What if someone told you that you could change your life one positive thought at a time? Sounds too good to be true, but science shows that it’s possible.
Life, many times, finds a way to interrupt our peace and damage our well-being, especially when we are struggling with mental health issues or substance use. Yet, even in difficult times, when life has us down, we hold the power to transform our minds and create a healthier, more hopeful future. One of the most powerful tools a person can attain is gratitude, and intensive outpatient (IOP) therapy presents the perfect setting to support it, rewiring the brain for lasting recovery and optimal well-being.
Gratitude is evidence-based and scientifically proven to promote good health, physically, psychologically, and socially. Keep reading to discover what gratitude is and what practicing gratitude means, the importance of doing so for a happy and healthy life, and take a look at the science of how it can rewire brains. And to help you along the way, we will offer easy-to-initiate tips to start practicing gratitude in your own life. Gratitude isn’t just a way to feel good; it’s a proven practice, backed by research, to rewire your brain, boost your well-being, and strengthen your recovery. Let’s get started.
What Is Gratitude and Why Is It Important?
Gratitude is a positive emotion that is experienced when a person recognizes something good in their life. Gratefulness is a state of being where you can acknowledge the good things in life and be thankful for your current situation. Gratitude can be recognized during the small moments in life, such as receiving a kind word from a stranger, or the bigger moments like sobriety milestones. In IOP therapy, gratitude can be used to shift focus from the pain of the struggle to gratitude for connection and hope.
In recovery, gratitude can help counter negative feelings like shame or despair, which are common in addiction and mental health struggles. By enlightening the mind to the positive aspects of one’s life, gratitude has the power to make us feel happier and more hopeful. Socially, expressing gratitude helps to build (and sustain) long-term relationships. And physically and psychologically, gratitude has a healing effect that can enhance self-love and empathy while decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression. By focusing on the positive things in our lives, we can face challenges with gratitude, making our chances of recovery more likely.
To truly appreciate the power of gratitude in recovery, it helps to understand how gratitude affects the brain and how it rewires our thinking for lasting change.
The Science Behind Gratitude: Rewiring the Brain
Often underestimated, the human mind is a complex and powerful part of our being that is yet to be fully understood. However, in the last several decades, the scientific study of the brain, the way it works, and our desire to understand it have led to many fascinating discoveries.
Research has been conducted and has established a connection between gratitude and overall good health. Those who practice gratitude report less stress, better sleep, and greater emotional awareness. On top of that, grateful people have increased vitality, energy, and enthusiasm. This may leave you asking yourself why. Allow us to explain.
The areas of our brain that are activated during gratitude are the parts of our brain that control the release of neurotransmitters that make us “feel good” and enhance our mood. These neurotransmitters (dopamine and serotonin) can also reduce feelings of pain. With daily practice, gratitude can strengthen these neural pathways and rewire the brain to create a permanently grateful and positive attitude. For those in IOP therapy, rewiring the brain’s addiction-driven, reward-seeking thought patterns or negative thought patterns promotes healthier coping mechanisms and is vital for managing triggers.
By increasing optimism and self-esteem, gratitude can also help counter the feelings of shame and depression. Research has suggested that expressing gratitude lowers cortisol levels, decreasing stress and anxiety.
Our physical well-being is equally important as our mental health, and both are closely related. Gratitude has been linked to better quality sleep and lower inflammation in the body, helping to support physical recovery from substance abuse and an overall healthier body.
The science is clear: gratitude has the power to rewire your brain and guide you towards a stronger recovery. With the help of your IOP program and a little self-determination, use the following ideas to implement gratitude into your daily schedule and discover the power of your mind.
How to Implement Gratitude in Your Daily Routine
Gratefulness is a choice and a mindset that can be practiced daily, and over time, becomes an unconscious habit. The way and frequency that we can express gratitude are truly limitless. Use the following ideas to rewire your brain today and express gratitude for every good thing (big or small) in your life.
Gratitude Journal: That’s right, we know you’ve seen this before, but it genuinely works! The key here is committing to writing in your journal every day, documenting at least three things that you are thankful for. Try to use as much detail as you can, describing the people, places, smells, anything you can associate with the emotion. You don’t have to worry about having something “big” to write about; gratitude can be found in the smallest and simplest of things: a comfortable sweater, a good book, a quiet moment in nature, or the sound of laughter. Journaling will help strengthen positive pathways in the brain and make gratitude a habit.
Writing Thank You Notes: Expressing gratitude to and for others is a therapeutic activity that not only helps you develop a grateful way of thinking, but it also builds stronger, more meaningful relationships in your life. Writing a note to a peer, friend, family member, or counselor in your IOP program and verbally thanking them for being in your life and for their support strengthens and supports healthy relationships.
Gratitude in Group Sessions: Recovery programs provide many opportunities to express gratitude during group activities. Group therapy is the perfect time to practice verbally expressing your gratitude for others and their support during this season of your life. Not only does this help you express gratitude, but it also helps build a tight-knit support system that lasts long after your time in treatment is over.
Mindfulness Activities: Practicing mindfulness activities is an easy task when we live in a beautiful place like Ogden, Utah. Surrounded by nature and beauty, IOP therapy in Ogden can utilize the environment to help support emotional healing, mental strength, and resilience. Take a walk or hike along the Ogden River and focus only on the beauty of your surroundings. Nature can enhance gratitude and produce a calming effect that helps to reduce stress and support a positive mindset. Other activities that support mindfulness are meditation and breathwork.
Start and End Every Day With Gratitude: When the sun rises and sets, take a moment to reflect on something you are grateful for. This habit will help to reinforce your neural pathway for positive thinking and keep you focused on recovery, even on the bad days.
Gratitude List: Whether in your gratitude journal or on a separate piece of paper, create a gratitude list. Write at least three separate experiences, places, people, etc. that you are grateful for. Pull this list out whenever you are feeling down or discouraged to remind yourself of the things that truly matter in your life.
Using these ideas, or any others you might know, start rewiring your brain today for a more positive outlook on life. And while these practices are simple to understand, we realize that life is not. Everyone experiences good days and bad, and we are also here to help you through the not-so-great times. Use the following strategies for the challenging days.
Overcoming Challenges to Practicing Gratitude
Recognizing that the human experience is not all sunshine and roses, we know that feeling grateful can be extremely difficult in tough times. It’s important to recognize all of your emotions, even the negative ones. Being grateful does not mean that we have to ignore our struggles, and in fact, it is toxic to do so. Start small, focusing on a basic aspect of life (a place to sleep, fresh air to breathe, a beating heart) and use your time in group therapy to hear others’ gratitude. Benefiting from the experiences that others share, you can begin to recognize the things in your life that you are thankful for, even during the difficult periods of recovery.
If you are having trouble finding consistency in your gratitude practices, you can do a number of things to easily implement them into your day. Set a daily reminder on your phone or use your work break and tie a gratitude activity to it. Something as simple as acknowledging happiness during your morning coffee or expressing your gratitude to the waiter at lunch can change your mindset and transform your mood.
Rewired By Gratitude
Far beyond a simple concept, gratitude is an effective strategy that is backed by science and can be used to rewire the brain, enhance your mood, and strengthen resiliency. While it may not always be easy to find something to be thankful for, especially in moments of struggle, practicing gratitude consistently can lead to profound transformations in how you view yourself, others, and the future. Through IOP therapy and your own intentional efforts, you can begin to transform the way you think and build healthier habits and hope for a more fulfilling future. Even on your toughest days, a single grateful thought or expression of gratitude can spark a light on your path to well-being.
