3 Ways Gratitude Aids Addiction Recovery

Addiction is difficult to kick because the drugs and alcohol that people use to escape from reality can make them feel as though they need it to be happy and to separate themselves from their problems. However, this is far from the truth. We at Pathways Real Life Recovery will show you how to use gratitude to your advantage in addiction recovery.

Gratitude Gives Us Hope in the Dark Times

While it can be difficult for an individual to find hope when they first begin their recovery journey, gratitude is the light at the end of the tunnel that can provide that hope. Gratitude gives us an opportunity to look past the hardships that we are experiencing and to recognize the progress that we have made already. When we choose to be grateful for and focus on the positive effects of sobriety rather than the effects that we experienced while we were choosing to turn to alcohol or drugs for comfort, we have a better chance to beat our addictions.

Gratitude Reminds Us of What We Have in Our Lives

It can be easy to lose sight of what is important to us. We take for granted things such as family, friends, and belongings daily. Sit down and make a list of all of the things in your life that you are grateful for. Are you done? I'm assuming that you have discovered that there is plenty that you are grateful for in your life when you truly sit down and think about it all. These people, places, and things that we appreciate are powerful tools to use during our addiction recovery. They remind us that we have things to fight for and that we must continue to fight our addictions in order to keep these things in our life.

Gratitude Keeps Our Stress Levels Down

Gratitude helps us to keep our stress levels down by reminding us that we already have everything that we need in our lives, that our recovery is a day by day process but that each step is valuable and should be looked at in a positive way, and it reminds us that we should never take the opportunity to recover from addiction for granted. For those of us who turn to drugs or alcohol to escape the stress or conflict in our lives, practicing gratitude can be extremely beneficial to our recovery process and to preventing relapse.


Gratitude is only one of the powerful tools that we can use to help ourselves as we recover from addiction. If you would like to know how to further help yourself and break out of the chains of addiction, reach out to us by either calling 801-895-3006 or by emailing us at info@pathwaysreallife.com. You can find more information about Pathways Real Life Recovery here.


About the Author:
Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.


Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006