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PUT YOUR HEART INTO IT Why Kindness is Key to Recovery
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The past few years have taught us several lessons, but one of the most essential is about being kind to one another. In the face of a national mental health crisis, we should all offer each other a bit of patience and grace. Random Acts of Kindness Day is approaching on Feb. 17, and it serves as a reminder that even small actions can add up. People in recovery can use kindness more than most. People with substance abuse disorders often experience shame about their condition, and attitudes from their communities and families can worsen matters. Further, the
As many know, substance abuse can destroy relationships with the people we care about most. Being kind and demonstrating our growth as people is one way to rebuild those bridges. Sometimes, relationships are beyond repair. But research shows that people with a community to rely on respond better to treatment. Being kind to others helps us build the kind of authentic relationships people in recovery need. And perhaps just as importantly, being kind can remind us of our value. It’s heartening for many in recovery to realize that they have something to offer others and can positively impact their community. So, where do you begin? If you’re not used to performing random acts of kindness, they might initially feel awkward or uncomfortable. If that’s the case for you, start small. Try holding the door open for others, smiling at strangers, or thanking service workers. It may not seem like much, but these little acts of kindness can help you learn to focus on others and find opportunities to give back. More extensive acts of kindness don’t always require much time or effort — they just require putting yourself out there. Offer to help someone carry something heavy, invite someone to go ahead of you in a line, or help your neighbor with yard work. These small actions can make a big difference to one person. Some people in recovery also find comfort and purpose by volunteering with a charitable organization. If you have the time to spare, it’s a great way to make kindness a regular part of your routine. Finally, remember to turn your kindness and empathy inward. No one gets through recovery by believing the worst about themselves. Even when you regret your previous choices, you can still have compassion for yourself. Once you learn to forgive and be kind to yourself, you’re in a much better position to make better decisions in the future.
FEBRUARY 2023
“tough love” approach many people take to their loved ones with
a substance abuse disorder generally only reinforces that sense of worthlessness. While substance abuse disorder is
complex, we know it typically takes its hold on people who have
experienced something traumatic or experienced other mental health issues. Substance use is a coping mechanism people use to respond to loneliness, anxiety, and pain. People are less likely to begin seeking solace in substances — and more likely to succeed in recovery — if they have a support system.
“BEING KIND TO OTHERS HELPS US BUILD THE KIND OF AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS PEOPLE IN RECOVERY NEED.”
But those in recovery also have a duty to treat others with kindness. Many programs consider it an essential part of the recovery process.
–Michael Brier
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YOUR INTELLECTUAL WELLNESS MATTERS! Challenge Yourself to Expand Your Mind
How to Foster and Develop Intellectual Wellness Intellectual wellness differs from other types of well-being. You need to work hard and challenge yourself to stay intellectually healthy. If you’re looking to improve or nurture your intellectual wellness, here are three ways to do it. 1. Learn a new skill. One of the main components of intellectual wellness is working to acquire more knowledge. This doesn’t need to be physics or engineering but can be something as simple as cooking a new healthy recipe, learning to draw, or attempting a DIY home repair project. The important part is that mastering something new provides an information- based approach to the world around you. 2. Remove subjectivity. We view every situation with a pre-formed opinion or bias. The truth is our brains are wired this way to streamline thinking, but to be intellectually healthy, we must work hard to push past it. Remove subjectivity by learning a different way to perform a task or challenge yourself to understand (or simply read) the ideas of others. Be objective, even when you disagree with them. 3. Improve your critical thinking. Next time you’re engaged in conversation, try being thoroughly engaged and think about what is being said. Ask questions to yourself and others, and hash out what you agree with and things you don’t. Work to keep your brain active in everything you do by finding a connection to everything around you.
These days, as taking care of our health becomes more important than ever, we hear a lot about our physical wellness and how to improve it using nutritious foods and exercise.
But what about our intellectual wellness?
What is intellectual wellness? The University of New Hampshire defines intellectual wellness as “being open to new ideas, thinking critically, and finding ways to be creative.” Essentially, this means thinking about the world around you with an open mind and putting energy into what you’re thinking, not just allowing your brain to run idly.
Signs of healthy intellectual wellness include:
• Ability to see an issue from all sides • Purposeful exposure to ideas, beliefs, and people who differ from yourself
• Awareness of your core values • Capacity to learn new things
Balance: It’s More Than Just an Act
More studies reveal that balance is a great indicator of life span or disease. In fact, a recent study released by the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that people who could not balance on one foot for at least 10 seconds were nearly twice as likely to die within the next 10 years. But as we age, balance can become more challenging, and losing your balance can lead to falls or other serious accidents. Luckily, these mishaps are preventable with some help from balance training. Balance training just means taking a few minutes each day to perform simple exercises that help improve your balance, and according to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, doing so can reduce the risk of falling by up to 40%!
Here are a few simple exercises you can do at home to improve your balance. For safety, we recommend completing these exercises near a sturdy surface you can use for support if you need it. Standing March While standing, slowly march in place for 20–30 seconds. How fast or slow you complete this exercise is up to you, but once you feel it becoming easier, you can pick up your marching pace or move to a different floor texture, like carpet, grass, or hardwood, for a challenge. The idea here is that marching forces you to temporarily stand on one foot, even for a few seconds.
the chair without using your arms to help push you up. If this is too difficult, feel free to add a pillow or foam pad to the seat to reduce the distance between sitting and standing. Once you’re standing, slowly lower yourself back into the chair. Try not to fall back into it (which allows gravity to control the fall); instead, ease yourself into the seat. Repeat as many times as you can. Heel-to-Toe Walk Standing straight, place one foot directly in front of the other so the heel of your leading foot is touching the toes of the one behind it. Hold this position for 30 seconds before moving the back foot to the front of the previously leading foot, with its heel touching the other foot’s toes. Repeat as many times as you can.
