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THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE How Optimism Enhances Your Recovery
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How do you view life? Some of us are optimists, always finding the bright side, while others are pessimists, sure that doom is just around the corner. March is National Optimism Month, encouraging us to get on the path to positivity. But what does any of that have to do with recovery? A lot more than you might think. Most people come to recovery with a pessimistic outlook. It makes a lot of sense. Many have suffered significant trauma that contributed to their original substance use. Some have been cut off from family and friends, have few economic prospects, or find themselves at rock bottom. It’s incredibly difficult to think positively when nothing seems to be going right.
The impact optimism can have on recovery is profound. We’re more likely to succeed when we believe success is possible — and much more likely to fail if we assume a negative outcome from the start. In fact, a positive outlook makes us happier and more willing to try. Of course, optimism isn’t the same as thinking everything is always fantastic. But an optimistic disposition does encourage us to live in the present, not the past. When optimists make a mistake, they ask themselves what they can learn and how to do better in the future. And when things don’t go well, they try to find the opportunity in a bad situation. It won’t happen overnight, but the road to becoming an optimist is relatively straightforward. It starts by noticing your negative thought patterns and interrupting them. For example, when you think, “Everything is terrible,” you might challenge yourself to remember all of the good things in your life. And when you face a seemingly impossible challenge, you might remind yourself of past situations where you struggled but survived. Doing so will help you regain confidence in yourself. Optimism also involves envisioning a positive outcome. Thinking the best will happen does not make it so, but the habit reminds us of the possibilities and helps us avoid the temptation to fall victim to fear. Positive thinking also encourages us to find ways to build the lives we want rather than trying to prevent the lives we don’t. Finally, it’s important to surround ourselves with positive people; they’ll help us see the silver linings that can be easy to miss. At Recovery Connection, we believe people can change because we’ve seen it countless times, and many of us have even experienced it ourselves. We won’t tell you this process isn’t difficult, but we will remind you that you can make it through — we’re honored to be by your side every step of the way.
MARCH 2023
Many people we meet at Recovery Connection have tried to stop their substance use before. Other treatment programs may have
shamed them after relapses, and with multiple failures under their belts, they often expect more of the same. They’ll tell themselves, “I can’t do this,” or ask, “Why bother trying?”
Fortunately, research
demonstrates that we can teach ourselves to become
optimists. While it takes practice and hard work, we can retrain our minds to expect the best and find positives in bad situations.
Through optimism, we can build trust in our ability to handle challenging situations productively.
–Michael Brier
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Soreness or Pain? KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE MATTERS
Exercising improves our bodies and minds, including mental health, sleep quality, and disease prevention. However, the one downside to exercise that deters some people from engaging is soreness the day after a workout. However, soreness is completely normal! It means your body worked hard to become healthier and stronger. But sometimes, that soreness can be more intense, and the level of discomfort is more severe than a subtle throb. When the discomfort after a workout is unbearable or persists for a few days, this may be a sign of pain from an injury. Telling the difference between an average level of soreness and something more serious can be difficult, especially if someone is starting their fitness journey for the first time. So, let’s set the record straight. Here is how to tell the difference between normal muscle soreness from exercise and pain from a possible injury. Soreness When we exercise and push our bodies to become stronger, we’re actually making tiny tears in our muscle fibers. This is normal; our muscles become stronger as the body repairs these tears because the fibers become thicker and more powerful. However, this tearing and repairing can make us sore the day after a workout.
To identify soreness, recognize that muscles will feel tender, and you may feel an ache when you try to use the muscle while sitting, standing, or lifting something. Typically, this ache is only present when those muscles move again, not at rest. However, the longer these muscles stay static, the tighter the muscles will get as they repair, which makes moving them again painful. So, the critical characteristic here is that soreness is typically present as you force the muscle to move .
Muscle soreness should also only last for 2–3 days and onsets about 24 hours after physical activity occurs.
Pain Be concerned if the sensation is a more jarring and sharp pain rather than merely soreness with movement. Pain can occur outside the worked muscles, like in the joints or tendons of an affected area. While soreness is a dull ache, pain can feel like a stab with specific movements. Also, pain may be present even when the muscle is not moving . If someone is lying down after a workout and feels pain in their knee, even when not in use, that is pain, not just routine soreness. Pain may last longer than 2–3 days and can happen as you exercise or within 24 hours. Also, while muscle soreness subsides as the muscles move, pain can become more severe when you move the injured area again. If you believe your discomfort is pain and not muscle soreness, consult with your doctor to help identify the injury and outline the next steps you should take to heal.
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What Is Healthspan? And How Can You Improve It?
