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Recovery from addiction isn’t always easy. You will have hard days, stressors, and difficult situations to navigate. Keeping this in mind, there are ways to make even the tough times seem less dreadful.
If you are in recovery, you have probably heard of gratitude. Many people talk about adopting an “attitude of gratitude” to keep yourself feeling peaceful and content throughout all of the hills and valleys life will bring you. But how do you practice gratitude and what exactly does that mean?
Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation for the things in your life. The easiest way to practice gratitude in recovery is by appreciating the small things that make you happy. There are other ways to make gratitude central in your life, including keeping a journal or sharing a list of things you are grateful for with your friends each day.
In this article, you will learn:
- What are the benefits of staying positive and practicing gratitude in recovery
- How to practice gratitude in recovery
- How each method of practicing gratitude will help you keep a positive outlook on your life
What are the Benefits of Practicing Gratitude in Recovery?
Gratitude is the act of being thankful for things in your life in the present moment. Once you are skilled at practicing gratitude, you will be able to find something good each day, no matter what stressors or difficulties you experience. But what are the benefits of gratitude in recovery?
A study found that practicing gratitude can enhance your mental and emotional health while promoting a lasting change in perspective.[1] This means that being grateful consistently could change the negative thoughts and negative emotions you suffer from. By changing patterns of negativity, you are less likely to turn to drugs and alcohol when you feel emotional, stressed, or down.
Other benefits of practicing gratitude include:[2]
- Reduced symptoms of depression
- Lessened anxiety and reduced stress
- Reduced risk of heart disease and strengthened immune system
- Improved sleeping patterns
In other words, gratitude can transform many different areas of your life. To have a successful recovery, you’ll need to improve your depression, anxiety, and sleeping habits. By practicing gratitude, you bring yourself one step closer to a solid recovery journey.
How to Practice Positivity and Gratitude in Recovery
Having a positive attitude isn’t always easy. Sometimes life throws roadblocks your way that make it difficult to remain confident, happy, and motivated. However, when you are used to practicing daily gratitude, it will become easier to maintain a content mood no matter what stands in your way.
If you are interested in practicing positivity and gratitude in your daily life, you should:
Appreciate the Small Things
When you are having a rough day and it seems like nothing is going right, you might believe it is impossible to feel grateful. While you should allow yourself to feel negative emotions every now and again, you should never let them consume you. Once your stress or anxiety begins to become too much, it’s time to start appreciating the little things in your life.
By pointing out the small things that you are grateful for on a bad day, you can change your entire perspective. Instead of focusing on the stressors, you are choosing to acknowledge what has gone right in your life. This could be the presence of your family, friends, support system, home, career, or anything else you hold dear to your heart.
Redirecting Thoughts
When you start thinking negative thoughts, you can choose to redirect them instead of focusing on them.
Let’s say you were spending time with a loved one and they said something that got on your nerves. Family can easily cause us to begin thinking negative thoughts. Instead of focusing on their comments, focus on the fact that you can spend time with them.
Redirecting your thoughts in this way will help you avoid stress, allow you to remain grateful in the moment, and improve your personal growth.
Keep a Gratitude Journal
If you are looking for a more straightforward way to practice gratitude, you should keep a gratitude journal. Every night after your day has ended, write down at least 5 things that you were grateful for.
Some days it might be hard to think of five things, especially early on. However, doing this exercise will center gratitude in your life. Additionally, it will become easier to think of five things each day, proving that gratitude is an emotion that you can practice.
Daily Gratitude Group Text
If you attend a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous, you are probably in a sponsorship family. Many sponsor families have group texts to stay connected with one another. You could suggest that instead of doing a private gratitude journal, everyone in the family texts five things they are grateful for each day.
This exercise will teach you how to be grateful even on bad days and show you examples of what others are grateful for.
Volunteering or Service
Lastly, you can practice positivity and gratitude in recovery by volunteering or picking up service commitments. Whether this means helping out at a soup kitchen or speaking at your 12-step meetings, engaging in an activity that helps someone else will allow you to remain grateful.
Get Connected to a Top-Rated Drug and Alcohol Rehab Program
If you or a loved one suffers from substance abuse, it’s time to seek professional help. At the Mandala Healing Center, we offer tools and support to help you recover from addiction while improving your mental and physical health. We will also help you learn how to practice gratitude and positivity in your daily life.
Contact us today for more information on our addiction treatment programs.
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