Sit to Stand In a chair, sit with your feet
planted firmly on the floor in front of you. Then, rise from
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BRING ON THE BUGS! FOODS THAT HELP — AND HARM — OUR MICROBIOME
Inside all of us is a bustling community of bacteria, parasites, fungi, and viruses. But don't worry! These microbiota work hard to keep our bodies balanced and healthy. They are so crucial to our health that they’ve been labeled a supporting organ because of what they do to keep our systems running smoothly. And what we eat can have a significant impact on the well- being of our microbiota. So, here are foods we can eat to help these tiny residents keep our health in check as well as foods to avoid so we don't sabotage the benefits they provide. Foods That Help Our Microbiome The key to helping our little microbiota is by creating a lower pH level in our colons. To do this, we need to consume foods high in healthy fiber. The microbiota in our bodies break down these fibers using enzymes and, as a result, ferment the fiber inside our gut. This fermentation releases short-chain fatty acids, or SCFAs, essential to lowering our pH. SCFAs make our colons more acidic and, by doing so, stop the growth of harmful bacteria that cannot survive in a low- pH environment. Foods that support increased SCFAs are indigestible carbohydrates and fibers. Our stomachs don’t break these down, so they arrive whole to our intestines, ready for our tiny microbiota to eat. These carbohydrates and fibers are called prebiotics, and while we can take many drugstore prebiotics as supplements, it’s always better to feed our little friends from natural food sources.
The following foods contain the highest amounts of natural prebiotics:
• Garlic • Onions • Leeks • Asparagus • Bananas
• Seaweed • Wheat • Oats • Barley
To get the most out of these prebiotic-packed foods, eat them as close to raw as possible!
Foods That Hurt Our Microbiome Just like foods can help give our microbiome a major power-up, many foods can harm it. Even worse, some foods encourage harmful gut bacteria to thrive and make us sick. Here are the top foods to stay away from:
• Artificial sweeteners (like stevia, aspartame, and sucralose)
• Fried foods • Red meat • Soft drinks
These foods help grow harmful bacteria and actively disrupt the environment of our microbiota, so it’s best not to include these so our little helpers stay healthy!
TAKE A BREAK!
Feta Chicken Burgers Inspired by TasteOfHome.com
INGREDIENTS
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber • 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise • 1/2 cup chopped roasted sweet red pepper • 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Greek seasoning • 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground chicken • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese • 6 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat broiler. Mix chopped cucumber and mayonnaise and set aside. 2. For the burgers, mix the red pepper, garlic powder, Greek seasoning, and black pepper. Add chicken and cheese; mix lightly but thoroughly (the mixture will be sticky). Shape into 6 patties about 1/2-inch thick. 3. Broil burgers, remembering to cook both sides thoroughly. Serve on buns with cucumber sauce. If desired, top with lettuce and tomato. Enjoy!
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INSIDE
1.
The Importance of Being Kind 2. Intellectual Wellness: What It Is and How to Improve Yours 3 Exercises to Improve Your Balance
3. Prebiotics to the Rescue! Feta Chicken Burgers
4. Improve Your Workouts With the Mind-Muscle Connection
USE THE MIND-MUSCLE CONNECTION Mind Over Matter Isn’t Enough!
Turn off distractions. Remember the music or podcast we mentioned earlier? Turn it off! This also includes silencing your phone or turning off any nearby TVs. It may take some time to get used to working out in silence, but with nowhere else to wander, the brain has an easier time focusing on those muscle movements. Visualize the muscles you are using. Every time you move, whether using a stationary bike, taking a walk, or lifting weights in a gym, picture the muscles you’re using in your head. Imagine the muscle fibers stretching and contracting with each movement. Use cues to remind you of your working muscles. Sometimes, our minds drift off during a workout, and that’s normal. But if you
Many assume working out is the muscle's job, pushing weights around as we enjoy a song or listen to a podcast. While this may be a fun way to pass the time, you're not doing your fitness any favors with your mind elsewhere. When you work out, you should use a "mind-muscle connection," or purposely think about the movement and contractions of your muscles as you use them. This is better because when your brain consciously focuses on your muscles and their contractions, it employs more muscle fibers to complete the task. You build strength in a more complete, well-rounded way. If you're not using a mind-muscle connection yet, don't worry! Here’s how you can start next time you’re ready to sweat.
find your head in the clouds more often than you’re thinking about your exercise, it might be time to use a few cues. A cue simply reminds you of what you’re physically doing. One way to incorporate a cue is to talk to yourself with each repetition. For example, if you’re performing a bench press, you can say “up” when you push the bar away and “down” when you lower it toward you. Utilize time under tension. The slower you perform your exercise, the more opportunity your brain has to talk to those muscles you’re using. Try holding each repetition for three seconds before moving on to the next, and as you hold, visualize those muscles for the entire three seconds.
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