MentalLoop

I have noticed that in many people's posts they refer to exercise as part of their path to recovery. I am certainly one of the zealots in that department, but what i have found lacking when people say that they are including excercise in their recovery plan is the reason why. I think the reason is very important especially for newbies....because it unlocks a secret that eludes most.

First the bold statement - Fitness, weight loss and physical self confidence are the cute BYPRODUCTS of sustained cardio vascular workouts.

The science of cardio vascular training amongst other things is the body's release of endorphins. When your body perceives pain or peril on a sustained basis from physical exertion, it releases endorphins to basically numb our pain. - [this by the way is why you get sore after the run, not during] In that numbing process, the endorphin attaches to receptors - the same ones that alcohol attaches to. The result, amongst other things is that the fears and anxieties that we so quickly pickup the bottle for...for several hours after the elevated heart rate keep quiet - YOUR BODY IS DEFENDING ITSELF.

There is another phenomenon which is your fight or flight instinct which also kicks in as adrenaline rushes in. This gives you heightened strength, sharper perception, more mental clarity, etc. The combination of the two for a brief period basically makes you mentally invincible.

Here is the CATCH though - all those things that made you crazy, fearful, insane, anxious, etc......they don't go away. Rather, your body's response to them gets changed. Imagine this: You are standing in front of a speeding car that is coming right at you. Fear / anxiety can get you to freeze in your place, and you get hit. With the biological process that elevated heart starts, it doesn't change the fact that the car is coming right at you - it just quiets your fear, and even slows down the vision of the car. What you are left with is the ability to react quickly and efficiently to move out of the way.

As it relates to exercise during sobriety - I think we all miss the dealing with the issues that led us to drink part. What exercise will do is give you a respite of clear thinking. But you need to think, you need to evaluate. You need to reconsider how we were doing things. Most of the time, in all those thoughts, what lead us down the wrong path was FEAR, ANXIETY, RESENTMENT. Guess what, for a period, the Endorphin will make those emotions go away....NOW GO AHEAD AND THINK THROUGH THE RIGHT DECISIONS.PS - and I can't make this up. A light endorphin release from sustained cardio workouts is 4X as potent as Morphine to your body. A strong endorphin hit (from the marathon crazies)....is 10X as strong. The word itself "endorphin" means internally generated morphine......

Our body was designed to defend and repair itself. 150 years ago we walked to work, we cut up firewood to heat our homes. We lived physical lives, which balanced our crazy. With the advent of cell phones, cars, computers, etc., we basically relegated ourselves to sedentary lives. No wonder our natural ability to deal with the Cookoo got squashed!!

Elphaba

That's awesome! Thanks for the post.

Db1105

Amen

Taws

Just finished a 10 mile run in an hour and forty five minutes and I feel awesome. Well, except for the leg soreness already kicking in!

Running clears my mind and helps me shed all the negative energy that follows me around during the day. I realize not everyone is able to run, but getting out to do anything physical is so beneficial (at least to me) in the recovery process.

Thanks for the great post.

katrinka

I've been walking for an hour a day 4 or 5 days a week and it has been wonderful for me. I feel younger and calmer and I've lost 27 lbs. I go in the afternoon when I get out of work (formally know as wine time) and it helps with the cravings, too.

MentalLoop

That's great! By the way, i totally get that..."Be Present Everyday". Running has done wonders for me to be Present. I can't say I have defined Pi, or solved world hunger, but the only void I had in being Present was alcohol consumption. Sober and Fit - I think I can conquer the world!

Ethos23

"This leaves us with an interesting dichotomy. Running causes pain, but it also cures it. So why engage in an activity that causes discomfort only to require more of that very action to bring relief? Isn't that the very definition of addiction?

Perhaps so. That argument would appear valid if you're content cruising through life in the comfort zone. But there are some people who are drawn to dramatic mood swings--deep and dark lows followed by explosive episodes of supreme elation. Anyone that has run a marathon can relate to this firsthand.

The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel writes, "If Van Gogh or Mozart had been on Prozac, would htey have been spared the agony of depression, or would the world have been denied their great art?

Runners have some of their most profound revelations on the darkest grips of pain. What if we were to shift our mind-set and invite pain into our lives, welcome it head to head on our own terms rather than pop a pill to try to avoid it?

