Exercise can help people avoid the temptation of cocaine. When you move your body every day, you can decrease a desire for using drugs. Feeling and looking good are helpful ways to support better habit of exercise as resistance against drugs and alcohol.
Relapse Risk
Stress may be one of the biggest factors that is important to those invested in relapse prevention. People who use cocaine have a strong sense of energy and linkage to problem-solving abilities that make it hard when things are not going well. To reduce stress helps reduce risk of relapse. There is no single class of drugs that works to help people stop the cravings but exercise comes pretty close.
Dopamine
Release of dopamine plays a key role in addiction patterns that appear. Cocaine is a popular drug, often correlated with a dopamine release. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain serving to reinforce reward-seeking behaviors. This encourages animals to hunt, seek to have sex, and engage in nurturing activities in social groups. The dopamine reinforcement cycle is triggered by anything a person gets a rush from or enjoys, including cocaine. The same release of mood-enhancing chemicals is also triggered by aerobic activity. Running can bring a sort of euphoria called ‘runner’s high.’ This is not a replacement for consuming cocaine, but merely a way to supplement good chemicals in the brain rather than bad ones.
Serotonin
Exercise tends to activate serotonin, a neurotransmitter that has a strong relationship to feeling happy and focus on overall well-being. Cocaine has been shown to vacuum up serotonin in the body. This means once the body comes down off it, the person can crash hard. Therapies based on this are being looked at as a way to combat relapse but jogging or playing ball do the same things.
Limbic System
Major memory centers in the brain are influenced by cocaine. The role of dopamine in imprinting memories is critical to the influence on the limbic system. It helps to reinforce your need to drink, as well. Cocaine exposure leads to dopamine overload but exercise has a dopamine release, which leads to imprinting of new memories and keeps your body strong. A structured routine will be healthiest for you in terms of getting you set up for success in going from addiction to recovery and beyond. Oceanfront will help you kick addiction to the curb with our premier beachfront community in Laguna Beach. We are founded on the principle of providing the best in care and services at affordable prices. We are located in beautiful Laguna Beach. Call us to find out how we can help you navigate addiction recovery: 877-279-1777
