Poll: Which healthy habit change helps you the most with sobriety maintenance?
 

1) Regular Sleep
2) Eating better
3) Exercise
4) Prayer /meditation
5) Support from a community
6) Other

EQ, it's an "all" kind of answer for me. Although I slipped on the exercise one, this is now my major goal....and keeping a watch on the sugary things (it just makes me tired). Changing everything, gradually, really helps to have a better sobriety for me.

I agree Sugarbear. Support from others and helping others, was the foundation from which all other improvements sprang. Now it's a total package:)

They all are important, but exercise truly helps me the most. I love how I feel after exercise. I suffer from anxiety, and it literally melts away when I am 30 minutes into a good cardio session. And weight training makes me feel like a rockstar.

I can't go to the gym at night if I can't drive. And I don't normally go with a hangover. So being sober frees me, and allows me to really enjoy my 24 hour gym.

By the way, I love your threads. Pulled one up this morning for inspiration. Thanks for being such so wonderful for SR.

I am going to have to go with all of them lol!

Exercise is absolutely essential.
Others are important, but I've tried going without exercise, and it don't work.

All of them, however I will have to choose other or meditation. Me time is of it most importance. My chair, blanket, iPad and sr. Huge difference!

Exercise! for me especially long distance swimming - it gets me totally into Zen mode with endorphine release. I do 2500 meters 3 times a week with the elliptical for one hour on 2 other days.

I get fussy and irritable if I don't work out.

Pam

All of the above...some days you have to tackle it with LOTS of ammo!!

coming here and helping others really helps me out. i find that when i give advice, i can read what i've written and take the advice myself.

For me, eating regular meals is hugely important. I got into a really bad pattern of not eating for days at a time and using drink to fill me up instead. If I eat healthy food three times a day, it really reduces my desire to drink although that's only PART of my programme. As others have noted, all of the above are helpful.

Beautiful to see how we all use different things at different times to reach common goal of sobriety! I love to stream Pandora radio through my head phones when I take long walks - whoo hooo!

This site and playing with my son and working

Interesting results so far.... Anyone else?

I actually set SR to be my homepage, and that has helped me tremendously. Even if I don't browse the website, it's a great daily reminder to remain strong.
However, the most important factor for me has been working out. I love the feeling of walking out of the gym after a good workout at 6 A.M. and I feel I can take on the world =)

please inspire me to go to the gym:( I am about 4 1/2 months sober w/one slip up...back on track though and doing so well EXCEPT exercise. Besides the mental health benefits I could loose 30 lbs but my husband is still drinking and it's a battle everyday to stay sane..help!!

For me it has to be exercise if I don't work out the grey cloud starts to form above me and life seems a lot harder!!!

Exercise! I have depression to cope with as well as my addiction and exercise has saved my life in the past!

Even if you can only do 10 minutes, just get out there and do that! I always feel so much better mentally and physically. Amazing.

Hmmmnn.. Anyone else?

I've took up exercising as well. Replaced some of my addictive tendencies towards alcohol and anything negative and refocused them on my health, fitness, and nutrition. I feel amazing now, hardly resemble that drunk anymore. Feels great when my friends take notice, "Wow Dust, you've got rid of that beer belly". Amazing. Fitting into clothes that were only wishful thinking while I was drinking.

I have to watch out with myself though, if I get way to caught up in myself that could be dangerous for me. 'Wow I feel so good, remember back when you looked this good and drank, you were awesome!' Don't want to get near that place.