The Importance of Gratitude in Recovery

Many in recovery, particularly early recovery, feel guilty for past mistakes and beat themselves up. While acknowledging mistakes and making amends is vital for long-term recovery learning to love yourself is too. No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs, taking some time each day to say thank you to your Higher Power is a great way to cultivate more things to be grateful for in your life. This multiplies and before you know it your life is beyond your wildest dreams. Get a jar of any kind and when something good happens write it on a strip of paper and put it in the jar.

One of the best ways to feel grateful is to give back and help others. Whether volunteering, donating to a worthy cause, or simply lending a listening ear, giving back is a great way to practice gratitude in recovery. When we take the focus off of ourselves and our problems, we can see all of the ways we are fortunate and have so much to offer. Other studies have also shown that practicing gratitude can lead to increased feelings of well-being and a more positive outlook in life. Cultivating gratitude is an important part of recovery and gratitude is recognized as one of the foundational virtues in the creation of happiness. If individuals are grateful to be on the road to recovery, then it’s less likely they will relapse because they are empowered to move forward.

You are unable to access recovery.org

Keep your lists for a reminder of why you’re working toward recovery- and what the future could be. The quicker you can assume a position of feeling gratitude for being sober, the more likely your recovery will be successful and make a lasting impact on your ability to maintain sobriety. Those who view recovery as a burden or see their recovery experience as negative are more likely to turn back to alcohol or drugs.

• Additionally, gratitude has been linked with increased resilience, better sleep, and improved physical and mental health.
• By practicing gratitude daily, people in recovery remind themselves of all the blessings they have and foster positive thinking, happiness, and wellness.
• Gratitude is a state of mind, a way of thinking, and a feeling of joy and appreciation for the things you have.
• Gratitude Recovery is a whole person supportive sober living that provides residents with the opportunity to integrate mindfulness into their lives through daily learning and practice in a family setting.

Having gratitude allows someone to more clearly see the truth of their situation. This type of positive thinking and outlook can then influence the behaviors of an individual, which can aid in leading a sustainable recovery-oriented life. When a person is suffering from substance abuse or addiction, typically they do not go about their day with a positive outlook of gratitude. Addiction is defined by self-centeredness, victimization and depression. Addicts in active addiction are never satisfied, always want more, are dissatisfied with their life, how others act, what others do and how they feel life is treating them. Often they live in constant fear about numerous issues, they feel they’ve been given a poor lot in life and they cry out in anger about why they have been forsaken.

Gratitude Is a Muscle: It Takes Time and Practice to Master

It leads to comparing our life to someone else’s that we perceive to have “better” or “more” of what we do not have, and that in turn leads to frustration and anger and resentment. Twelve Step fellowships caution to always be aware of resentments for they are the root causes of most relapses back into active addiction. Practicing gratitude will help to maintain a positive outlook, even on days when difficult circumstances or emotions arise. Studies confirm that negative feelings are dangerous triggers that can lead to relapse. Taking an active role in resisting the temptation to give into negative feelings is one of the most important tools for maintaining recovery. Theoretical and empirical evidence support the supposition that gratitude positively reinforces addiction recovery once recovery is underway.

But in recovery, it’s possible to recover hope for the future and to look forward to doing new and better things. It will take time to heal the wounds of the past, in you and in others. It will also take an effort to get out of the practice of negative thoughts of how we view ourselves. Another way to practice gratitude is to shift the tone of your conversations to eliminate self-blame. Instead of responding to questions with “I’m sorry,” or worse, using “I’m sorry” as a greeting, like “I’m sorry I’m late,” or “I’m sorry for taking so long to email you,” say “thank you” instead. When you communicate with other people, express what you are thankful for.

Committing Your Gratitude to Writing

It is actually a defense mechanism to protect our erratic behaviors. One gets to think less of self and more of the efforts of those trying to help. By cultivating this in addiction treatment and in recovery, we develop a better mindset overall and have a much more positive perspective on life. The grateful participants had more activity in a part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex, where decision-making and learning happens. The people who participated in gratitude activities showed these active brain changes even three months after the study ceased.

• The steps of your recovery plan should be at the top of your list – consistently.
• They focus on the connection between mind, body, and spirit and are usually implemented alongside evidence-based modalities such as CBT.
• Recovery can seem big and impossible, so it’s important to set small doable goals along the way.

