In recovery, you can be grateful for the opportunity to have the freedom to pursue new hobbies, activities and goals with your newfound time. Gratitude can show others that you do not take your second chance at life for granted. By expressing thankfulness for everything you have in your life, you can shift your mindset from focusing on what you lack to appreciating all the wonderful things you have going for you. Establishing a sense of gratitude is about shifting your focus, and viewing the world through a new lens.
These outcomes positively reinforce one’s behavior towards practicing gratitude as a habit. By doing something kind or helpful for someone else, we not only bring happiness into their lives but also cultivate feelings of joy and satisfaction within ourselves. This can help us to see the world through a more positive lens and inspire us to make changes that benefit not only ourselves but those around us too. Finally, gratitude has been linked to improved physical health outcomes such as better sleep quality and reduced inflammation. This suggests that being grateful not only improves our mental health but also has positive effects on our bodies.
Why is Gratitude an Important Practice in Recovery?
A grateful approach allows you to take on challenges with a positive mindset. For instance, rather than viewing relapse as a failure, you can see it as an opportunity to learn and grow. This perspective can help you stay motivated and committed to your recovery goals, even when times are tough. On the other hand, gratitude can also arise more outwardly towards others who have helped in your recovery process.
It is easy to understand why these traits would be important in long-term recovery. While the benefits of gratitude are clear, learning how to cultivate and practice gratitude can gratitude and recovery be tricky, especially early in recovery. Most people are aware that mental health affects your physical health, but did you know that positive emotions also have an impact.
Gratitude Is an Important in Overcoming Substance Abuse
The greatest thing about practicing gratitude is that you can decide how you will do it. You can incorporate exercises, activities, or actions into your daily life to support your recovery. You might even be wrapped up in the shock of actually being in treatment. However, once that fades away, you will get down to the nitty-gritty of your care. And, during that time, practicing gratitude can help you achieve your treatment goals.
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. When others share their successes, listen, and let their gratitude rub off on you too. Gratitude is the key to finding the silver lining in a negative situation, and the thoughtful optimism and clarity that gratitude brings help keep the situation in perspective. Appreciating simple things that are going well or being thankful for small acts of kindness by others can lift your spirits while the negative situation is resolved.
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Having trouble focusing your gratitude onto a specific person, place or thing? We can observe our expectations and attitudes while working Step 10, which we should perform on a daily basis. During active addiction, we may have taken friends and family for granted or overlooked the simple pleasures in life. And when we looked for the worst qualities in every situation, we created a self-fulfilling prophecy of negativity. Gratitude is a muscle that develops with training and practice, and when we make a habit of appreciating the better qualities in life, we strengthen that muscle in our mind.
To overcome negative thinking with gratitude, start by acknowledging even the most mundane blessings in your life. From the food we eat to our comfortable beds, there are countless things worth feeling grateful for that we often take for granted. When we make a habit of appreciating these things, we begin to focus on the good rather than the bad. 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.
I’m In Recovery
Take time to look at yourself and your life and be grateful to yourself. If you are in recovery, you have accomplished so much just by being sober or trying to get sober. Thank yourself for showing up each day to try again, to grow, to face challenges, and to work on being the best version of yourself. Often, those in recovery, forget to show gratitude to themselves for all they have overcome and accomplished. When someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, getting and using them becomes a priority –and recovery should be a priority as well.
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