Why All This Gratitude?
One need not spend much time around people in recovery before hearing how they maintain an “attitude of gratitude” or how they are a “grateful recovering addict/alcoholic/gambler”. If one finds this oppressive then do not attend an open twelve step meeting. There appears to be a minimum time gap required between such expressions.
Why all this emphasis on gratitude? Yes, they have, at least for today, overcome a debilitating, even deadly disease. But one doesn’t hear cancer survivors running around talking about an “attitude of gratitude”. Yes, they have survived hellish conditions and circumstances. But one doesn’t hear regularly about “grateful car crash survivors”. What’s the issue?
Rosewood Recovery points to the therapeutic value of gratitude. They note that gratitude acts in a way that fosters a positive mindset counteracting despair, hopelessness, shame and guilt that often accompany active addiction and early recovery. Developing that “attitude of gratitude” can effectively shift the focus from the horrors of the past and challenges of the present to the positive aspects of recovery.
Further, cultivating gratitude promotes hope and optimism and promotes a sense of personal well-being and personal worth. Ultimately, adopting an active gratitude practice builds the foundation for a fulfilling, substance-free life. An individual with this positive self-image and outlook is better prepared to make the personal life style and emotional changes that are newly open to the person in recovery.
The purposeful practice of gratitude such as gratitude journaling, intentional daily expressions of gratitude, and a several day gratitude challenge can serve in much the same way as mindful meditation. A consistent, persistent practice, much like meditation, reorients the outlook, provides a calming overall perspective that can reduce anxiety, depression, and reorient how the person in recovery reacts to everyday stressors both those that occur to everyone but also those that are particular to people in early recovery.
Rosewood suggests four aspects of gratitude that can form the foundation of a healthy gratitude practice:
Appreciation, where in recognizing the gift of recovery individuals also recognize, perhaps for the first time, the many gifts they have received in life
Approval, affirms the worth of others as well as self-worth
Admiration, acknowledges the qualities and achievements in self and others and this practice nurtures connections and reengaging in social relationships usually damaged in active abuse and addiction
Attention, involves being present and engaged with those around us in order to build deeper connections.
Samba Recovery writes that a long term practice of gratitude not only boosts a positive outlook, enhances self-esteem and improves resilience but actually promotes neurobiological changes. According to Samba, the practice of gratitude can significantly influence how individuals cope with daily and sometimes life altering challenges. By cultivating a mindset of gratitude, individuals enhance their brain's capacity to process all experiences more effectively effectively. These neurobiological effects can lead to improved emotional regulation, enhanced cognitive processing, and greater resilience to stress. In this regard a practice of gratitude is again like mindfulness and the reported neurobiological aspects of meditation.
It is not surprising then that a group of people sharing their experiences in their active abuse and addiction, and early and ongoing recovery, would practice or reinforce gratitude as a group. This collective spirit of encouragement can be vital for maintaining motivation for a regular, persistent gratitude practice. We have discussed in previous articles how group interaction supports the positive behaviors that result in long term recovery, provides discussion of effective strategies that add to recovery success, actively overcomes the sense of being alone, actively avoids terminal uniqueness, and provides a common identity that supports a renewed lifestyle. Given that gratitude can have such a positive impact on recovery it is no surprise that a group reinforcement of gratitude should become a pillar of those communities.
We began this discussion asking generally why there is so much emphasis on gratitude by individuals and groups in recovery. Perhaps the question should be why is gratitude not practiced more widely across our society? Why don’t we hear from grateful cancer survivors and accident survivors? Why isn’t gratitude a strategy across a much wider swath of the nation? Gratitude is and should be a core tenet of peer self help.
Gene Gilchrist
August 2025+
