Essentials for Practicing Gratitude in Recovery

They then asked another group to write about the daily irritations or things that had displeased them. The third group was asked to write about the negative and positive events that affected them. After 10 weeks of study, those who wrote about gratitude gratitude in recovery were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Gratitude can be an incredibly useful tool throughout your recovery. You’ll also notice the small improvements you make, the support you get from friends and family and the beauty of sober living.

• For those in addiction recovery, it’s a transformative force, rebuilding lives and reigniting hope, one appreciative thought at a time.
• Taking stock of what you’re grateful for should be about stepping back and taking stock of what you appreciate, what has gone right, and how things have gone better than they could have.
• Reserve five minutes each morning to offer appreciation while you enjoy a cup of coffee, head out for an early run or even after you hit the snooze button (the first time).
• In one study, the researcher evaluated a group of treatment participants and some staff members for psychological traits, coping skills, gratitude, and other factors.
• When addiction rules most aspects of life, it can be difficult to recognize and take advantage of new opportunities to learn, grow, and change.
• Keep it simple or more profound, but make sure to start each morning in thankfulness and set the tone for the day.

It’s work, discipline, commitment, peeling back layer of vulnerabilities, speaking our truth and more. Don’t postpone joy waiting for a day when your life is less busy or less stressful. Our hope is merely to capture the spirit of the fellowships, and to approach people with the language they commonly use to describe the disease of addiction. Maybe a person has performed an injustice, and we are correct to reconsider our relationship with them. Just as often, though, our expectations have become unrealistic, and we need to manage them.

Gratitude Is a New Way of Thinking, a New Way of Being

Instead, look for opportunities to savor the small pleasures of everyday life. It could be considered a chore or task, but I savored the candid conversation and enjoyed her company on our drive together. Focus on the positives in the present, don’t dwell on the past and forget about worrying about the future.

• Your progress is an achievement, and you can only appreciate the good when you acknowledge the bad.
• Contact us today, and you will be connected with someone who will walk you through our simple admissions process, ensuring you receive the clinical care you need as quickly as possible.
• Then when we feel gratitude slipping away, we can re-engage with whichever practices help us to feel connected with our Higher Power and other people.
• During these Step 10 personal inventories, we can note these tendencies and commit to changing them.

When you do good things, you just feel good, which will help you to feel better. Taking time to focus on gratitude, especially during the holidays, allows us to be present, content, and feel more positive emotion. Just being grateful for the gift of recovery is a great place to start your gratitude practice. By anchoring ourselves in the present moment, we open our senses to the simple beauties often overlooked. This open awareness fosters a natural surge of gratitude, a quiet appreciation for the abundance woven into each day. This newfound mindfulness-related gratitude becomes a wellspring of strength, empowering us to navigate the challenges of recovery with renewed hope and a gentle, joyful heart.

Learning to be Grateful

However, a substance use disorder is a disease, it’s often the result of choices you made, but choices you made without the intention to become addicted. You https://ecosoberhouse.com/ may have made mistakes, but you are trying and you are in recovery and getting better. Recognizing that and working to forgive yourself is an important step.

Because of this, gratitude often helps people develop a connection with a higher power. This connection is imperative to work through the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (or another 12 Step program). At Flatirons Recovery Center, we believe in the importance of 12-Step program involvement. We encourage our clients to continue participating in a structured program once they complete treatment as part of their comprehensive aftercare programming. In recovery, we are given the space to be grateful, but it still takes time to practice and train the mind to notice and cherish the beauty in life. We should be patient with our feelings while our minds recalibrate to those details that most deserve our appreciation and respect.