Many recovery support groups have started incorporating gratitude circles into their meetings. Participants take turns sharing something they’re grateful for, creating a ripple effect of positivity throughout the group. It’s a beautiful reminder that even in the midst of struggle, there’s always something to appreciate. Expressing gratitude to friends, family, and support systems is a powerful way to strengthen relationships and promote wellbeing. Showing appreciation for the people who have supported us through difficult times can help us feel more grounded and connected, while also boosting our sense of self-worth.

Addiction Relapse Rates: Trends, Factors, and Strategies for Recovery

Many in recovery, particularly early recovery, feel guilty for past mistakes and beat themselves up. While acknowledging mistakes and making amends is vital for long-term recovery learning to love yourself is too. There are many guided meditations on different meditation apps or YouTube that are free. This will not only help you calm your mind but also find things to be grateful for you may overlook. A research paper published in the Journal of Happiness Studies in 2020, it showed that being grateful regularly could diminish symptoms of anxiety and depression. Most everyone has heard the question, “Is the glass half empty or half full?

• When AA uses the phrase “An attitude of gratitude” they often mean “practicing gratitude”.
• You’ll meet hundreds of fellow Reframers in our 24/7 Forum chat and daily Zoom check-in meetings.
• Daily Practices for Gratitude, including Journaling, are essential for those on the path of addiction recovery.
• These dark and clouded thoughts can take a negative situation and make it worse.

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

While there are many things that you can be grateful for, many people spend a considerable amount of time looking for big or important things that have meaning. It’s important to keep in mind that things don’t have to have any significance for you to be grateful https://ecosoberhouse.com/ for them. The sun could be shining, someone could have wished you a good day, you could have a good book, have woken up happy, or any number of other seemingly insignificant things. Think about little things that make you happy on a day to day basis.

How to practice gratitude

A little bit of kindness can make a big difference in someone else’s life and can melt away harbored feelings of anger, guilt, and sadness. Practicing gratitude is all about being grateful and thankful for what you have. When you focus on all the things you don’t have, it creates an attitude of ungratefulness and fosters negative emotions like jealousy and anger.

Start a gratitude journal

Even if drugs or alcohol still tempt you, you missed your group session or you yelled at a dear friend — don’t beat yourself up. Building a consistent gratitude habit takes time and effort, just like any other aspect of recovery. It might help to link your gratitude practice to an existing habit.

How Do You Keep a Grateful Attitude Over Time?

However, maintaining a sense of gratitude can help you stay focused on what is important and find strength in difficult times. Actively practicing gratitude fosters a mindset of positive thinking, and this can greatly improve mental and physical health. Being grateful helps us focus on the good and gives us energy and confidence.

Defining Gratitude and its Impact on Mental Health

• But the impact of gratitude in recovery isn’t limited to individual success stories.
• By incorporating gratitude practices into daily life, individuals can experience a positive shift in their mindset and perspective.
• Millions of people face the same challenge every day, but there is hope.
• Instead, focusing on the best qualities can help us maintain a positive attitude, develop patience, and be respectful of others, even when it’s not easy.

When we are optimistic we see good outcomes in even the most trying situations. In studies, those individuals who were considered optimistic had better overall health and in some cases aged better too. However, if you are able to take that negative event and laugh it off or just forget about it, the day often turns around and is a good one. The key is to not let the bad days take over or become too frequent. Many times people think, sure but I can’t control what goes on around me and what others do and say.

• However, gratitude can help you overcome these difficulties and see positivity in your recovery.
• As a recovering addict, developing a sense of gratitude about the things you appreciate may help you break free from the darkness of addiction.
• Especially in early recovery, there are a lot of emotions that surface that are no longer being numbed by drugs or alcohol, and these emotions can sometimes feel overwhelming.
• From Aesop to Oprah Winfrey, the power of gratitude has transformed lives and healed relationships.
• Now that we understand the many positive benefits gratitude has on our mental health, let’s see how it’s connected to our physical health.

I love these birds, so it is time to do something so they will love me back. At Design for Recovery, we believe recovery is more than abstaining from substances. It is also about developing gratitude, honesty, responsibility, and other essential life skills that can help you achieve lasting sobriety and healthy living. We provide you with the tools, guidance, and community you need to rebuild your life and reach your full potential. You can find positive role models in your recovery community, such as support groups, online forums, or recovery coaches. You can also seek out people in other areas of your life, such as hobby groups, volunteer groups, or spirituality groups.

Gratitude Practices in Recovery

These can help you heal from the effects of addiction and prevent further complications. Abusing drugs or alcohol can take a toll on your physical health, causing problems such as gratitude in recovery liver damage, heart disease, infections, or chronic pain. Gratitude can help you concentrate on the positive aspects of your situation rather than dwelling on the negative ones.