Addiction recovery
is a long and winding journey. There are moments when the recovery process will
seem like a stroll in the park, at other times it will feel like a daunting
expedition. This is why it is important to incorporate practices into your life
that will help you along the way. One of the most important and effective
practices is gratitude…
“Everything
can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms –
to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own
way.” – V.
Sasikaran, psychiatrist.
Being grateful for the things you have on any given day is
arguably the most important factor when it comes to leading a happy life. There
are so many people who walk around each day focused on the negative things that
happen – a long line at Starbucks, or traffic on the way to work – and
literally forget to stop and smell the roses.
Being aware of, and taking the time to appreciate, the small
blessings that we experience each day is an integral part of being happy,
minimising stress, and building a solid foundation on which to achieve success
in addiction recovery.
Practicing
Gratitude in Addiction Recovery
Being grateful for the little things in life may seem
self-explanatory, but so many people overlook it on a regular basis. This is
why we have outlined a few simple things you can do to begin incorporating
gratitude into your life.
1. Keep a gratitude journal
Get yourself a new notebook. Decorate the cover if you are
feeling creative. Then, each day take a few moments to write down at least two
things that you are grateful for on that day. Write as many and as much as you
want, especially if you are having a particularly glorious day, but make sure
that two is your minimum. This exercise will help you think outside the box and
enhance your ability to identify things that you can be grateful for,
especially on a ‘bad’ day.
This practice may seem difficult at
first, but remember that you can be grateful for anything — big or small.
You may want to include the beautiful flower garden you saw on your walk
to work, a warm and sunny day, or a rainbow after the storm or catching up with
a friend. Anything you can think of that made you feel happy and grateful to be
alive, or anything that you are thankful to have in your life is something that
you can include in your gratitude journal. If you find yourself struggling for
ideas, there are many websites that offer suggestions on questions to ask yourself,to help come up
with things to write down.
When you are feeling down, read over
your gratitude journal and remember all of the things that you are or have
recently been grateful for. Not only will this cultivate positivity on an
otherwise bad day, it is a great way to help prevent
relapse by reminding you that life really is beautiful.
2. Practice mindfulness in
everything you do
Whether you are washing the dishes, taking the dog for a walk,
or working on a project at work, do so mindfully. This means fully focusing on
the task at-hand, and clearing your mind of wandering thoughts. Feel the
coolness of the water on your hands as you wash the dishes, focus on the sounds
of nature as you take your dog for a walk, or remove all possible distractions
while you are working.
Practicing mindfulness will help keep your
mind from wandering towards the situations in your life that you feel are
negative, or the problems you feel that you need to solve. It gives you the
opportunity to appreciate and be grateful for each and every moment of your
day, for what it is.
Mindfulness can also help calm your mind when you are presented
with a stressful situation, allowing you to make a logical, informed decision
instead of one formed purely by reacting to your emotions.
3. Embrace imperfection.
Nobody in this world is perfect. However, people have a strange
way of focusing more on the things they have done less than perfectly rather
than on the things they have done well. Especially for those who are in
addiction recovery, there may be days where you feel that you are not living up
to your own expectations. Perhaps you could not stop thinking about having a
drink, or you did not make time for your recovery meeting that day.
Instead of beating yourself up over the things you ‘did poorly,’
be grateful for the things that you did well that day. Then use these positive
feelings to encourage yourself to focus more fully on your addiction recovery
plan.
4. Keep a positive mindset
Eckhart Tolle,
author of The Power of Now, and named by the Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world, once
said:
“Whatever the
present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.”
In other words, life will throw
situations at you that are out of your control, but you can control how you react to them.
Imagine yourself sitting in a restaurant where service is slow and your food is
taking a very long time to arrive. Instead of getting angry and impatient, be
grateful for the fact that you can afford to dine out and that you have the
time to do so. Keeping a positive spin on your situation in times like this
will change your entire outlook on life.
Benefits
of Gratitude in Addiction Recovery
Something that those in addiction recovery can be grateful for
each day is their sobriety. Appreciating how far you have come, as well as all
the other little things that you are blessed with daily will put you in the
proper mindset to meet otherwise negative situations with positivity. You will
be able to conquer obstacles calmly instead of allowing setbacks to derail your
addiction recovery progress and set you up for relapse.
By incorporating the above tips to bring gratitude into your
daily life, you are setting yourself up for a long and healthy life in
recovery. However, if you are having trouble finding things to be grateful for
and are slipping towards relapse, be sure to reach out to someone you trust as
soon as possible.
Whether it be a sponsor, your addiction counsellor, a good
friend or a loved one, the only way to ensure that addiction does not get its
hold on you once again is to reach out and share how you feel. Do not be afraid
to ask for help. In the meantime, make sure that you take a moment to ‘stop and
smell the roses.’ You will be amazed at how quickly a bit of positivity and
gratitude in your day can change your life for the better.
If you or someone you know is
currently dealing with an addiction, you do not have to be alone. We at Shafa
Home have trained addiction specialists who can provide you with the
comprehensive treatment that you need in order to feel better in the short-term
and also experience a long-term recovery. Contact
us today and receive a free and no-obligations
assessment and get started on the path to an addiction free life.
Shafa Home is country’s premier organization for treatment of
alcohol/drug problems, de-addiction, rehabilitation, counseling, treatment for
females, nasha mukti , psychiatric disorders and secondary addictions like
gambling, internet etc.
( These Articles are the sole property
of “ The Cabin Chiang Mai “ , they are its original
authors )
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