Making Running Part of Your Healthy Recovery

photo of a woman running

Running is a great recovery activity to get a “natural high” as the body releases endorphins and adrenaline. Plus, it can help counteract the trauma that your body has endured during years of substance abuse – healing and restoring your physical and mental health. What’s more, running delivers a staggering number of health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and better weight control.

If you’re thinking about becoming a runner, these proven strategies will help you ease into this healthy habit. 

  • Get your doctor’s clearance. This is especially important if you’ve been sedentary for more than a year, are overweight, or have a history of diabetes or high blood pressure.
  • Go slow. With any new habit, you’ll want to make sure to set attainable goals. This will help give you confidence and also prevent injury. Commit to running a few minutes each day for the next month – and then increase your time when you’re ready. Listen to your body. Pushing yourself too hard or too quickly can lead to burnout and injuries.
  • Track your progress. Whether you record your progress (time, mileage, etc.) in a journal or use a free smartphone app (RunKeeper, iMapMyRun and SmartRunner, for example), keeping track of your new running routine is a great way to stay motivated. Remember to celebrate your fitness goals along the way.
  • Find a fitness partner. At 10 Acre Ranch, we encourage our male clients to connect with one another, so why not get to know one of your recovery buddies a little better while going for a run together!

Exercise to Support Your Sobriety
Imagine taking care of your physical, mental and spiritual health all before noon. That’s what you’ll experience at the ranch. We offer our male clients a variety of recovery activities that support lasting sobriety. To learn more about our men’s drug rehab or request recreation and activity information, call us today: 877-228-4679.

16 Signs of Burnout

photo of an employee having strong headache tired from laptop work

The American Psychological Association’s David Ballard, PsyD describes job burnout as “an extended period of time where someone experiences exhaustion and a lack of interest in things, resulting in a decline in their job performance.”

Burnout can have serious emotional and physical health consequences, including an increased risk of substance use disorder. In fact, more and more professionals admit to self-medicating or using drugs and alcohol to cope with the increasingly growing stress of the workplace. This is a dangerous path, however, and one that can quickly lead to addiction.

Recognizing the signs of burnout is your best step to avoid it – and this is extremely important if you’re already in recovery. If left untreated, burnout can result in relapse and destroy your hard-won sobriety. It can also wreak havoc on your happiness, relationships and job performance.

In order to catch and combat burnout early, it’s important to know what to look out for and realize when it’s time to seek professional help. Some red flags include:

• Hard time paying attention or concentrating
• Irritability and lack of patience, both at the workplace and at home
• Increased conflicts at home
• Fatigue and lack of energy
• Low self-esteem and lack of confidence
• Skipping social obligations
• Feelings of guilt caused by uncompleted work
• Emotional exhaustion
• Loss of interest in once enjoyed activities
• Anxiety and depression
• Problem falling and staying asleep
• Increased frustration, cynicism and other negative feelings
• Eating too much or too little
• Poor immunity or getting sick often
• Frequent headaches
• Digestive issues

Helping You Find Healthy Ways to Cope 
At 10 Acre Ranch, our Intensive Outpatient Programs (also known as IOPs) give our clients the opportunity to work alongside other men to manage stress and solidify their sober-living skills and reduce the chances of short or long-term relapse. IOPs are designed for individuals who are preparing to re-enter employment, family life, school, and other responsibilities. To learn more, call today: 877-228-4679.

Learning to Be Grateful in Recovery

photo of a very happy woman

At 10 Acre Ranch, we’ve seen firsthand how having an attitude of gratitude can help make recovery easier and relapse less likely. Learning to be grateful for the gifts you have been given can help increase your self-esteem, boost your outlook and remind you why you are working so hard for a sober life. Indeed, studies have found a slew of health benefits linked to gratitude, including:

  • Less anxiety and depression
  • Enhanced sleep
  • Improved self-care
  • Fewer toxic emotions, like anger, resentment or regret
  • More resilience
  • Stronger willpower
  • Better relationships
  • Greater ability to handle trauma

Cultivating Gratitude With Recovery Activities
It’s not always easy to have gratitude – but luckily it’s a recovery skill that can be learned. It just may take a little practice and persistence. At 10 Acre Ranch, our clients participate in numerous activities designed to show you that there’s a full life beyond addiction – and that’s definitely something to be thankful for.

  • Gratitude lists: Writing down the people or things for which you are thankful is a great activity to help you stay focused on your recovery.
  • Nature walks. Taking the time to appreciate the beauty of nature can help decrease depression and improve your well-being.
  • Meditation. This can be the perfect time to give thanks for all of the small gifts in life. You may even want to refer to your gratitude list.
  • 12-step meetings: “Have an attitude of gratitude” is a common recovery slogan within the 12-step model and one that can help you prevent relapse.

More About Our Recovery Activity Options
At 10 Acre Ranch, we provide a range of recovery strategies designed to appeal to many different male personality types. Contact us to learn more about our offerings and how they can help teach you or someone you love to become empowered, self-sufficient, self-aware and grateful for a chance at a sober life. Call today: 877-228-4679.

