Why is Gratitude Important in Recovery? Agape Treatment Center

The group that wrote gratitude letters reported better mental health at four weeks and 12 weeks after the writing assignment ended, compared to the other two groups. This suggests that a gratitude practice can be a valuable addition to your treatment plan.

Remembering the way your https://ecosoberhouse.com/ was when you were addicted doesn’t have to drudge up feelings of regret or sadness. Instead, it can improve your gratitude and remind you that the fight to stay sober is worth the effort. 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. Negativity can be detrimental to your recovery and make a life in sobriety seem dark, empty, and lonely.

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After 10 weeks of doing this practice just once a week, the group that had written about things they were grateful for reported feeling better about their lives and were more optimistic. As a bonus, they also reported exercising more and going to the doctor less than the participants who had written about things that annoyed them.

Those suffering from substance abuse or addiction tend to show signs of depression, and are self-centered, thinking of their own needs. With gratitude comes a less selfish attitude and more satisfaction in their needs being met and they can focus their attention on others. Gratitude helps people to become more optimistic, more in control of their lives, and offer a less stressful environment. Gratitude in recovery helps you be happy, and as a result gives you all the benefits and advantages of happiness. Gratitude in recovery is being positive and making lemonade out of life’s lemons. When you’re faced with difficult emotions or situations, your gratitude and positivity help you stay level-headed and cope in a healthy way.

Gratitude Can Promote Positivity

A gratitude journal is basically like the intervention used in the study above. Communal strength is how much responsibility you feel for a partner’s welfare. In these studies, a partner could be either a romantic partner or a close friend. Either way, the more you express gratitude to someone, the more connected you feel. Unchecked negative thoughts, resentments, and self-pity are the silent killers of alcoholics, drug addicts, and family bonds. Another way to practice gratitude is to shift the tone of your conversations to eliminate self-blame. Instead of responding to questions with “I’m sorry,” or worse, using “I’m sorry” as a greeting, like “I’m sorry I’m late,” or “I’m sorry for taking so long to email you,” say “thank you” instead.

We all know that there are obstacles and bad importance of gratitude in recoverys that arise along the way. During these times, it can feel easy to lose hope or give up.