Life is a marathon. We may have short periods in our lives which act more like sprints and make us feel like we are being pushed faster, harder, and to be better or stronger than we have been before. Living with active addiction can feel like a battle against the ringing toll of the death bell. Many men live in their addiction hard, fast, and furiously with reckless abandon. Once men chose sobriety and enter a program of recovery in their lives, they find that everything slows down to a consumable, sustainable pace. Taking on too much of the future or holding onto too much of the past gets in the way of staying remarkably present. Staying present and taking life as it comes, one moment of the time, allows men to find riches in their recovery through the nuances of everyday life. Hurried, rushing, and destructing life in its oncoming path leads to a burnout- for men in addiction, that can mean overdose and death.
Slowing it down in recovery helps men to learn how to endure all of life’s challenges. Having to confront the many stressors of life rather than blow through them isn’t easy. Recovery gives men tools and training for the endurance needed to overcome every bump in the road on the marathon of life. When men choose to seek treatment and recovery at Tree House in Orange County, men also elect to train their physical endurance which also helps them manage stress by reducing stress. Well equipped to handle all of life, Tree House men develop a sustainable sobriety by creating sustainable change.
Research from Austria and Germany found that endurance training helped men reduce their stress levels. Testing three groups of people including endurance athletes, resistance trained athletes, and otherwise healthy men, but who were neither endurance nor resistance trained. By way of a stress test called the Trier Social Stress Test, researchers looked at the differences in the group of men’s heart rate, as well as their cortisol levels and overall mood, Good Men Project reports. Men who had endurance and resistance training had lower rate levels in the face of stress, though there was no difference in cortisol or mood. Regularly enduring physical stress and overcoming it evidently equips both the mind and body for overcoming social stress. Training is always about more than the physical form. Training prepares men for the marathon of life.
Transform your life, inside and out as you find freedom from addiction. At Tree House Recovery in Orange County, California, we’re helping men create the sustainable changes necessary to build a sustainable recovery. Call us today for information: (855) 202-2138
