shifting focus away from recovery at times to build a life outside of alcohol. This balance ultimately fuels the healthier and happier life we’re working to achieve. As Eckhart Tolle said, “There’s a fine balance between honoring the past and losing yourself in it”.