Fortunately I have a solid morning meditation and journaling practice that gave me insight into my behaviour. I have been able to reach for other behaviours when feeling anxious about the global pandemic. Moving my body and getting outside are key for me. Luckily I consider myself a runner and it encompasses both of these ingredients which are key to my mental, physical and spiritual health. I have not always been a runner. I started running in the spring of 2016: a year and a half of living sober. I have been a gym and group exercise person since my teens and managed to keep it up to some degree even during the worst days of my addiction. But running was something others did, not me. I didn’t see myself as athletic and I couldn’t imagine the commitment of a training program.

In May of 2016 I ran the Sporting Life 10km and that was it. I was hooked! I joined the running room in January 2017 for a half marathon training program. That year I completed 2 half marathons along with a number of 5 and 10 km races. I’ve been running ever since.

I’ve run in snowstorms, rain, humidity. I’ve run along the waterfront in cape cod and the beach in Cuba.

While I’m running, initially I focus on how I feel physically. Slowly I get in the groove and my mind goes to things that are bothering me or need addressing. I find that running helps me find my way by shedding light on what I don’t need to worry about or that my perceived problem is really not that big of a deal!

It is understandable that the use of alcohol and drugs has significantly increased during Covid for so many people. Over the past 6.5 years, I have learned the tools to keep me sober, healthy and happy. If Covid had happened during my years of active addition…I honestly don’t think I would be alive today. I wouldn’t have been able to transition to working from home. I can’t imagine I would have had the discipline to keep regular work hours and even work longer hours to cope with the changes in my job due to working from home.

There are so many reasons that I am grateful for my sobriety and Covid has highlighted for me just how much I’ve grown and continue to grow.