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If there’s someone in your life who has been instrumental in your recovery, connect with them and let them know just how much they’ve helped you through difficult times. Ask them about their life, and make a habit of checking in with them every once in a while. 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. When practiced regularly, gratitude builds stronger connections between people and within ourselves.
- 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.
- If you started to expect such a favor all the time, however, your entitlement could lead to refusal and then hostile thinking.
- For example, one study of new college students found that participants who scored higher in dispositional gratitude had higher levels of perceived social support and lower levels of stress and depression.
- Sadly, people in recovery are often notorious for being grumpy, but that stereotype doesn’t have to be true for you.
- The good news is that gratitude is contagious, and you can practice gratitude with others to help teach yourself to find positivity naturally.
- On the other hand, feeling connected to others makes you more resilient.
Many great thinkers and philosophers have applied definitions to gratitude. Recent work on the concept of gratitude in philosophy and psychology. The Journal of Value Inquiry,47 (3), … Continue reading 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.
Committing Your Gratitude to Writing
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. 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.
This creates a virtuous cycle, since a well rested brain is more resilient and better at regulating emotions. Another study looked at the effects of gratitude in a group of nearly 300 participants, mostly college students, who were seeking counseling for various issues, mostly related to depression and anxiety. In addition to receiving regular counseling, the participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. One group wrote gratitude letters–which are discussed below–one group wrote about their thoughts and feelings, and the last group didn’t write anything. The group that wrote gratitude letters reported better mental health at four weeks and 12 weeks after the writing assignment ended, compared to the other two groups.
How to Cultivate Gratitude and Reap the Rewards in Your Recovery
Three related studies found a strong correlation–and one study found evidence of causation–between frequent and regular expressions of gratitude and greater communal strength. Communal strength is how much responsibility you feel for a partner’s welfare. In these studies, a partner could be either a romantic partner or a close friend. Either way, the more you express gratitude to someone, the more connected you feel. For most of us, our addict lives were devoid of any sense of gratitude.
Each day, take some time to write down a few things you are grateful for. It can be anything from the big (e.g., “I’m grateful for my sobriety”) to the small (e.g., “I’m grateful for a sunny day”). At its core, gratitude is about developing a state of openness and vulnerability. It allows you to appreciate what you have instead of dwelling on your difficulties. According to studies, gratitude and happiness are always strongly correlated.
What Are Some Ways to Develop This Type of Gratitude?
Sometimes, writing a gratitude letter can seem daunting, especially if you have trouble putting your feelings into words. If you are not about words of affirmation, there are other ways to show people you appreciate having them in your life. Getting them a small gift/card, spending quality time with them, or doing a favor for them are all great ways to show gratitude that don’t require words. Researchers find that gratitude is especially important for individuals in SUD recovery with the goal of being abstinent. In addition to practices like these, gratitude is another way individuals practice mindfulness. Practicing gratitude requires you to truly focus and observe everything you have and all the good that happens to you.
Entering treatment is the first step to recovery, and we focus on equipping clients with coping and self-care skills for reintegration back into life once out of treatment. Our program goes above and beyond to empower individuals during their recovery. 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.
Record Your Gratitude in a Journal
While the benefits of gratitude are clear, learning how to cultivate and practice gratitude can be tricky, especially early in recovery. Gratitude can be a major asset in overcoming mental health issues, especially depression and anxiety disorders, which are by far the most common. A number of studies have found that gratitude both increases the number of positive emotions people feel as well as reducing the number of negative emotions.
Take the time to express thoughts of thankfulness in your head or with another person when possible. When properly cultivated, gratitude becomes an action of expressing your love for someone or something. If you’re grateful for your recovery, you stay committed and contribute to it.
At Gateway in Chicago, Illinois, we want to support you so you can find a life of gratitude and sobriety. Our evidence-based treatment programs focus on addressing your individual needs. Most of the time, our friends and family constantly do small things for us the importance of gratitude in recovery that may not seem like much, but are a consistent and constant sign of love. Even if you don’t have any close friends and family, you do likely have sponsors, peers at your self-help group, counselors, and new friends you may have made on your way to recovery.