The Warning Signs of Relapse

photo of a man who can't sleep because he's starting to have a relapse

At 10 Acre Ranch, we know that recovery is far from a straight path – with lots of ups and downs and successes and disappointments. This is why throughout every phase of our rehab, we give our male clients the tools to understand and prevent a return to drug or alcohol abuse.

The first step: Having an awareness of the emotional triggers that often signal impending relapse. Here are a few common signs:

  • You’re feeling negative or hopeless. If you have a growing feeling of a heavy weight on your shoulders, or if everyday tasks become burdensome, you may be in danger of relapse.
  • You’re easily angered: When small things start to set you off, it’s a warning sign that shouldn’t be ignored. Another signal: You’re getting into more arguments with friends, family members and even co-workers.
  • You’re becoming complacent: Being confident in your recovery is great, but overconfidence that leads to neglected recovery tasks or reckless behavior is a telltale sign of impending relapse.
  • You’re more stressed: We all have worries – and some days are easier than others when it comes to managing anxiety. However, if you find yourself at a breaking point – and it’s negatively impacting your relationships, career and daily tasks – you need to seek help.
  • You’re becoming isolated: Isolation is a slippery slope into relapse. On the other hand, surrounding yourself with supportive, sober people will help reinforce your recovery.

Relapse Prevention at 10 Acre
Our clients participate in groups in order to learn from and support one another as they develop individualized post-treatment plans. In some cases, private therapy sessions may also be needed to delve into relapse motivation, addiction history and coexisting diagnoses. To learn more about our social treatment model and relapse prevention program, call today: 877-228-4679.

The Role of Empathy in Your Recovery

photo of two women comforting each other showing empathy

Do you often find yourself struggling to relate to and connect emotionally with others? If so, you’re not alone. A slew of research links a lack of empathy to addiction. Active addiction makes it hard to see beyond your own needs or beyond the next “fix.” Those struggling with substance use disorder often lack the capacity to tune into the emotions and behaviors of others.

Empathy and empathetic listening is vital for lasting recovery from drug or alcohol abuse, however. This is partly because when a person has empathy, he or she will consider another person’s needs before making any decisions. Plus, empathy can help you feel less isolated. When you relate to how other people feel, you are more likely to connect. For example, have you ever told someone, “I can completely relate to that!” How did it feel? Probably pretty good and you likely bonded with that person.

Other ways empathy can help you along your path toward sobriety include:

  • Better ability to connect with others
  • Improved relationships
  • Enhanced communication
  • Increased positivity
  • Reduced feelings of bigotry, racism, sexism and other types of intolerance
  • Less self-absorption
  • More open-mindedness

How We Foster Empathy
At 10 Acre Ranch, we’ll help you or someone you love learn empathy as part of the recovery process. During our 12-step group times as well as our interpersonal didactic groups, our male residents are taught valuable skills to grow their empathy and begin to heal emotionally. These include the ability to:

  • Listen constructively rather than defensively
  • Be honest
  • Show compassion and understanding
  • Be vulnerable
  • Develop new friendships

Reach Out to 10 Acre Ranch
It’s never too late to learn how to become a more empathetic person. Our counselors and credentialed team members encourage residents to repair family relationships, enjoy fellowship with peers and construct a support network they can rely on throughout addiction treatment. To learn more, call us today: 877-228-4679.

4 Tips for Setting Your Greatest Goals

photo of a man creating a list of his goals in life

At 10 Acre Ranch, our self-realization therapy helps residents love themselves again and embrace their gifts, talents and skills. And an important part of this is learning to develop meaningful and purposeful life goals. After all, you only have one life and you deserve to plan for the best possible one.

Here are some smart goal-setting steps to get you started:

Make your goals yours. Your goals should be yours and yours alone – not the goals of your spouse or friend. Start by asking yourself: “What’s really important to me?”

Be specific. It’s best to avoid any vague generalizations. Consider using the popular goal-setting strategy called “SMART,” which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely or Time-sensitive. For example, a SMART Goal might be to walk one mile, every day, for five days a week, starting on Monday morning.

Make your goals well-balanced. At 10 Acre Ranch, we believe that there is boundless joy beyond drugs and/or alcohol abuse. To this end, make sure that your goals include fun, healthy recreation as well as some time to relax and enjoy your closest friends and family members.

Be sure to share your goals. You don’t have to reveal your goals to everyone you meet, but confiding in a family member or friend will give you extra support and help hold you accountable.

A few more questions to keep in mind while goal setting, include:

  • What do I want to do in life?
  • Where do I want to go?
  • What type of contributions do I want to make to society?
  • What new things do I want to learn?
  • What type of people do I want to meet?
  • Who do I want to spend my time with?
  • How much money do I want to save?
  • What will I do for fun?
  • What will I do to stay healthy and sober?

Realize Your Full Potential
At 10 Acre Ranch drug and alcohol recovery facility, our addiction treatment programs incorporate self-realization therapy to help residents replace destructive patterns with healthy ones. Our team helps residents view themselves as whole, worthwhile people with unlimited capabilities. To learn more, call today: 877-228-4679.