With the new year starting, it is essential to be grateful to be able to experience 2021. However, it is not just the new year that should prompt you to practice gratitude. Gratitude can be beneficial in your recovery, as well. Gratitude is critical for those in recovery because it reminds you of how far you have come and what sobriety has given you. As the new year rolls in, now is a great time to start the practice of gratitude in your recovery to help you sustain it for the long term.
How Does Gratitude Help Recovery?
Gratitude is essential to recovery because it helps you get out of a victim mindset and into a mindset that makes you more willing to accept others’ help. Gratitude helps you become more humble in your recovery and more willing to listen to what others have to say. It also allows you to have a more positive outlook for the future.
Those who practice gratitude are:
- Experiencing less stress
- More energized
- More optimistic
- Happier
- Living longer lives
- Being more in control of their lives
- Better are coping with obstacles
- Thinking more clearly
How To Practice Gratitude in Recovery
Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to take up large portions of your day; all you need is a quiet place to organize your thoughts and a few minutes dedicated to the practice. There are multiple ways to practice gratitude. You just have to find the one that works for you. For example, you can practice meditation or prayer when you wake up or before you go to bed to focus on what you are grateful for and verbally acknowledge it to yourself or a higher power. You can also keep a gratitude journal so you can reflect on things you are grateful for later. You can also simply talk to someone else about what you are grateful for. This causes you to be mindful of the positive things in life as you go through your recovery.
Gratitude is essential to recovery because it gives you a positive outlook on life that can make you more motivated. Gratitude will make you happier and more humble in your recovery, causing you to want to sustain it for the long haul. The more you practice gratitude, the better you can focus on the good things that sobriety has brought you, making you less likely to relapse in the future. You can practice gratitude by yourself or with others by talking about what you are grateful for and why. At Alta Loma, we encourage our clients to talk about things they are thankful for because we believe it promotes long-term recovery. For more information about recovery and how gratitude helps, contact us at (866) 457-3843.
