How Exercise Can Kill Addiction While Saving Your Life

Some people just can't get along with each other. The same is thing for many non-human things as well. These include light vs. darkness, peace vs. war, and addiction vs. health. For this post we're going to focus on the third example. Our purpose is to share ways you can overcome addictive behavior by pursuing mental and physical fitness. Use these tips as potent weapons in your anti-addiction arsenal. They can help you to stay clean and sober for the rest of your days.

Exercise is Lethal to Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Research shows that exercise is vital to overcoming addiction. Here's why:

●     Exercises boosts dopamine levels. Dopamine is a brain chemical that plays a vital role in regulating mood. Having healthy dopamine levels leads you to feel better about yourself, destroying the despair that drives people to addiction in the first place. The effect is akin to draining a swamp to get rid of disease-causing insects. When the cause goes away, the effect does as well.

●     Exercise replaces a chemically induced high with an all-natural sense of euphoria by releasing substances called endorphins, which have effects similar to those of heroin but without the negative consequences.

●     Exercise gives an addict's brain something healthy on which to focus. Something about the addictive process hijacks the human brain, according to Harvard researchers.The only way to escape addiction's clutches is to feed it something other than drugs or alcohol. Exercise is the ideal substitute. Just ask rap star and recovering addict Eminem. Getting active saved his life, according to Men's Journal .

Now that we've seen how exercise helps overcome addiction, let's look at how to make it a regular part of your life.

Stretch

Stretching is vital to avoiding injury and enjoying enhanced health. Your options range from basic stretches like the kinds used by military recruits to advanced Yoga techniques taught by professional trainers.

Buddy Up

Sticking with an exercise regimen is easier when you have someone to encourage you and hold you accountable, according to CNN. A partner can make the time go by faster and ease feelings of loneliness. So join forces with a person who shares your healthy living goals and take on the challenge together.

Walk or Swim

Walking is the best exercise on earth. It's cheap, requires no special equipment, and is easy for almost anyone to do. An alternative to walking is swimming, which uses all major muscle groups and gives you lots of alcohol-free liquid refreshment.

Ditch the Weights, At Least in the Beginning

Weightlifting is an essential part of many athletic regimens. It offers a world of benefits when performed properly. That being said, it's usually a good idea for novices to skip the weights, at least in the beginning. That's because barbells can put undue stress on your joints and muscles, leading to injury or plain old burnout. So, when it comes to muscle building, go at it old-school with classic exercises like push-ups, squats, and sit-ups. After you've built a good foundation of fitness you can consider investing in equipment.

Exercise Your Brain as Well as Your Body

In the end, the battle against addiction is won or lost in the mind. So give yourself a good mental housecleaning with activities like mindfulness meditation, which studies show has powerful positive effects on practitioners. Meditating can relieve stress and depression, giving you a better outlook on the world and helping you to enjoy greater overall happiness.

The first step in your battle against addiction is to do something positive. Go for a walk. Stretch. Think happy thoughts. Healthy actions are habit-forming. One leads to another, and another and another, till in the end you've transformed your entire life for the better. So get moving. Once you do, never let anything stop you.

This article was written by Constance Ray of Recoverywell.org,