-taken from: Run! by Dean Karnazes

I love to run and have used it throughout my recovery. It keeps me grounded and makes me focus on my day. Second, If I'm thinking to go grab a bottle, I go for a short run and by the end, I realize that it was stress calling, or maybe fear. It has gotten me in much better tune with my emotions.

I actually really started drinking after I had finished my fourth marathon. I think I was bored and looking for an outlet to my energy and picked up booze since I was recovering from running. Now, it is the other way around. I like it this way.

MentalLoop

If I am understanding you correctly (I didn't run today...so my processing skills are a little diminished) - this is exactly where i am. I start every morning with a 6 - 8 mile run (or a swim or bike ride to give the knees a break), just to get me to focus and get me over the hump of cravings. It is the anchor of my sobriety. Funny enough - I have run several marathons, and those are the only times that my body has not been able to receive alcohol. The funniest experiences I think about are the signs in the races that say "Beer is waiting at the finish line." I always think, exactly what i'm thinking, but once I'm done, my body just rejects the stuff.

Too bad that when I wasn't running a marathon, not only could i drink the beer, I could finish them all......

Ethos23

Absolutely. I run most mornings (about 5 - 6 times a week). It clears me of stress, anxiety, fear, etc. I also process what I am going to accomplish in the day ahead. I also notice that when I am working out consistently, I don't crave any type of junk food (alcohol included). My body tends to crave more building-block foods to replenish what was spent running.

Tobo

Kind funny the analogies with running and getting bored and needing another outlet. I was 6 months sober in November. Finished my first marathon and was drunk within 2 hours of finishing the race. Been back on the sauce since then. Still managing to run 30 miles a week. But it's much harder with a hangover

MentalLoop

Thank God I had my run this morning....it helped me think through the response to this. It also dawned on me that in fact you might even be agreeing either consciously or unconsciously. I was you up until three months ago, before I gave up the sauce. I ran anywhere from 28 - 35 miles a week, and went to sleep drunk every night. Running was cheating for me - it meant I couldn't be an alcoholic. How could an alcoholic run 30 miles every single week?.....Impossible!!! More so, running in the morning basically purged my system of the toxins....but to your point, this was getting harder by the week.

And for the final ball buster of the point - all running did was offset the fog from the night before. But although I had this moment of clarity after runs, I never took it to the next level and started using that moment of clarity to analyze my issues and work on my issues. It merely was attempting to rid the alcohol that was killing me. In a nutshell - running is a very powerful analgesic, but you still have to address the cold.

thanks for the share....

janiebluebird

Couldn't agree more. On nights where I would grab a bottle of wine and watch a movie, I think it was to relax myself because I had too much energy to dispel. I do vigorous exercise 3-5 times per week and some form just about every day now that I don't have hang overs. Exercise is my solace.

Great post.

Ethos23

I used to do the same thing . . . drink/run, drink/run, drink/run . . . then poof, I would just stop.

It was like walking on a sidewalk with cliffs on either side, and the sidewalk keeps getting narrower and narrower, until POOF, you fall off and you are in a downward spiral until you hit bottom. At that point, I would know that running would help me get a grasp on reality, but God did it hurt at first to get out there running.

Stang

Week four of the insanity training challange.....BRUTAL!!! I love it though!

Ethos23

Ok, this is a question for everyone that has posted on here (and certainly those that havent). Do you notice the amount of alcohol-related litter on your favorite running, walking, or biking path. I always notice so much. Today, in addition to the beer cans and other alcohol bottles that litter my favorite path, I noticed a new half-pint bottle smashed on the side of the road. That was a new one, as well as a newly-littered half gallon of cheap vodka.

By way of background, I used to be "hitting the road" too, with all of my alcohol-related trash, that is!

MentalLoop

I hate the liquor bottle litter....but only when i got sober have I realized that it is the pathetic mind altered alcoholic brain that was doing it. It's a self fulfilling prophecy liquor and litter. Liquor turns us into morons. As morons we destroy our environment....

mwstylee

I can definitely tell a difference on the nights that I do some cardio. If I go for a long walk/bike/jog after work, my evening is a lot smoother. I remember just sitting there last night at 10 pm thinking- damn, I'm so happy to be alive, sober, employed, and having a roof over my head.

I know if I go a few days without doing anything active, I start getting anxious urges to drink. Spring is coming really soon and that's a really, really good thing to prevent that. Running in -20 degrees is okay, but running in 72 degrees is somewhat more pleasant.