I used meth for a while before I started to experience symptoms of withdrawal when I stopped using. At first, I thought I was getting sick, but the symptoms disappeared when I went back to meth. In a short period of time, I was using compulsively and I couldn’t limit how much I used or how often. It was around this time that I started developing pretty poor eating habits. I was staying up for days and I wasn’t hungry, so I just stopped eating.

It wasn’t until I entered meth addiction treatment that I began to eat nutritious food at regular times. By that point, my electrolytes were imbalanced and I was dehydrated. These are both common side effects of meth use. Returning to a normal diet was incredibly hard because I had lost so much weight.

Healthy Fats

I was told by my meth abuse treatment center staff that my meth use was hard on my liver and that healthy fats would help repair damaged tissue and restore some of my body’s natural processes. I started eating fat-free dairy products, nuts, grains, and oily fish.

I also had to limit my use of saturated fats. So, a lot of the processed foods I had depended on when I was busy doing meth were out of the questions.

High Fiber Foods

Because my meth use had caused some changes in my brain, I was advised by the meth abuse treatment staff to eat unprocessed foods that were high in fiber to keep my brain and my heart strong. It also helps my digestion, which had been all out of whack when I was using. I started eating a lot more bran, oats, fruit, and green leafy vegetables. I took a little while to get used to all of the vegetables, but they are a normal part of my diet now.

Vitamin Rich Foods

To help repair possible damaged tissue and to help my nervous system function better, my meth addiction treatment facility recommended eating foods with vitamin C, B12, and B5. I found the B% specifically was helpful in easing some of the anxiety and stress of withdrawal.

Meth Abuse Treatment Taught Me the Importance of Physical Activity; Learning to Exercise in Meth Addiction Treatment

When I started using meth compulsively, I stopped taking care of my general health, and it destroyed my physical and mental well being. When I entered meth addiction treatment I not only had to fix the physical and psychological damage I had done, I needed that spoiled mind-body connection to be repaired. I found that physical activity was an important component in this endeavor. The following are some benefits I experienced when I began exercising as part of meth addiction treatment.

A Natural and Positive Change in My Brain Chemistry

When I started exercising, I totally felt an endorphin rush and it was a different high than I was used to, but it felt good. Using meth had messed with my ability to feel satisfaction, happiness, and pleasure. So, participating in dedicated physical activity got me used to an alternate high. It made me feel good, but it also retaught my body that it could regulate my brain chemistry and my mood naturally.

A Reduction in Stress

Studies show that exercising reduces depression and anxiety, which I sorely needed. I was so used to tension building throughout my body and I would try to clear it up by getting high. When I entered meth abuse treatment, I didn’t have that option. Instead, I moved my body and felt the tension release and I was able to let go of the negative emotions I had been carrying.

Improved Outlook

When I was in meth addiction treatment, I felt very anxious. Everything was new and I had to navigate it sober. Exercise helped me to increase my self-confidence and optimism. My body started calibrating and regulating itself while I exercised. But, I also felt my self-worth sore as my body responded to the activity by getting healthier and stronger.

My Meth Abuse Treatment Gave Me Back My Self-Worth; How Meth Addiction Treatment Changed My Life for the Better

Meth used to make me confident; it made me fun. I was the life of the party. I was someone that other people gravitated toward. Until it didn’t anymore. When I was a full-blown addict, I wasn’t an enjoyable person to be around and I knew it. I had never felt like I was likable and I used substances to make up for that. Once I was a meth addict, I couldn’t have felt less worthwhile. I seriously considered ending my life.

Meth addiction treatment literally saved my life and it helped me to develop my self-worth, a practice I continue working every day.

Why Self-Esteem Is So Important in Recovery

The staff at my meth addiction treatment program taught me that continuing to have low self-worth would make it hard for me to find happiness once I was sober. It would rob me of the satisfaction I should feel about my recovery. And this loss of pleasure would send me running back to meth. I had to value myself highly enough to know that I deserved to recover and to remain motivated to do so.

How Meth Abuse Treatment Helped Me Increase My Self-Esteem

Self-worth isn’t a standard part of every person’s personality. It must be developed. I put in the effort at meth abuse treatment to make it happen. I had to:

• Look out for should statements. When I started thinking this way, it usually led to me beating myself up about something.
• Fake it ‘til I made it. It didn’t feel natural at first but the more I pushed myself to have positive thoughts, the more thinking them became organic.
• Accept that nobody is perfect. The more I forgave other people for their failing, the more I could forgive myself for my own.

I Had to Watch Out for Excessively High Self-Esteem

As beneficial as it is for my self-worth to increase, I had to temper it with humility. If I grew narcissistic, I risked becoming entitled and failing to learn from the meth addiction treatment program. Visit us for more info.