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.

5 Types of Journaling for Addiction Recovery

Got a pen or pencil? How about a piece of paper? With these simple tools you can take big strides in making yourself feel better during recovery. Journaling, or writing down your thoughts and emotions, has been shown to help restore your body and mind after years of addiction. And here’s the best part: You don’t even need to be a wordsmith to reap the many health benefits.

What you do need to do, however, is to

find the type of journaling that works best for you. This will depend on your recovery goals, of course, as well what best fits your personality. And you don’t have to stick with one type – you can mix and match depending on your needs at that time. Here are a few to consider:

• Stream-of-consciousness journal: This is great for purging yourself of head junk. Sit down for 15 minutes each day and write down whatever comes to mind – don’t try to edit yourself or hold back any thoughts. 
• Diary journal: Whether you’re looking to establish a schedule in early recovery or identify any triggers to prevent relapse, a daily journal can help. Jot down the day’s events – what you did, who you saw, how you felt, etc. – and use this information to identify any patterns. 
• Activity/food journal: Tracking your daily exercise and eating habits can help you identify poor choices and keep you on a healthy path. You might also want to note your sleep habits and stress levels to determine how they influence your food choices and activity levels. 
• Gratitude journal: This type of journal allows you to count your blessings and, in turn, develop a more positive outlook. Bonus: Being grateful has been linked to a slew of health benefits, including improved self-esteem, fewer toxic emotions, stronger willpower, and sounder sleep.
• Spiritual journal: Many recovering addicts tout spirituality as an aid in recovery. Finding a belief in a power beyond yourself can help you better navigate moral choices; improve anger management; discover meaning and purpose in your new sober life; and more. 

Does a Secular Approach to Healing Appeal to You?

At Complete Harmony, we understand that each client comes to us with a different view of faith and spirituality. Our programs are designed to meet the needs of those who embrace religious beliefs, and those who wish to approach recovery as a retraining of the rational mind. To learn more, call: 866-930-4673.