How to Get a Natural High

A Guide to Having Fun Clean and Sober from South Shores

Those brave enough to start the long journey to recovery from substance abuse partake in a courageous journey that goes beyond breaking free from chemical dependencies. It is about rediscovering yourself, and your purpose, and securing a newfound sense of wellbeing.

Although that all sounds pretty serious, enjoying yourself is also a big part of being clean and sober. It’s important to have fun and even know how to get a natural high when you are staying away from drinking and drugs.

In this article, we’ll discuss the natural highs obtained from sobriety and recovery – and 4 ways you can go about returning to this same form of happiness when needed. And remember, our staff and facilities are always available at South Shores if you or your loved one need to get a solid foundation (or new start) on the path to recovery!

A Life of Euphoria Without Substance

Pursuing a life instilled with happiness, you may begin to notice a feeling of euphoria during certain activities – an elevated state of consciousness that might be compared to the high attained from drug abuse. Only this is different – there are no health risks involved – you reduce stress and feel joy, but maintain a sense of self-respect and self-worth.

You suddenly partake in thrilling activities, free from the restrictions imposed by overactive brainwaves. Your physical and mental health seem to be perfectly in tune with the other.

The Strength to Battle Substance Abuse

For someone struggling to achieve sobriety – fatigued from the daily battle of substance abuse – these types of natural highs might as well be a million miles away.

However – if you’re brave enough to face drug addiction and take life by the horns – you can learn about conquering substance use disorder at South Shores Recovery and experience these natural highs regularly.

Achieving a Natural and Positive Outlook On Life

We help our clients master the art of achieving these natural highs – leading them back to a clean bill of mental health and a regulated, natural release of the feel-good chemicals in the brain. If you’re looking for an alternative – an escape from the drug-induced high that led you down the path of alcohol addiction or worse – we can help you achieve a natural high, boosting your mental and physical health.

Losing this natural, pleasurable feeling is just one of the negative consequences of drug addiction. In this article, you’ll learn what exactly causes these natural highs, how you lose them – and how to achieve a natural high once again, reconnecting the proper message signals that release endorphins and other feel-good hormones.

How to Achieve a Natural High: Well-Being Through Sobriety

Understanding how to get a natural high begins first with learning the mechanisms of dopamine in the brain. So, how exactly does this neurotransmitter operate within the confines of the mind and body? Dopamine is a common chemical that helps promote relaxation, allowing the individual to calm overactive brainwaves that lead to anxiety and panic attacks. Alternatively, these chemicals also produce an intense, natural high. Let’s look at the scientific breakdown of these natural highs for further understanding.

One of the primary mechanisms of mental well-being is dopamine. Dopamine is commonly spoken of in addiction circles and when discussing adrenaline, motivation, and general brain science. At its core, dopamine is a neurotransmitter (otherwise referred to as simply a chemical) that’s behind the transmission of signals between your brain’s nerve cells.

The Mind and Dopamine Neurons

When dopamine neurons are activated, you experience a dopamine release. This release positively impacts you, as it’s related to the reward mechanisms of the brain. For example – when something good happens out of nowhere, or you get a pleasant surprise. When you find your favorite food and eat it – dopamine levels rise.

Likewise, when you engage in your drug of choice, the natural high turns into a chemical substance high, but potentiates the release of dopamine nonetheless. These incredible bursts in dopamine are what erase the natural high and turn the issue into an addiction. The drugs or alcohol that push the dopamine release are used more frequently. Before you know it, you’re abusing drugs daily to obtain this same dopamine release.

Constant Overstimulation to the Brain

Whenever you overstimulate your brain by using drugs or alcohol, your mind associates this artificial high (taking drugs) with the reward systems in the brain and body. Upon the activation of the reward system, your brain feels that something important is taking place, teaching us to repeat this process over and over until it becomes almost effortless.

The challenge with the intense high of drugs is that in some cases they release ten times as much dopamine, making it difficult to feel pleasure without drugs.

How to Feel a Natural High During Addiction Recovery

One of the most challenging elements of life without drugs is the fact that most users in recovery feel as if they’ll never feel good without drugs again. Natural highs promote well-being and are one of the most powerful ways of reducing stress. However, what do you do when these neurotransmitters no longer exchange signals without a push from the use of drugs?

Don’t worry – it’s possible to get naturally high again. It takes a significant amount of sober time under your belt and a strong focus on healing – but your ability to live life positively will return. There are several activities and routines you can engage in further along this process. Let’s take a look at how you can get high naturally after a history of drug abuse.

How to Get a Natural High: 4 Ways to Practice On Your Own

Whether you’re just recently entering recovery – or have been in recovery for several months, multiple items may help you experience that natural high once more. If you feel that it’s impossible – don’t worry – you’re not alone.

But think of it like this – it took a significant amount of time to build your addiction to the point of understanding you needed help with recovery, right? It didn’t happen overnight.

On the same token, recovery works the same way. You’re reversing years’ worth of trauma dealt to your mind – it’s not going to happen at the snap of a finger – but it will happen! Use the following tips to help you get high naturally with a little help:

1) Healthy Diet

First, start with things that you can incorporate into your life daily. A healthy diet is something that you can turn into a daily routine – maximizing the benefits you obtain. When you have a healthy body, it leads to a healthy mind.

Eliminating toxins and giving your body the rich nutrients that it needs is one of the best ways to promote natural ways of getting high or learning to experience joy again.

2) Extreme Sports

While this may sound – well, extreme – those in recovery often turn into adrenaline junkies. Engaging in activities like bungee jumping certainly gets the heart pumping. But you don’t have to take it so far in the beginning.

Focus on something simple like regular exercise. Simply getting outside to walk or run can lead to powerful long-term benefits when it comes to the natural high. Exercise is the best medicine for the body, naturally making it one of the more preferred activities for the mind.

3) Spending Time with Family

Spending time with family and the ones you love the most can have many benefits and trigger feelings that mimic the release from using drugs. One of the neurotransmitters activated during drug use is also called the love hormone – so it’s understandable that it’s recommended that you spend time with your closest friends and family.

4) Enjoy a Hearty Laugh

Laughter truly is the best medicine. Enjoying a good laugh with close friends and family – or even enjoying your favorite comedy, or seeing a standup comedy routine – can be one of the most effective ways to achieve the natural high and euphoria you’ve been missing.

Laughter eliminates feelings of stress and anxiety – and just makes us feel good in general. Any opportunities you get to partake in a good laugh – don’t pass it up – it’s as powerful as any professional help you might receive.

Speaking of professional help – the most powerful way to overcome your substance abuse challenges is by contacting South Shores Recovery. We have professionals standing by who will help implement a personalized treatment plan 100% customized to your needs – giving you the highest odds of successful long-term recovery.

South Shores Detox: Your Gateway to the Natural High

Our primary goal at South Shores Detox & Recovery is to help you rediscover the things you miss the most about yourself – and move forward to uncover the newest, exciting changes on the horizon.

This is done through a strong support system and a team of professionals, combined with a natural diet and holistic options like exercise, yoga, and other options.

To find out more about the specific elements of our program, contact our admissions team today!