Thanksgiving in Recovery: Gratitude Matters

If you are like many individuals in early recovery, then you may be dreading the coming week. Thanksgiving is less than a week away, which means a good many men and women are about to have their recovery tested.

It’s an unfortunate fact that higher rates of relapse accompany significant holidays. Select days of the year bring out many undesired emotions; left unchecked, they can put people on a path toward drugs and alcohol.

During the holiday season, one must keep their finger on the pulse of his or her emotions. They must be willing to be open and honestly talk about their feelings with their support network. Bottling up how you feel is a recipe for disaster in recovery.

Perhaps this is your first Thanksgiving in recovery. If so, then Celebrate Hope is happy to report to you that keeping your sobriety intact is possible. However, preventing a relapse will require extra effort on your part.

You may find that you have to double up on meetings in the coming days. Even if you feel a desire to isolate, you must resist the temptation. Stick close to those who help you continue down the road of recovery each day. You are not alone; you have allies who are committed to supporting you, and they need your help too. Men and women recover together!

Thanksgiving in Recovery

The holiday season demands much of men and women in recovery. You will find that maintaining a positive attitude is of significant benefit. Everything may not be right in your life, but remember this path you are on is a process. It’s probably fair to say that your things are starting to look up when compared to where things stood just a short time ago.

Thanksgiving is about more than merely sitting down with friends and family to eat turkey and pumpkin pie. This time of year is an opportunity to exercise an attitude of gratitude. Each day in sobriety is both a gift and an accomplishment worthy of recognition.

Taking the time to make a gratitude list will help you stay grounded, especially if you find yourself having difficulty during the holiday. In recovery, men and women have so much to be thankful for, as it is a blessing to no longer be in the grips of addiction. You have real friends in your life today; people who care about your progress and well-being.

Take stock of all the individuals who have accompanied you on this remarkable journey of healing. Let them know how vital they are to your continued progress. Doing so will not only brighten their spirits; it will make you feel better too.

Perhaps you are working a program of the 12 Step variety; if so, then you probably have a sponsor. Take a moment to share with him or her your sincerest gratitude; it’s worth remembering that their guidance has been instrumental, day in and day out. It costs nothing to be grateful, but being the opposite can be costly.

Again, you must remain close to your support network in the following days. Be sure to attend your regular meetings and then some. You may find that going to several meetings on Thanksgiving is beneficial, as well. Share with your support network how you are feeling, especially if you find yourself experiencing cravings. It’s always easier to call before you fall; never hesitate to reach out for help if you are in a situation that can jeopardize your program.

Faith-Based Addiction Recovery

Celebrate Hope is here for men and women who require assistance with alcohol or substance use disorders. Our highly qualified team is also equipped to treat men and women who meet the criteria for co-occurring mental illnesses.

At Celebrate Hope, we combine evidence-based therapies with the teachings of Jesus Christ to help individuals get on a path toward healing. Please reach out at your earliest convenience to learn more about the programs we offer and to begin the life-changing journey of recovery.

Attitude of Gratitude and Paying it Forward

If you have been attending recovery meeting for some time, then you have undoubtedly heard hundreds of acronyms. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid), H.A.L.T (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired), and G.O.D. (Good Orderly Direction) just to name a few. At times you might get tired of hearing the little sayings, but you shouldn’t discount their importance.

Alcoholics and addicts have tendency to overcomplicate the simplest of situations. We over-think things that don’t even require thought, only action. If life in addiction is complicated, recovery should be an elementary iteration of existence. One need not worry about the things that once consumed their day in addiction. You no longer need to ask the question of how you will fuel the disease for just one more day. We don’t have to keep track of who we are dishonest to anymore because we are working an honest program.

In recovery, one commits him or herself to putting their best foot forward. They follow the lead of those who came before, to experience the miracles of recovery, too. More importantly, those in recovery have different perspectives than they once had, in turn giving them a new lease on life. This current mindset allows one to exercise an attitude of gratitude for those who support them in their endeavors.

 

Paying It Forward

When a person works the Steps and follows the direction to live a spiritual life, it allows them to strive for serenity. In doing so, one can be available to their fellow members of the program. No longer trapped inside our heads, consumed by our selfish desires, we can be there for others. After a person becomes versed in the steps (having gone through them with their sponsor), they are in a position to serve as a guide to a newcomer. This leads us to the next acronym, S.P.O.N.S.O.R. (Sober Person Offering Newcomers Suggestions On Recovery).

Accruing sober time in recovery is excellent, but if you want to keep it, you have to pay it forward. When you arrived in the Rooms, someone else selflessly guided you along the way. They walked you through the steps, lathered you with platitudes and acronyms until your head spun, and then told you to pass the message to the newcomer. That's what keeps the cycle of addiction recovery going. We can't rest on our laurels; we are not cured, we must carry the message that if one is willing to do the work—recovery is possible.

You may not be at the point of sponsorship (yet), but it’s beneficial to take stock of the things you hear or see that help you stay sober Just for Today. Please do not write off pithy sayings and acronyms as being overused and unuseful. There will come a time when someone needs to hear what you have learned along the way, and it may be as simple as telling someone P.A.C.E. (Positive Attitudes Change Everything).

 

Addiction Treatment: A Gateway to Recovery

Not everyone can march into a room of recovery with a desire to quit drinking or drugging. Heavy abuse for an extended period can make abstaining from drugs and alcohol exceedingly tricky. Detox and addiction treatment are proven methods of traversing the early stages of recovery. If you or a loved one is battling alcohol and substance use disorder, please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope By The Sea.

