5 Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude in Recovery

The quicker you can assume a position of feeling gratitude for being sober, the more likely your recovery will be successful and make a lasting impact on your ability to maintain sobriety. Those who view recovery as a burden or see their recovery experience as negative are more likely to turn back to alcohol or drugs. Gratitude inspires the mind and the body to turn away from substance abuse. On the other hand, gratitude can also arise more outwardly towards others who have helped in your recovery process.

For some people, gratitude may be a foreign concept all together. There are simple ways to incorporate gratitude enhancing activities into any daily routine. This is where showing appreciation for even small gestures of kindness or relatively minuscule positive occurrences comes into play. Practicing gratitude by thanking someone who lets you cut in line in the supermarket because you only have one item is an appropriate way of showing gratitude and ingraining it into your own practices. If you started to expect such a favor all the time, however, your entitlement could lead to refusal and then hostile thinking. Gratitude for even the smallest courtesies can promote a consistent sense of thankfulness.

Finding happiness, gratitude in sobriety

Even if today wasn’t your best, have perspective on how far you’ve come. Your progress is an achievement, and you can only appreciate the good when you acknowledge the bad. At Lifeskills South Florida, we’re here for those seeking help with a drug or alcohol addiction.

Although it might seem that it is easy to learn to be grateful for what you have, it is actually very difficult. After a lifetime of being self absorbed being grateful can be quite a challenge. Although it seems like a trivial thing, practicing gratitude is taught in many holistic therapies around the world. In the eastern philosophy gratitude is known as the key to happiness. Now that you know what practicing gratitude is and how it can help you, here are five easy ways to incorporate it into your recovery journey. Every day, take just a moment or two to write down a few things that make you grateful.

Record Your Gratitude in a Journal

Most everyone has heard the question, “Is the glass half empty or half full? ” this simple question illustrates being grateful and not being grateful. When we walk through life and see everything that is wrong, everything that isn’t going our way, everything that we wish was different, we will continue to see more and more of the same.

• So how exactly does someone practice gratitude and know they’re doing it right?
• The thoughts can snowball until we’ve worked ourselves into a state of restlessness and discontent.
• With gratitude comes a less selfish attitude so they can focus their attention on others.

Try to see the good in your friends, family, and co-workers, and let go of any resentment or anger you may be holding onto. One of the best ways to feel grateful is to give back and help others. Whether volunteering, donating to a worthy cause, or simply lending a listening ear, giving back is a great way to practice gratitude gratitude and recovery in recovery. When we take the focus off of ourselves and our problems, we can see all of the ways we are fortunate and have so much to offer. One of the simplest and most effective ways to practice gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. Each day, take some time to write down a few things you are grateful for.