Change is hard. No matter the changes you experience, there’s bound to be some bumps in the road. Even positive changes come with their own struggles as you experience growing pains from personal growth. A great example is being promoted in your job. You worked hard for it and are happy to be receiving the promotion; it comes with a raise, and impressive title. However, as you settle into your new position there’s a learning curve you’ll experience. You’ll make mistakes and feel frustrated, but soon enough you’ll master your new position just like your previous one.
The same is true for recovering from an addiction. You’re making a positive change, working towards a healthier, happier future. But you’ll have a lot of learning to do, especially about yourself. You’ll make mistakes and feel frustrated, but you’ll keep at it and before you know it, it’s getting easier.
There are many people and techniques who can help you during your recovery, but the best and most powerful is to stay positive. This article explores the power of positive thinking, with tips to stay positive during recovery.
THE POWER OF POSITIVITY
The effects of positive thinking have been studied for decades.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reviewed 300 studies conducted over the last 30 years and confirmed that positive thinking reduces stress, as well as improves/strengthens our immune system.
Johns Hopkins recently released a study showing that a positive outlook reduced your chance of cardiovascular events including heart attacks by 30%. The study noted the ways participants remained positive:
- Smiling consistently.
- Building resiliency by practicing acceptance.
- Practice reframing (where you mentally change the negative into a positive situation by being grateful).
Finally, the American Psychological Association (APA) Conducted a study with 275,000 people. They found that positive thinking consistently improves our mood, but even better, it makes us less likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours. This is great news for anyone in recovery. The happiness we experience from positive thinking makes us less likely to smoke, binge eat, feel the need to use alcohol or other substances. Happiness prevents us from feeding our addiction.
WHAT IS POSITIVE THINKING?
Before discussing what positive thinking is, it’s helpful to know what positive thinking isn’t. Positive thinking is not:
- Sticking your head in the sand to avoid anything that might be negative.
- Wearing rose-coloured glasses to distort reality.
Positive thinking is a mental and emotional choice. It’s an attitude you take to focus on the good, knowing the results will benefit you. In a way, positive thinking is about anticipation; anticipating happiness, success, and good health.
By forcing yourself to think positively, you’ll cultivate gratitude and a peaceful state of mind. Your thoughts have the biggest influence on your actions. Your actions determine whether you’ll succeed in your current goal (in this case recovery). So it’s important to start training your brain to see the good in all situations and to expect the best from the goals or outcomes you’re looking towards.
Mastering your emotions is another major part in positive thinking. In doing so, you’ll take responsibility for how you think, act and feel. You’ll start to realize that you usually can’t control life’s events, but you can control how you react and feel about them. Positive thinking is empowering.
HOW TO STAY POSITIVE DURING RECOVERY
The emotions we experience in recovery are not only unpredictable but can be described as negative. Our bodies are struggling because we’ve grown dependent on a substance we’re no longer providing. Staying positive while experiencing this mental and physical anguish can seem impossible, but with dedication it becomes easier, as does your recovery. Try these tips to stay positive during recovery.
- FIND SUPPORT
The more support the better. A peer support group offers comfort, and hope. Seeing others who have struggled in their recovery but are now in a better place mentally and physically is inspiring. It reminds you to look forward to the things you’ll do, and learn, as well as the people you’ll meet during this journey.
Explain to your friends and family that remaining positive at this time is one of the most important things you can do. This will encourage them to be positive around you, especially during dark moments, when you’re having a hard time being positive on your own.
- FIND A NEW DISTRACTION
A new hobby, or activity will not only distract you from negative emotions but will give you something to look forward to. Even better, is if the activity requires commitment, such as joining a weekly basketball game. This encourages you to take part every week, because your team needs you. The positive energy you feel from your teammates is contagious and the physical activity boosts your feel-good endorphins.
Learning a new skill is another great distraction. It also boosts your confidence as you improve and helps you look forward to learning more. A new language is a great example. Learning keeps your brain happy and healthy, and recognizing progress as your vocabulary improves makes you feel good about yourself and optimistic about your future.
- TAKE TIME TO RELAX
If you start feeling overwhelmed, or can sense your mood is shifting negatively, take a moment for yourself. Whether it’s a few minutes of breathing exercises, soaking in a bubble bath, or playing a game on your phone. Whatever you can do to relax in that moment will help you re-engage in positive thinking.
- VOLUNTEER
When you become a volunteer for a local organization, you can’t help but feel better about yourself. You become an important part of their success, which boosts your confidence. It’s also likely that you’ll find the other volunteers you’re working with have a positive attitude with an optimistic outlook. As we mentioned before, being around those personalities helps to improve our own. Optimism and positive thinking really are contagious.
- CREATE A JOURNALING HABIT
A journal of your thoughts and feelings - good or bad, helps you work through them. Be honest in your journal entries but if you feel you’re becoming negative from it, counteract with gratitude. If you’re having a bad day, write about it. Then write down five things you’re currently grateful for. Gratitude journals are one of the best ways to pull yourself out of a slump.