Practicing Patience In Recovery

Patience is a virtue, albeit one hard to attain for many people. Particularly for those who have a history of addiction. Everyone in recovery knows what it means to, ‘want what I want, when I want it.’ Knows firsthand about seeking instant gratification, and becoming upset when pleasure needs be waited on. While it is not a mindset wholly unique to addicts and alcoholics, it is certainly a pervasive trait among such people.

When you embark upon a journey of recovery, the eternal act of recreating oneself for the better, you find out pretty quickly that you’re not the center of the universe. That time does not belong to you, more importantly: you are not god. You are not the most important person in the room. You learn right off the bat, life happens on life’s terms and your once inability to accept that reality contributed to your downward spiral.

Thus, a change was needed, if you were going to make it in recovery. You would have to re-learn what patience is, remind yourself of its value. Because, if you cannot wait for the miracles of recovery to present themselves, you’d likely return to the banes of addiction. Whether you like it or not. If you are new to the program, there will be many realizations in the coming weeks, months and years. After all, recovery is a lifelong endeavor, we don’t wake up one day and think to ourselves, ‘voilá, I’m recovered.’ Whatever vehicle of recovery you choose to take the ride in, it’s a journey that should not stop. If it has ended, one of two things has occurred: relapse or expiration.

 

Practicing Patience in Recovery

To be sure, patience is not inherent or innate, we are not born with the virtue; one need only observe the movements of a child to see that for truth. No, we learn it along the way, and like anything you want to get better at—practice makes perfect. With that in mind, a good approach to improving your ability to exercise patience is to ever remind yourself (as cliché as it sounds) that everything happens in its own time and that everything happens for a reason.

In early recovery, it can be easy to convince yourself that because you are sober now, windfalls are on the near horizon. While it is great that you have chosen to embark on a new path, much work is needed before the blessings of recovery (usually) occur. For many, the wreckage of one’s past is extensive. A great number of people walk into a meeting for the first time with few resources. Homeless, unemployed and financially destitute. Others have significant debt, that will need to be paid along the way. The list goes on, but you get the point, surely. It is impossible to determine when one’s lot will change. But, one thing is certain, things will never change if recovery is abandoned. And, it is worth noting that your worst day in recovery is far better than your best day in active addiction. Why? Because you have options in recovery, whereas…

If you are willing to do the Work, good things will come your way eventually. Recovery is a process, it takes time for improvements to be seen. Which is OK. This is not a race where speed is the most important attribute one can have. There's much to be unpacked mentally, emotionally and spiritually, if long-term recovery is to be obtained. Both your higher power and sponsor will be there for you along the way, if you let them. Ever remind yourself that you are no longer running away from yourself, you’re running towards. With a clear head and clear conscious the miracles of recovery will inevitably present themselves to you, often when you least expect. As long as you can remember that there is nothing to be lost by staying the course. Those who drift away from the program stand to lose — everything.

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

Let Addiction Treatment Guide You

In addiction treatment, much time is spent learning how to ground oneself in the present. Exercises in how to cope with situations that could send one down an unhealthy path. Learning how to trust. Not just another, trust in yourself. If you are ready to begin the process of addiction recovery, please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope by The Sea today. We can equip you with the skills and tools for successfully achieving long-term recovery.

Avoiding Triggers in Early Recovery

Living a life free from drugs and alcohol is no easy task. It is not a coincidence that most relapses happen within the first year of recovery. Whether you sought help by way of treatment or not. Of course, those who do seek the assistance of a substance use disorder treatment facility are given tools and taught skills to better mitigate the risk of relapse.

When you go to treatment for alcohol or substance use disorders, getting you off substances is the first order of business. Next, comes the work. Learning, understanding and accepting ways of living that can help you avoid the temptations lurking around every corner. One of the reasons that staying clean and sober for long period of time is so difficult is triggers. People, places or things that can elicit certain responses and feelings in thee mind.

In early recovery, avoiding triggers is absolutely paramount. Those who delude themselves into thinking they are stronger than they are, often encounter problems. People with less than a year sober have no good reason to be in an environment where people are using. If there is a party that requires your presence (i.e. work related event), bringing a friend in the program with you is always wise. That being said, it is possible to stay out of shark infested water in early recovery. If one is honest about their limitations.

Triggers In Addiction Recovery

Alcohol and drugs are triggers. But, there are other subtler triggers that can make a person want to use, too. After years of living in addiction, there are number of mental associations that form. Stimuli and behaviors that went along with your disease, but are not necessarily things that will get you drunk or high on their own.

For instance, everyone listens to music. Perhaps there was a band that you listened to a lot when you were using. Now in recovery, you may play a song that could make you have fond memories of when you were using. Forgetting all the pain that drugs and alcohol caused, you find yourself with a smile on your face. This can be dangerous. In early recovery, you would be wise to make a list of certain bands that could trigger your appetite for particular substances.

Music is just a general example of something benign in nature that can have catastrophic impact on your program. Early on in treatment, you and your counselor will likely narrow down things in the outside world that could jeopardize your recovery. Identify places that should be avoided, and people that you should try to stay clear of. One’s addiction will be constantly trying to steer you towards the precipice of relapse. Working a program counters the sinister drive of addiction. After leaving treatment, you will work with a sponsor and go to meetings. It is vital that you talk with your fellows in recovery about any and all urges to use that you are having. Not doing so is a slippery slope to relapse.

 

Addiction Treatment As A Model

Some of you reading this are not in recovery yet, but need it. If that is the case, please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope by The Sea. We can help you build a solid foundation for recovery, and teach you about the people, places and things that should be avoided—at all costs. Achieving long-term recovery is possible, let us show you how.