The Importance of Gratitude in Recovery
As Thanksgiving approaches, people talk more about gratitude. Expressing gratitude each November is part of tradition, but for people in recovery, gratitude is a year-round practice and an important tool. By practicing gratitude daily, people in recovery remind themselves of all the blessings they have and foster positive thinking, happiness, and wellness.
About Gratitude
At its essence, gratitude is feeling joy for the things you have in life. This isn’t limited to material possessions, although of course you can be grateful for the things in your life, too. Gratitude encompasses everything in life, including people, states of being, feelings, opportunities, and emotions.
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. This, in turn, leads to a healthier recovery – creating a beautiful cycle.
Gratitude is also the antidote to negative thinking that reduces hope and happiness. People who dwell on the negative aspects in their lives almost always find it difficult to reach a state of contentment. In recovery, excessive negative emotions put people at risk for relapse. This is not to say negative emotions should be overlooked or ignored, but obsessive or continuous negative thinking is hazardous to a healthy recovery.
Gratitude, when practiced daily, enhances hope, increases physical and mental wellbeing, and helps overcome the more difficult times we all face.
Why Gratitude is Essential in Recovery
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.
Active addiction can carry with it a lot of shame, guilt, and remorse, and it’s critical to counterbalance these feelings with gratitude, hope, and wellness. Instead of getting lost in negative emotions, use gratitude to be thankful you are in recovery and are fully present in your life. Gratitude helps reduce or even eliminate emotional and physical triggers as well.
Further, practicing gratitude helps you look outward, to all the wonderful things that surround you, rather than keeping you focused inward, which can lead to feelings of negativity and despair.
Ways to Nurture Gratitude
Thankfully, nurturing a daily gratitude practice is simple, and it can be woven into your day-to-day life. It starts with a mindset shift, and a concerted effort to think more positively.
This may not feel easy in early recovery when the problems associated with active addiction are fresh, and we are still sorting out the wreckage, but here is where gratitude comes in. By way of example, instead of thinking of all the people and/or opportunities lost as a result of active addiction, consciously shift your mindset to one of gratitude that you are living in recovery and have the chance to rebuild and repair your life.