Overcoming addiction and reaching a lasting recovery is no easy feat. It takes an intense investment in treatment and therapy, strong willpower, time and energy to devote to the challenge of ending substance abuse and more. Yet even after reaching a state of recovery, it can be easy for the recovering addict to focus on the ongoing challenge of maintaining that recovery and forget to feel thankful they reached that point at all.
By cultivating gratitude for lasting recovery the recovering addict can better ensure they maintain their sobriety in the long term.
Even after reaching a state of recovery, the recovering addict’s work is not done. Treatment was just the first step to overcoming substance abuse and addiction. Next the recovering addict must begin the long, unending work of remaining in recovery. They must resist cravings and avoid relapse to avoid falling into the repetitive cycle of addiction, the constant push-pull that sees the addict go through rehab, only to relapse and return to addiction and then return to rehab to start the process all over again.
This can leave the recovering addict feeling trapped in an unending battle, a grim ordeal that has no room for peace or rest. In their darkest moments, it can seem to the addict that recovery is a long struggle of unceasing vigilance. And while there is some truth to this – unceasing vigilance is the price to pay to maintain sobriety and keep recovery going – it doesn’t have to be a curse.
After all, recovery is far less of a battle than addiction is at its height. The fight to maintain sobriety is not nearly as grueling and degrading as the day-to-day ordeal of simply living with substance abuse. The recovering addict can simply think back on their past life of addiction and realize that recovery, even at its most routine and difficult, is much more preferable than being in the throes of addiction.
This perspective is the beginning of the best way to overcome the danger of falling into the doldrums of recovery fatigue. The recovering addict must actively cultivate a feeling of gratitude within their recovery, a constant state of thankfulness that they are better off than they were before rehab and that the vigilance of a lasting recovery is a worthy trade-off to avoid relapse.
This won’t always feel easy. Some days the grind of maintaining recovery will threaten to choke any feelings of gratitude you might feel, but the fight remains both necessary and worth the trouble. By working to fuel your feeling of gratitude with constant reminders of the value of your recovery, you can keep going even when you’re feeling down.
At Good Landing Recovery, the need to cultivate gratitude for recovery is acknowledged and encouraged. During treatment, patients are taught how to focus on the positive to overcome the negative and keep their energy up for continuing the battle against addiction, no matter what.
There will be hard times and dark days. But with help in treatment and ongoing therapy, with moral support from friends and loved ones, from fellow recovering addicts and support groups, you can make it.