When you can feel the sun's rays on your skin, instant regeneration may occur. As the weather warms up and trees and flowers blossom, it's the ideal time to get back into the swing of things after chilly winter months. Start with feeling sunshine for 10 minutes before 11A, two to three days a week this Spring. A mind altering practice to help you blast back to the present - forsaking the past or the future for just 10 minutes. People will be out walking or taking the bicycle more to make up for the time they spend indoors trying to stay warm by starting Spring cleaning, new tasks, and new ambitions. Whether you've recently engaged a healing journey for your mental health or have been tuned into your psychological needs for some time, the vernal equinox is a great time to spring into action for repair, renewal and recovery.
The days are growing longer and lighter, allowing us to tap into nature's energy and begin thinking in "brighter," more hopeful ways. As a person seeking health, it’s beneficial to start casting aside old, frigid and unpleasant ideas you may have allowed to linger throughout periods of depression, grief, addiction, loss or chronic pain and look forward to the possibilities that await you Spring 2022. By seeking therapy and starting the recovery process in time for the Season, you may enable yourself to experience your own "rebirth" and regeneration. The warmth and optimism associated with this time of year may serve as a useful reminder to keep yourself on track with small changes to your routine. At Solstice Pacific, we call those micro shifts. Think of tiny steps you take when walking over an icy bridge. Eyes out ahead, feet down below making small, but important movements. Before you know it, you made it over the bridge and had a little fun with it because you stayed present. Micro shifts are actions that rebalance our body by intentional, slow, mindful, minute effort.
Clean house
In recovery, you'll hear this word a lot, but it doesn't always mean spring cleaning. It simply means getting rid of everything that is interfering with your capacity to stay sober or to get into mental wellness. Spring cleaning your mental health or sobriety is similar to cleaning your house this season - getting rid of the things in your life that aren't good for you and making room for the good. You are physically cleaning your insides out to feel better by working through resentments and trauma. Believe it or not, you will feel better and stronger once you have done so. Self-medicating through screen time, substances, or ruminating on old ideas … whatever your addiction might be, start with sunshine today.
Reflect and evaluate in a week
How are things going with your treatment and health? How powerful do you feel when you look back over the day and see brave micro shifts? It's easy to get caught up in what you want for the future and let your guard down when it comes to sadness, cravings, cues, fears, triggers - and there's a chance that this will lead to skipping meals, relapse, overeating, skipping your medication or isolation. Take some time to pause and analyze where you are on your path and what you want to recreate after today’s learnings.
You may notice that when you begin therapy and recovery, you are waking up from the numbness and fogginess you may endure while battling loss, grief, mood or disappointment. As the world around you becomes more clear, you may notice that your senses are sharpening. There is a burst of energy all around as nature begins to stir to life. The shadow of mental illness or substance misuse can give way to bright, concentrated ideas of recovery when micro shifts repeat over time. Then, personal insights begin rise. This self-awareness leads to hope, curiosity and planting seeds for further growth.
Help others
Service may take numerous forms, from significant commitments to minor tasks. Being of service to your loved ones and people in need is a wonderful way to break free from your own ego. You most likely acted selfishly throughout your addiction, and now you have the chance to turn bad into good by reaching out to others. Working in a service position provides you a sense of responsibility and enhances your self-esteem.
While suffering from addiction or illness, we were controlled by our sense of scarcity, lack and fear. In recovery, we learn to have a healthy schedule and to show up when we say we will. You have reason to feel proud of yourself and understand how far you’ve come after days of consistency.
Helping others may have a unique influence on long-term health since it appears to lower some of the disease's psychological markers—high levels of narcissism and entitlement—that make individuals prone to addiction and less inclined to seek treatment. Helping others can help you “get over yourself”, resulting in more positive interpersonal relationships. The key: make sure your cup is full. Your self-care patterns of nutrition, sleep and the others things that recharge you will lead to regulating your body’s needs and from this place of a “full cup,” it’s natural to give time and warmth to others in small ways.
You may discover new hobbies and learn things about yourself that you didn't know before by serving others - you challenge yourself to perform better and be better every time you volunteer.
Reconnect
Isolation may be your default mode of operation, but being in recovery from any illness gives you reasons and means to connect with others. After all, going through life-changing events brings people together.
And then there's life. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of life – and lose touch with friends and family. Of course, this isn't done on purpose, but it does happen. Spend some time this Spring reaching out and reconnecting. Here's the challenge: try face to face not just screen connections.
Stay active
When you're active, your body produces endorphins, which make you feel good. And there's no doubt that being outside with a friend or neighbor can help your outlook
Get out and take a walk around your neighborhood park, taking in the fresh life that is springing up all around you. It's easy to take the outdoors for granted and forget its beauty when you've been suffering from addiction, alcoholism or mental illness. You'll get further on your road to recovery by folding in hiking, biking, yoga, swimming, stand up paddle, kayaking, meditation, strength training using only your body weight and other outdoor activities.
Suit up
One of the greatest methods to jumpstart your health is to do something more than you're presently doing (especially if you've become complacent). When you become careless with your recovery, you are increasing your risks of relapse. If you notice the status quo, challenge it through micro shifts.
It might be difficult to get into the correct attitude to begin healing during the winter months, when the days are short and the nights are long. However, as we approach Spring - it may serve as an uplifting symbol for the promise of healing, development, and a new beginning.
As you prepare for a new season, get ready for discomfort. Think of the seedling growing into a rose bush. The seed emerges through the ground, literally changing the earth around it. As sunshine, rain and photosynthesis take effect, new life emerges and the old passes away. For all of this to happen for the rose, the rose undergoes physical changes that amount to beauty. The aches and pains of change are to be expected. We make the most of them by writing a daily gratitude list, mindfully seeking the good through every micro shift. Spring brings showers but it also brings flowers, we are allowed to have feelings around both. Gratitude habits help us grieve losses as a whole person, noticing feelings but continuing in healthy Spring activities.
Integrative Psychiatry at Solstice Pacific
You will be offered a range of treatment alternatives, but they will be tailored to your specific requirements. MeRT is one of the therapy options we provide to those in recovery from depression, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Autism, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Attention Deficit and addiction. MeRT creates optimal performance to the tired brain by resetting its brainwaves. If you want to start the new season with a new you, we recommend taking this simple assessment and verifying your insurance. It's time to reinvent yourself. But, if you need more, we recommend PHP which is 8 hours of care per day that includes nutrition planning, psychiatric care, counseling, case management, group work and family care. Either way, we need to get more information then we can make a more targeted recommendation based on your goals.
Happy Spring 2022! Lets Level Up Together.
