When you’re mired in the depths of addiction, other negative situations often come along with it. Substance abuse strains relationships, impacts personal finances, and can stymie your career, among other potential barriers to happiness. No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs, taking some time each day to say thank you to your Higher Power is a great way to cultivate more things to be grateful for in your life.
Take on Challenges with a Positive Mindset
Have you ever felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in your heart when someone does something nice for you? That feeling is called gratitude, and it’s one of the most powerful emotions why is gratitude important in recovery we can experience. You could draw, write, paint, garden, smith, smash pumpkins, whatever. Get in touch with your creative side, especially if you haven’t before.
- If you’re not able to practice gratitude in social settings or in your communication with people, practice gratitude introspectively by journaling or creating a gratitude list.
- 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.
- Get a jar of any kind and when something good happens write it on a strip of paper and put it in the jar.
- Have you ever felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in your heart when someone does something nice for you?
- It takes practice and commitment to cultivate a grateful mindset and attitude.
Keep a Gratitude Journal
The steps of your recovery plan should be at the top of your list – consistently. Addiction can rule a person’s life, as getting and using the drug or drink of choice can dictates actions large and small. Many addicts experience loss of time, as they are not as present when they are using.
- That feeling is called gratitude, and it’s one of the most powerful emotions we can experience.
- Whether you’re attending AA, any form of 12-Step, or science-based programs like SMART Recovery, gratitude is often a strong focus.
- Every year, around the holidays, gratitude becomes a hot topic.
The Importance of Gratitude in Recovery
- Gratitude will help you seek out these connections and communities, find and feel value in them, and share positive, connecting sentiments with people who have earned your trust.
- Often, just by going through the motions, you’ll find yourself feeling grateful by the end of the day.
- It could be spending an afternoon with a friend or watching the sunrise.
- Chances are if you have been in recovery for more than a day or two, you have heard someone talk about gratitude.
Choose to go to new, drug free places rather than old hangouts connected to your addiction. Find new friends instead of people who are still using drugs or alcohol. Make a deliberate effort to replace old drug related behaviors and thoughts with new, positive ones.
One of the biggest threats to being happy with what you have and being grateful for what you have is consistently trying to measure yourself against a standard of perfection. Unfortunately, life will always have its ups and downs, you will always have your ups and downs, and you will always have things https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/does-alcohol-dehydrate-you/ that don’t go as planned. Nothing will ever be “perfect”, and challenges can be used to grow, learn, and even to give you a better perspective on good things in your life. Most people tend to be happier and more satisfied with life when they contribute to others and help them with their own lives.
Gratitude develops our humility and teaches us to recognize others’ contributions to our life. It trains us to shift our focus outward and look to see how we can be of service to help others. Big Book is a central theme, however being grateful may not come easily at first. But like anything else, we can work on developing an “attitude of gratitude” until it becomes a habit. Gratitude truly is for everyone, but it is so powerful for those struggling through recovery.