Does an Attitude of Gratitude Affect Recovery?

Concentrating on the people around you and your relationships is a key part of long-lasting happiness. The disclosure is made to medical personnel in a medical emergency or to qualified personnel for research, audit, or practice/program evaluation. It is essential to understand the definition of addiction and know how it differs from physical dependence or tolerance. The key to understanding this is knowing the difference between physical dependence and addiction. Meditating for a few minutes a day can significantly benefit your health.

Or if you see someone struggling to carry groceries to their car, the simple act of offering a helping hand can go a long way. When you make that shift into a grateful mindset you radiate a very attractive and influential positivity.

How to Practice Gratitude in Recovery (and why it matters)

You need to foster as many positive thoughts as possible on your journey towards feeling grateful. Start focusing on the relationships and people around you that you value. This will be a big step in developing long-lasting happiness within yourself. Practicing gratitude can be helpful in many ways for those coming out of addiction or abusive relationships. New Method Wellness is not affiliated with, employed by, or in contract with any treatment centers or providers.

Express your appreciation to those around you who have made your life better, even in the smallest ways. The expression of appreciation will bring happiness to the person receiving it, and it will allow you to focus on someone outside of yourself. Your call is free and confidential, and there is no pressure to commit. If it turns out that our program is not the right fit for you, we will do whatever we can to help you find a program that meets your needs. Our main goal is to help you along your recovery journey and get you the help you need. We are ready and waiting to answer your questions or concerns.

Write a letter of gratitude.

There is no longer an appreciation for the benefits of sobriety or the loved ones who may be hurt by your addiction. Gratitude can help reverse these feelings on the path to recovery. What they lead back to is thankfulness for what you have and where you are in life. If you are in recovery, you have people rooting for you to overcome your addiction. Keeping your focus on these and other positives in your life can help you develop thankfulness. Maintaining a grateful mindset during tough times can also help you remember that they do pass.

• Better Mental Health– We develop a more positive outlook, becoming stronger as we face challenges.
• Help others– When we help others, it helps us better appreciate what we have.
• Encourage yourself as you focus even more fully on your recovery.
• This can lead to many negative side effects, both physically and mentally.
• Gratitude encompasses everything in life, including people, states of being, feelings, opportunities, and emotions.

If you really think about it, those emotions cannot exist alongside gratitude. When we’re grateful, we’re accepting all of the love we’ve received from another source – which could also include a higher power. Gratitude is a powerful force for many in recovery why is gratitude important in recovery because it’s all about understanding how lucky, blessed and/or gifted to have the support, tools and help that we’ve received along the way. Establishing a sense of gratitude is about shifting your focus, and viewing the world through a new lens.

Committing Your Gratitude to Writing

It is easy to feel overwhelmed and pessimistic when living through the challenges of addiction recovery. You may feel like you don’t have the strength or willpower to overcome your obstacles, and you might start to get caught up in negative thoughts and emotions like anger, self-doubt, or hopelessness. However, maintaining a sense of gratitude can help you stay focused on what is important and find strength in difficult times.

We can be grateful for an event, gift, favor, opportunity, circumstance, weather, etc. We can also be grateful as a general attitude toward life, seeing the world around us in a positive and productive light when a «normal» reaction would not be gratefulness. On the inverse, one can show signs of gratefulness, when they feel none.Gratitude is also about expressing thanks toward others. The simple act of thanking someone or showing appreciation to a family member or friend with regard to what they mean to you — not necessarily what they have done or do for you. Expressing gratitude helps us remember what is truly important — friends, family, health, security, among other more personal things.

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Only more recently have researchers started to pick apart the reasons it can be so helpful and beneficial. One study of 300 people in mental health treatment, who benefitted from gratitude exercises, found interesting potential reasons it works. Feeling socially connected is one of the single most important aspects of a strong recovery from addiction. Much of the depression and anxiety that puts you at risk for depression in the first place https://ecosoberhouse.com/ stems from feelings of alienation, loneliness, disconnection, and perhaps even shame. We are a social species and somewhere deep down in our DNA we know that to be alone is to be vulnerable. On the other hand, feeling connected to others makes you more resilient. It reduces stress because you can share your feelings with sober people and you have more resources for solving problems, even if you never have to actually ask for help.