That gives a sense of accomplishment, boosts self-esteem and gets things done. Break down big goals into smaller ones and mark them off your list as you complete them. Our Addictions Content Team has been providing up to date information on substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders for over a decade. Each piece of content is reviewed by our team of medical experts, consisting of doctors, registered nurses, and licensed therapists, as well as by our editorial staff. When you are continually grateful for your recovery it will begin to bless you in ways you never would have imagined.

That is why, at Turnbridge, we encourage clients to develop an honest sense of gratitude in recovery. By the time clients graduate our drug treatment program, they are fundamentally transformed, guided by passion, gratitude, and hope. If you are in recovery or have a loved one working the steps, though, it’s likely that gratitude is more of a daily than an annual recognition. It can empower you to become a positive influence and motivate you to live a happy, healthy, and drug-free life. Addiction can harm the body and mind in many ways, sometimes permanently.

• The sun could be shining, someone could have wished you a good day, you could have a good book, have woken up happy, or any number of other seemingly insignificant things.
• Staying grateful during both good and bad times keeps your mindset in a consistent place.
• A little bit of kindness can make a big difference in someone else’s life and can melt away harbored feelings of anger, guilt, and sadness.
• Sure, maybe you are new in recovery and keep telling yourself you’ve wasted years using and should’ve gotten sober sooner.
• Volunteer your time, or join a support group to share your experiences with addiction and help others in similar circumstances find their way to recovery.
• The current study examined levels of trait gratitude via a psychometric instrument.

Find new friends instead of people who are still using drugs or alcohol. Make a deliberate effort to replace old drug related behaviors and thoughts with new, positive ones. Journaling has a long-established history as a tool for self-discovery and healing. Journal therapy is a part of many kinds of counseling and group work, but anyone can use a journal to explore feelings, process events, and create conditions for change. For people working toward recovery, a journal can be a place to track progress, uncover causes for addiction, and figure out new ways of dealing with stressful situations.

What’s the Importance of Gratitude in Recovery?

While we can look at each one of these things and find an issue, the power is in finding the good in each. For many, our brains have been wired and become accustomed to thinking one way—often negative. Those with addiction issues, sometimes have maladjusted ways of thinking which become habits. These thoughts, as mentioned, can tend to be negative, always seeing what is wrong and what we don’t want.

• It’s also moved into non-AA treatment and often into everyday life.
• Qualitative studies of gratitude among individuals in recovery can be a fruitful step.
• Having gratitude allows someone to more clearly see the truth of their situation.
• 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.
• Volunteering or being in service is one of the best ways to begin to get grateful.
• Having a sense of gratitude replaces embarrassment and frustration with thankfulness.

For example, meditation, mindful movement, and breathing exercises can help those struggling with mental illnesses or psychiatric conditions. By thinking positively and being grateful for what we have, we can live a more fruitful, favorable life. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/the-importance-of-gratitude-in-recovery/ Giving yourself the space and time to just be is one way you can show appreciation to your own physical, spiritual, and emotional self. The body needs healthy foods to heal from addiction, so improving your diet can play a major part in recovery.

Gratitude helps people to change their perspective on life, and to realize that they have resources to meet life’s difficulties with dignity and sobriety. When challenges arise, a positive mind set helps a person to see them as opportunities for growth, rather than obstacles to hide from or to fight against. Average percent days abstinent did not change significantly between 6 and 12 months. The positive and negative effects of gratitude on future abstinence found within the interaction between 6-month gratitude and 6-month abstinence essentially cancel each other out.

The quality of being thankful – thankful for all that we have, all that we have received, and all that has not befallen upon us. Gratitude is an acknowledgement of the positive things in life, things both big and small. If you’re having a hard time finding things to be grateful for, slow down and focus on the smallest details in your day—from feeling your feet on the ground to the movement of your eyes as you read this. In recovery, make self-care a priority by taking steps to improve your circumstances or your health, or saying no to people and activities that don’t support your goals for recovery. When someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, getting and using them becomes a priority –and recovery should be a priority as well.

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. Those suffering from addiction who enter a treatment program learn the importance of changing their perception of the world including practicing gratitude. Being grateful can motivate someone to take the actions needed to change their life. Practicing gratitude in recovery can help someone realize life’s difficulties can be faced with dignity. It’s a fundamental element in recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction.