Surrounding Yourself With Positivity in Addiction Recovery

Content medically reviewed by Vicky Magobet, PMHNP-BC, on August 5, 2019.

Positive thinking can improve your mental and physical well-being. The power of positive self-talk can help you build a new life during addiction recovery. Focusing on happiness attracts other positive people and will help you build effective relationships, which in turn will make it easier to live a sober life with self-control.

Here are some ways that having a positive outlook and keeping positive people around can help you through addiction recovery.

1. Achieve Your Desired Goals

If you make the effort to focus on positive aspects of your life and your ability to create a new future for yourself, your outlook will change. Eventually, more good will start to come to you. A University of North Carolina researcher named Barbara Fredrickson conducted a study on this topic. She showed that when you expose your brain to positive emotions, you’re inspired to write out actionable sentences that will help you achieve your goals.

2. Solve Problems Effectively

Cultivating the habit of positive thinking will make it easier for you to approach challenges and take on tasks that looked difficult in the past. Your positive outlook will make it easy for you to:

  • Break down a seemingly complex task or challenge into simpler goals or activities
  • Develop a deep interest in all the activities you’re involved in
  • Build up a sense of commitment to your goals or activities
  • Find out how to recover if you experience a setback or disappointment

3. Reduce the Risk of Relapse

Positive thinking can give you the energy you need to achieve your desire, which is sobriety. If you focus on the success of your treatment, you’ll eventually attract success. Whether you call it the law of attraction or the power of positive thinking, the reality is that you’ll ultimately attract what you think about the most. This phenomenon also means that keeping a positive mindset during recovery empowers you mentally. You’ll be able to speed up the recovery process and avoid relapse.

4. Increase Self-Efficacy

Surrounding yourself with positive people will help you improve your self-efficacy. Practicing self-efficacy is the act of believing in your ability. It's the confidence that you can take certain actions and achieve desired results, and it influences your state of mind, motivation and behavior. What's more, it plays a vital role in the success of addiction treatment.

How to Practice Positive Thinking During Recovery

It's good to know all the wonderful things that thinking positively will do, but how can you remain positive and deal with the negative thoughts that come at you so often? Here are some tips to help you:

  • Help others: Lending a helping hand will help you see how much good you have to offer others. Volunteer with other people to support a positive cause in your community.
  • Maintain strong relationships: Take time to reach out to other people, including friends, family and those who are also recovering from substance abuse.
  • Practice gratitude: Gratitude is an attitude that allows you to see the good in all situations. It nurtures happiness because no matter what you’re passing through, you can see something to be thankful for. Learn to make a list of things to be thankful for every day.
  • Learn to practice acceptance: Don't fret about things you can't change. Instead, just accept them and work on things you have control over.

Get Started on Your Positive Journey to Addiction Recovery

If you need help with addiction recovery and want to keep a positive attitude during the process, contact Diamond House Detox today. We run a certified facility with medical providers, including incidental medical services that involve injections. You don't have to go to another rehab facility any time you need injections for medicinal purposes when you work with us, and you can surround yourself with positivity during your recovery.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at Diamond House Detox
Vicky is a board certified Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She began her nursing career in healthcare by working in the intensive care unit, and then an inpatient psychiatric hospital. After realizing the mental health needs of both the patients and the families she served, she became a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Throughout her experience working with clients, she has developed a passion for those with dual diagnoses and specializes in helping individuals recognize the issues driving their substance use. This recognition has been crucial to the individual’s success in treatment. Vicky opened Diamond House Detox so that she can address these issues early on in a therapeutic environment to allow clients to transition to the next level in their recovery.
Vicky Magobet
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