Invest in all aspects of your fitness. Exercise is always an excellent investment for a healthier life, but to increase your healthspan, you’ll need to invest in all facets of your fitness, not just cardio. To diversify your health investments, focus on strength, power (how much energy you can output in a short time), balance, flexibility, and cardio. You can accomplish this through any activity, but ensure that your weekly exercises are well-rounded and include at least one exercise in each category. How much you invest matters. We all get busy, that much is true, but how much time you invest in your health makes a difference in how much you get on the return. Ideally, you want to exercise in one of the above categories for 30 minutes daily. If your schedule is slammed, and exercise seems impossible to fit in, try to exercise at a higher intensity (at a level where you cannot hold a conversation
If you're retired or about to retire, you have a new and exciting life ahead of you. You may plan to travel the world, start a home project, or adopt a pet. Whatever you decide to do in your retirement, it’s essential to ensure you have as much time to enjoy it as possible.
So, how do you make it last?
The best way to ensure you get the most out of your life after retiring is to focus on improving your healthspan. While your lifespan is how long you live, your healthspan is how long you can do things independently with complete physical and cognitive ability. Your healthspan also impacts the quality of life left in your lifespan, and the more you invest in it, the more you can enjoy your sunset years to their fullest. Here’s what you can do to invest in your health now to get the highest return in the future.
during it) for at least 15 minutes a day for roughly the same results.
Investing in a well-rounded exercise routine with consistent time durations can improve your healthspan for many years. While the amount of time you have left is important, the quality of that time undoubtedly matters too. When you invest in your healthspan, you’re investing in your independence!
CLASSIC CABBAGE ROLLS Inspired by TasteOfHome.com INGREDIENTS
TAKE A BREAK!
• 1 medium head cabbage • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided • 1 tbsp butter • 2 14.5-oz cans Italian stewed tomatoes • 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp brown sugar • 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• 1 cup cooked rice • 1/4 cup ketchup • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce • 1/4 tsp pepper • 1 lb lean (90%) ground beef • 1/4 lb Italian sausage
DIRECTIONS
1. In a Dutch oven, cook cabbage in boiling water for 10 minutes; drain. Rinse in cold water; drain. Remove 8 large outer leaves; set aside. 2. In a large saucepan, sauté 1 cup onion in butter. Add tomatoes, garlic, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. In a large bowl, combine rice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and remaining onion and salt. Crumble beef and sausage over mixture and mix. 4. Remove thick vein from cabbage leaves for easier rolling. Place 1/2 cup meat mixture on each leaf; fold in sides. Starting at an unfolded edge, roll leaf to completely enclose filling. Place rolls seam side down in a skillet. Top with sauce. 5. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cook 20 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted reads 160 F.
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INSIDE
1.
Why Optimism Matters 2. The Difference Between Muscle Soreness and Pain 3. The Investment You Can’t Afford to Skip Classic Cabbage Rolls 4. A Viral Workout That Actually Works!
A WORKOUT TREND THAT’S HERE TO STAY THE POWER OF 12-3-30
Benefits of the 12-3-30 Exercise One reason this workout is gaining so much traction on the internet is because of the benefits. The first benefit users love is that this exercise gives you almost all of the same aerobic perks as running without the high impact on joints (thanks to that 12% incline!).
Workout fads come and go, but the benefit of aerobic exercise has never gone away. Right now, a popular exercise trend called the 12-3-30 Workout is circulating the internet. The thing is, this fad actually works, and fitness professionals are giving this exercise the green light.
So what is it, and why is it so good for you?
12-3-30 Explained The 12-3-30 Workout is pretty simple once you understand what the numbers stand for! Each number in the name correlates to a part of the exercise performed on a treadmill. Twelve percent is the incline you set the treadmill to, 3 mph is the speed at which you walk, and 30 minutes is the amount of time you walk. That’s it! These three numbers create the ideal circumstances in which your body has the resistance to utilize its muscles while also moving fast enough to increase heart rate and reap aerobic benefits. And 30 minutes a day, five days a week, is the ideal exercise to ensure your heart, body, and mind stay healthy.
The second benefit the 12-3-30 Workout offers is endurance. Walking uphill instead of on a flat terrain causes us to activate more muscles, while 30 minutes of exercise forces us to remain at a high-intensity level for longer. This ultimately forces our bodies to acclimate to rigorous movement, which improves our health. Like any other workout, the 12-3-30 is also great for weight loss, regulating blood sugar, and improving cardiovascular health. But it’s also important to remember that no one exercise should be your only source of movement. Consider adding the 12-3-30 exercise to your weekly rotation, or use it to follow your weight training or other strength exercises for the best results.
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