Top 5 Gratitude List in Recovery
What are you grateful for in recovery? What brings you joy, peace, or comfort as you go through the process of healing after addiction? If you are having a hard time finding something for your gratitude list, consider the following:
1. Physical health: If you are able to get through the day with moderate or no pain, if you do not have a cold or the flu, if you are not plagued by abscesses or toothaches, or if you have no broken limbs, you have reasons to celebrate. Even if you are facing one of these issues, if you are not facing all the rest as well, you have a reason to be grateful.
2. Mental health and wellness: If you get through the day without a panic attack, if you are able to fall asleep at night, if you are able to get out of bed in the morning, if you can find moments of peace throughout the day, if you feel loved by someone, if you feel love for someone, if you have the ability to stop and do a mental check-in and body scan to identify discomfort that may be contributing to an ill mood — if you can do even one of these things, you have something to be grateful for.
3. Home: Do you have somewhere to sleep at night? Even if you are staying in a homeless shelter, sleeping on a friend’s couch, or living in a sober living home or treatment facility, you can be grateful.
4. Relationships: Do you have people in your life you respect and love? Do you feel a connection with anyone in the support groups you attend? Do you trust your therapist, sponsor, and/or doctor? Do you feel there is hope for your connection to your family members or acquaintances that could develop into friendships? Relationships of all kinds are worthy of gratitude.
5. Opportunity: Even if you are racked with mental health and physical problems, feel utterly alone, and have nowhere to live at the moment, you always have the opportunity to improve your life. In fact, the less you have of the above items, the more opportunity for change is available to you. Without any structures in place defining your experience, you are free to choose what is most important to you and focus on improving that area first.
Find Your Gratitude
If you are struggling with connecting with your gratitude and experiencing peace and joy on any level due to ongoing use and abuse of drugs or alcohol, it is time to connect with treatment. For many firefighters, the urge to escape depression, anger, and anxiety due to trauma exposure on the job is so strong that many feel the only way out is substance abuse. The good news is that at American Addiction Centers, we offer a First Responder Lifeline Program that offers intensive treatment for first responders who are facing co-occurring disorders of addiction and trauma-related issues.
We provide:
· Therapists and a treatment team that is trained to treat first responders
· PTSD assessment
· Interactive, motivational therapies
· Family support
· EAP/MAP interaction
· Reintegration assistance
Call (866) 53-SOBER today to learn more about the options available to you and your family in our First Responder Lifeline Program.
