How to Practice Gratitude This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a holiday where you take stock of your life and be grateful for what you have, but many people lose sight of that purpose amid all the stress of planning, cooking, cleaning and hosting. Being grateful requires a mindful and intentional approach, which is why it can be such a beneficial practice for people in addiction recovery.

Why Can Thankfulness Help You?

Research suggests that developing a habit of gratitude not only makes you feel happier, but can also improve your health. However, many people overlook the need to be grateful every day. Instead, they focus on the negative things that have happened to them that day – the barista got their morning coffee order wrong, their meeting at work ran an hour longer than it was supposed to, their dental checkup revealed a new cavity.

Being aware of, and taking the time to appreciate, the small blessings that make up each new day is an integral part of minimizing stress and helping you build a solid foundation for success in addiction recovery. What are some easy things you can do to bring more gratitude into your daily life?

1. Don’t Try to Be Perfect

We’re all human, and part of being human means you will occasionally slip up. Perhaps, for example, you have a day where you decide to skip your regular recovery group meeting because you had to work late. Instead of berating yourself for things you believe you did “wrong,” think back and focus on all the things that went well. Maybe in staying late at work, you got yourself ahead of the game in preparing for a major presentation. Use this positivity to focus more fully on your recovery plan.

2. Write It Down

If you have trouble accentuating the positive, start a gratitude journal. Buy a dedicated notebook, or go digital and create a new file on your computer. Every day, make time to write down something you’re happy or thankful for, no matter how small. For instance, “Today, my co-worker helped me when I was struggling, and it made a big difference in the rest of my day.”

3. Bring Mindfulness to Every Day

Whether you’re eating a meal, taking your dog for a walk or going to sleep, there are plenty of ways to incorporate forms of mindfulness into your daily activities. Being more mindful can also be a tool to build your gratitude and sense of inner peace.

Benefits of Gratitude in Addiction Recovery

As a recovering addict, you can and should be grateful for your sobriety and the progress you have made. Working toward a positive mindset will help you be more resilient when setbacks occur, so you can meet the obstacles head-on, instead of allowing them to pile up.

The stressors and various family pressures associated with the holiday season can present a unique challenge for people in addiction recovery. However, with the right mindset, you can welcome the opportunity to practice your gratitude – not only on Thanksgiving Day, but year-round. You will be amazed at how quickly the right attitude can change your life for the better.

At Complete Harmony, you can discover the benefits of holistic addiction recovery at our beautiful facility by the sea. Contact us to learn more about starting your journey toward healing.

How to Make Gratitude Part of Your Daily Recovery

 Being grateful may seem like a piece of cake but in fact it takes practice. By working to incorporate gratitude into your daily life, you’ll boost your immune system, mood, recovery and more. Here are a few ideas to get started:

• Start a gratitude journal. Each day, jot down three things you’re grateful for – and keep a running list that you can refer to when you feel as if you have no blessings to count.
• Shift your mindset. You have control of your thoughts, so instead of thinking about what you don’t have, think about what you do have. This isn’t to say that you can’t strive for more, but take time to be thankful for the little treasures found in daily life.
• Make time for loved ones. Even if it’s a quick phone call, check in with your loved ones and let them lift you up. Talking with or spending time with family and friends who support you and your recovery journey is a surefire way to make you feel grateful.
• Remain teachable. With gratitude comes self-awareness or the ability to recognize how far you’ve come in your recovery and how much learning you still need to do. We never know it all and being humble and teachable will help you to feel grateful for the chance to learn more about yourself during recovery.
• Recall tough times. When it feels like you have nothing to be grateful for, think about a bad time in your life and how far you’ve come since then. Embrace these moments to make you grateful for the sober life you’re now living.
• Volunteer or simply help a fellow recovery peer. When you give rather than receive you become more grateful for what you have. In fact, volunteering has been linked to numerous benefits including decreased depression and increased well being.
• Meditate. Carve out time daily to sit quietly give thanks to all of the small gifts in life; you can even use the running list from your gratitude journal to help. 

Meditation and More
At Complete Harmony, we encourage the use of many different cutting-edge techniques to help clients heal the mind, body and spirit and cultivate a sense of gratitude, including mediation. To learn more about our treatment center and our approach to addiction recovery, call today: 866-930-4673.

Being Grateful on Thanksgiving and Beyond

Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to practice gratitude as you gather with loved ones and give thanks for bounty, friendship, and love. However, you shouldn’t stop counting your blessings once the holiday comes to an end. 

In fact, giving thanks on a daily basis can be a powerful recovery tool with tremendous benefits to your physical, emotional, and mental health. We all have the ability to cultivate gratitude. Simply take a few moments to focus on all that you have – and how far you’ve come – rather than complaining about all of the things you think you deserve.   

Here are just a few of the many ways having “an attitude of gratitude” can help you and your journey toward sobriety.

You’ll sleep better: Just 15 minutes spent writing in a gratitude journal each night can result in better, longer sleep, according to a study in the journal Applied Psychology. 

You’ll have fewer toxic emotions. Having an attitude of gratitude has been study-proven to improve psychological health, reducing emotions ranging from resentment to regret. 

You’ll be more resilient. Recognizing all you have to be thankful for – even during the tough times of recovery – fosters resilience.

You’ll have fewer aches and pains. This is partly because grateful people have been found to take better care of their health, including exercising more and getting regular check-ups. 

You’ll expand your social circle. Acknowledging other people’s contributions, even with a simple thank you, can open doors to potential friendships.

You’ll better manage stress. A positive mental attitude has been shown to fend off stress and anxiety.

More Stress Management at Complete Harmony 

Stress heightens addictive tendencies and mental illness, and detox can make this process even worse. Our therapists and medical professionals facilitate healing through holistic symptom treatment, specialized group and individual therapy approaches, pharmacological management, and family support. To learn more, call 866-930-4673.

4 Ways to Practice Gratitude

A daily dose of gratitude can do wonders for your recovery as well as for your overall mental and physical wellbeing. Studies have linked gratitude to a number of health benefits, including improved self-care, fewer toxic emotions, sounder sleep, stronger willpower, and increased self-esteem. 

People who are able to be thankful for what they have – rather than complain about all the things they think they deserve – not only handle stress better but they can also overcome trauma easier, according to researchers. 

If you attend an AA meeting, you may even hear the recovery slogan: “Have an attitude of gratitude.” The gist is that feeling grateful for your recovery will prevent you from relapsing. In other words, not taking your recovery for granted will ensure that sobriety remains something worth fighting for. 

Being Grateful Every Day
Like any worthy skill, having “an attitude of gratitude” takes a fair amount of practice. Here are four everyday tricks to get you started:  

1. Keep a gratitude journal. Try listing three things for which you are thankful and three people to whom you are grateful. 
2. Say “thank you” with thoughtfulness. The next time someone helps you, be sure to acknowledge the effort behind his or her actions as well as what the actions mean to you personally. This will help others feel more valued and you feel better about yourself and your life.
3. Designate a no-complain day. Pick one day of the week and vow not to complain on that day. Better still: Use this time to note the positive side of any negative thoughts. 
4. Perform a daily act of kindness. This can range from complimenting a friend to volunteering for an organization to writing a nice note to someone you haven’t seen in a while.

Holistic Relapse Strategies

Sustained sobriety requires long-term strategies for dealing with negative patterns, emotional duress, physical and psychological cravings, and poor self-esteem. Our holistic relapse prevention plans provide a firm foundation for lifelong sobriety. Call today: 866-930-4673.