In a recent study, a one-time expression of gratitude increased participants’ happiness by 10% right away. After six months, however, the positive effects of thankfulness gave way to old levels of happiness. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction during the holidays, reach out to Changing Tides Treatment. Our team is here to provide support and guide you through the journey to recovery. When you communicate with other people, express what you are thankful for. If you accomplished something at work, don’t be afraid to pat yourself on the back and let people know how happy it made you.
Gratitude helps promote the focus on channeling inspiration and motivation into sobriety. However, someone who practices gratitude can appreciate the benefits sober living will have in their life and be better able to maintain sobriety. Instead of focusing on material possessions this holiday season, these nine tips can help you practice gratitude in recovery and learn how to be thankful and content with what you already have. So, what does any of this have to do with recovery from addiction? Although different for everyone, SUD recovery tends to be a challenging portion of one’s life. Many individuals report feeling hopeless, depressed, and angry towards themselves during addiction recovery [2].
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It stops the jealousy and unhappiness that comes from attempting to keep up with others. If you’re not able to practice gratitude in social settings or in your communication with people, practice gratitude introspectively gratitude and recovery by journaling or creating a gratitude list. Gratitude lists are a helpful tool for people battling addiction, depression, and other afflictions that impact the inclination and willingness to experience gratitude.
If you’ve spent months or years soured by a negative outlook, it isn’t easy to swap rose-colored glasses with your current position of seeing everything as gray and stormy. The good news is that gratitude is contagious, and you can practice gratitude with others to help teach yourself to find positivity naturally. One of the biggest threats to being happy with what you have and being grateful for what you have is consistently trying to measure yourself against a standard of perfection. Unfortunately, life will always have its ups and downs, you will always have your ups and downs, and you will always have things that don’t go as planned. Whether those things are slip ups and relapses, problems at work or in your personal life, or even small things like traffic lights, you need to learn to accept them and be grateful for life anyway. Nothing will ever be “perfect”, and challenges can be used to grow, learn, and even to give you a better perspective on good things in your life.
Spread the Gratitude
For those who are recovering from substance abuse, gratitude for the things that addiction recovery brings can make it easier to stay focused on building a new life free of addictions. Gratitude is more than just saying “thank you”; it’s a fundamental aspect of addiction recovery. Being grateful helps shift your focus from what you’ve lost to what you’ve gained through sobriety.
- Simply taking a moment to count our blessings can lift our spirits and remind us of all that we have to appreciate in life.
- It forces you to appreciate the progress you’ve made, enjoy even the minor things in life and acknowledge everything in life that helps you — such as people, your body, medication and more.
- Fear has been replaced by sheer gratitude, and understanding the value of support.
- It is easy to understand why these traits would be important in long-term recovery.
- Creating a “gratitude practice” starts with simply paying attention to good things large and small – and tools such as journals, lists or meditation can help.
Gratitude can be practiced anytime, anywhere – and it doesn’t cost a penny. But learning to pay attention to the good things that surround you every day can be one of the most valuable tools for your recovery from addiction. Whether you keep a journal, make a list, or choose some other way to track the positives in your life, a gratitude practice can be a constant, comforting companion on the road to recovery.
Why Gratitude is Essential in Recovery
Get you or your loved one help for addiction or mental health issues today. The important thing is that you learn how to focus on what’s important in the now rather than stressing about the past or future. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, many of us may be reflecting on people and circumstances in our lives that we are grateful for. Examining our feelings of gratitude is certainly a nice thing to do. Eleanor Health is here to help you build your confidence and momentum towards the future you want.
When you first start practicing gratitude, it’ll take some time to make it a regular habit. But there are proactive steps you can take to make it a seamless part of your life as quickly as possible. You might write in a gratitude journal or have an alarm go off periodically as a reminder to stop and reflect. It can be hard to feel grateful every day, especially as you’re going through all the ups and downs of recovery. But a lot about practicing gratitude is focusing your perspective. You need to be realistic in recognizing that sometimes you’ll have bad days.