The Attitude of Gratitude Thread

Addiction can be a long and treacherous. Oftentimes it can make us feel like there's nothing good in our lives and that we're all alone in our struggles. Breaking free from this negative thought spiral that keeps us trapped in the cycle of addiction and makes cravings creep up on us can be quite challenging. Gratitude is one of many tools that we can utilize to assist us in overcoming this obstacle. It can help us to get out of our own heads and learn to recognize, appreciate, and feel joy from the positive things in our lives.

What is gratitude you may ask? In short, gratitude is the practice of noticing and appreciating what is meaningful to us.

How can we harness the healing powers of gratitude? It can be difficult at first to recognize what has meaning in our lives, especially when we are struggling or are new to the recovery process. However, it does get easier with time and practice.

Some ways of incorporating gratitude into your life include:

Being grateful for one's life and recovery. If we are grateful for our recovery, we are less likely to relapse on our addictions.

Keeping a daily journal of a list of things you are grateful for. These can be anything from your recovery, your partner, your job to that tasty sandwich you had for lunch or the catchy song you heard on the radio.

Showing gratitude to others. This can be as simple as sending them a text saying that you appreciate them or you can get creative and make them a card, cook for them etc.

Reciting a prayer or mantra.

Making a conscious effort to focus on the positives and being mindful of when our negative thoughts are spiraling out of control.

Helping others. Whether it be listening to a friend when they are needing someone to talk to, helping a neighbour carry their groceries, or volunteering to chair an addiction support meeting, being of service to others takes the focus off of ourselves and can be a strong foundation to cultivate feelings of gratitude.

Asking others what they are grateful for.

Now that we have learned a little about gratitude, let's practice our new skills here in the forum. What are 3 things you are grateful for today? Please write up your response in a reply to this thread. Feel free to come back and keep on sharing. Let's keep the gratitude train chugging