Be thankful for recovery this holiday season?

Studies show that thankfulness can increase happiness. thankful for recovery

Martin E. P. Seligman, a researcher and psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, worked with 411 test subjects who reported much higher levels of happiness after writing thank-you notes to people who had positively touched their lives.

Another researcher, a Dr. Robert A. Emmons at the University of California, discovered that those who wrote about negative moments became increasingly unhappy, while those who were instructed to write about positive moments were increasingly happy.

What does being thankful for recovery look like?  

Showing gratitude for recovery means spending a little time every day focusing on what you are thankful for. You may be thankful for recovery achieved so far because you are able to reconnect with people you had lost touch with. Being thankful for recovery may mean that you spend some time looking at yourself in the mirror and congratulating yourself on the positive things you have done over the past days/weeks/months.

What if you are not thankful for recovery today?

You won’t wake up feeling thankful for recovery every day and that’s perfectly okay. You can make yourself feel thankful for recovery as you move through your day, however. Maybe you’ve heard the saying “fake it till you make it.” This saying can help you through many of life’s challenges. If you wake without feeling thankful for recovery and want to feel more thankful immediately, just remind yourself of the reasons you could be thankful for recovery today.

  • What about the changes in your behavior? You might be thankful because your recovery has made it possible for you to make better choices and live a healthier life?
  • You may be thankful for recovery because you have been able to hold down a job for much longer than you have been able to in the past.
  • Are you thankful for addiction recovery because you are now in a long-term relationship with someone who can trust you and whom you can trust?

gratitude in recoveryBy intending to be thankful for addiction recovery every day, you make it impossible for negative feelings and thoughts to take control of your life and you open up the opportunity for good things to happen.