Being in recovery is never easy. It requires a daily struggle against relapse that can feel overwhelming at times. Jay Shifman shares his battle with addiction and reveals his One Big Tip for maintaining your mental and emotional health as well as your physical health. While he works mainly with others in recovery, learning how to stay emotionally healthy is a valuable skill for anyone with a dream.
As a child, Jay was diagnosed with ADHD and, like many other kids his age, was prescribed medication to regulate the symptoms. When he started abusing the medications and eventually overdosed, he took the steps necessary to put his life of addiction behind him and live free.
But staying free isn’t easy. The potential for relapse is always lingering under the surface, waiting to prey on you when you let your guard down. For Jay, staying vigilant and doing a mental inventory of his emotional health is crucial to his continued success in recovery.
As a coach, mentor, and advisor to those struggling with substance abuse, Jay passes his knowledge to his clients so that they don’t repeat his mistakes. “I was forced to learn good mental health habits in pretty much the worst possible way,” he explains, “and so all of what I do now is sort of distilling that and trying to help people learn in a way that's hopefully not nearly as trying and as demanding as what I had to go through.”
So how does this emotional introspection work? Jay breaks it down into four steps to take on a daily basis:
If you would like to learn more about Jay’s work or pick his brain about tracking and improving your mental and emotional health, you can hear him on his podcast, Choose Your Struggle or visit him at jayshifman.com.