Numerous strategies are being used to help people overcome addiction at this point. Medication-assisted treatments, cognitive behavioral therapy, joining support groups, and using mindfulness techniques are a few of the most common. Each one offers its own benefits for recognizing the reasons for an addiction, replacing negative habits with positive ones, and ultimately changing a person’s overall mindset. They all take different approaches, but they’re all geared toward the same end results.
Based on a number of studies, and quite a few people’s personal experiences, practicing gratitude can be an effective addition to virtually any addiction recovery plan. It has become a common component of addiction rehab near Glendale, and it can make a major difference in the way people see the world and feel about their lives and themselves. Consider some of the reasons why practicing gratitude is a must for successful addiction recovery.
Eliminating a Sense of Lacking
In many cases, addiction is born of a sense of lacking. People feel that something they want or need is missing from their lives. That can be any number of things, including money, worldly belongings, companionship, self-worth, peace, or closure for a traumatic experience. No matter what it is, it leaves a dark, gaping hole in their souls, and they use their addictions to try to fill the void.
Practicing gratitude entails focusing on what you have rather than what you’re lacking and being grateful for all of the positive elements in your life. It gradually helps you shift your mindset from what you’re missing to what you’re not. Slowly but surely, it helps you to fill the void with affirmation rather than an addiction, and the former is ultimately much more effective.
Reducing Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are leading causes of addiction as well. They can definitely be overwhelming feelings, and everyone needs a bit of relief from them at times. Many people turn to an addiction to give them that escape, even if only intermittently. Unfortunately, suffering from an addiction also tends to exacerbate stress and anxiety. It’s a terrible cycle that’s incredibly difficult to break.
Studies show that practicing gratitude can alleviate stress and anxiety. It triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin, the feel-good hormones. Those hormones activate the brain’s reward center. When they do, they can reduce your stress levels, combat anxiety, improve your mood, and help you relax. They generate the same effects as partaking in an addiction but without the common aftereffects of heightened stress and anxiety. The more you practice gratitude, the more permanent those positive effects become.
Boosting Resilience
Setbacks are a common element of recovery. Everyone experiences them. People tend to punish themselves when they do. That’s a surefire way to let them drag you down to point where it’s difficult to come back from them. Practicing gratitude helps you focus more on the numerous victories you’ve had, no matter how small they may seem, than on the occasional setbacks. In doing so, it helps you build the resilience you need to bounce back from setbacks rather than letting them overshadow your accomplishments.
Overcoming Addiction By Practicing Gratitude
Practicing gratitude can be a powerful tool on the road to addiction recovery. It essentially helps people to focus on the positive rather than the negative, which goes a long way in its own right. It also aids in reducing stress and anxiety and bolstering resilience, both of which are important for beating addiction. Practicing gratitude can help with not only getting through the initial stages of recovery but coping with the world after the fact and preventing relapses moving forward.
