Mental Toughness and Recovery

Mental Toughness and Recovery

June 22, 2016

Having recently caught a re-run of Lone Survivor, it got me thinking about the concept of mental toughness. In the movie, mental toughness is on full display throughout the film. One of the first displays of mental toughness was the moment before they were set to engage the enemy forces.

“Hey Mikey, I am about ready to punch that time card.” You can watch the clip here.

The SEAL team sat patiently, knowing they were going to engage are enemy that was far greater than them in terms of numbers. Their mental toughness and belief in one another allowed them to wage a great battle against the opposition.

The fact of the matter is; you need mental toughness to overcome any substantial obstacle in your life. Every day our helpline is full of people who are struggling with problem gambling and looking to turn their lives around. The more mentally tough and resilient the callers are, the higher likelihood they will be successful in their road to recovery.

Mental strength is often measured by what you don’t do rather than by your actions. Take the urge to gamble for example, being mentally strong would be not acting upon that urge. So the question is, how do you build mental strength? Here are just a few tips:

• Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Mentally strong people don’t waste time sulking in their own emotions. They best way to attack a problem is often head on.
• Don’t shy away from change. Reclaiming your life is going to take change. Commit to that change and make it happen.
• Don’t focus on things you cannot control. Trying to be in control of everything is a response to anxiety. Realize the things you cannot control and accept them.
• Don’t worry about pleasing every person you meet.
• Don’t dwell on the past. Today is a new day to make healthy, positive choices.
• Just because you’ve lost a battle, doesn’t mean you lost the war. Don’t give up when you have a setback. View setbacks as an opportunity to get back on track.
• The world owes you nothing, accept that.
• Don’t fear alone time. Learn to be alone. Mediation often helps with this.

Building your mental toughness is a process, but a big component of mental toughness is how you perceive and think about situations, conflict, and issues. Be sure to keep the above bullet points in mind and you will be on the road to improving your mental toughness.

Should gambling be negatively impacting your life, make the change and give our helpline a call at 888-ADMIT-IT.