Photo via Pexels

I personally have not struggled with addiction, but many close to me have or still do. This is a guest post written by This is a guest post, written by Lucille Rosetti. You can find more information about her, her book Life After Death: A Wellness Guide for the Bereaved and other articles at bereaved.org:

6 Ways to be More Positive During Addiction Recovery

When you’re focusing on recovering from addiction, it’s easy to get lost in feelings of guilt and shame. You might feel guilty for the grievances your addiction caused family and friends, or shame for the way you handled your finances.

These thoughts creep into nearly every addiction recovery process. Finding healthy ways to overcome them, though, will help you fully heal from your addiction. Staying positive is essential to being able to celebrate that you are a survivor.

Keeping this in mind, Just Buy Her A Dress and She’ll Be Fine takes a look at six ways you can start working on positive emotional empowerment.

Stop Negative Talk
There are plenty of great benefits to replacing negative emotions with positive emotions. According to the experts at Mental Health America, pessimistic people have a 20 percent higher risk of dying over a 30-year period than their optimistic counterparts. In addition, people who kept a gratitude journal were more upbeat overall with far fewer complaints. There’s plenty of reasons to get working on your new glass-half-full approach today.

Get Back to Work
Returning to work is a critical part of any addiction recovery plan. Working will help you regain your financial foothold and keep your mind on things that are beneficial to your life goals. At the same time, it can keep you away from negative social interactions and the emotions that come with them.

Be sure to talk to your employer about their Employee Assistance Program. As scary as it may be to share your addiction recovery with your boss, these programs are designed specifically to help people with personal issues that are interfering with their work. This helps the company reduce absenteeism and improve productivity, so take full advantage of it.

If you’re currently out of work, you could ease your way back by starting a career in freelancing. Whether you write, design websites, or offer video editing services, there are many jobs available through online freelancing platforms.

Put an End to Black-and-White Thinking
Black-and-white thinking, also known as all-or-nothing thinking, is when we believe that just because we have failed once, we will always fail. According to Planning Mindfully, you can eliminate this way of thinking with a few tricks: avoid using extreme words like “never” and “every,” reframe your thoughts, and search for middle ground.

Master the Art of Saying “No” and “Yes”
People who are on strong psychological ground know what serves them best and what doesn’t. It’s important for you to establish boundaries and learn to say “no” to things that will hurt you. Likewise, now is a good time to learn to say “yes” to things you want in your life, such as support from loved ones. The experts at Psych Central report that by learning to say “no,” you’ll be boosting your confidence and your self-esteem.

Surround Yourself with Positive People Who Bring You Joy
Spend time with a co-worker who told you what a great job you did versus one that talked about his latest drunk escapades. Or, reach out to family members who are living lives you admire instead of ones who are struggling and disenfranchised. Choosing to be around positive influences will help you reframe your negative thinking. Plus, research shows that strong social connections lead to increased happiness, improved health, and longer lives.

Enjoy More Music
Elton John may have put it best when he said, “Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.” It’s true: music — whether through listening to it, learning to play an instrument, or musical therapy — has many wonderful benefits, including its abilities to:

⦁ Increase motivation
⦁ Improve mood
⦁ Reduce symptoms of depression
⦁ Help manage pain
⦁ Improve memory
⦁ Reduce stress
⦁ Help with insomnia
Help heal addictions, such as overeating and alcohol or drug abuse

Shifting to a more positive way of thinking takes practice. It won’t happen overnight, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time and practice. Start working now not just on your positive thinking, but on self-compassion. Remember, you’re human, and all humans make mistakes. Allowing yourself to fall down with grace is important. Now, it’s time to master getting back up.

Bio: Amanda Dodson Gremillion published her first book in 2012. She began revising it in 2019 and republished it as Just Buy Her A Dress and She’ll Be Fine. The story chronicles her experience with severe postpartum OCD, anxiety and depression. Amanda is a graduate of Auburn University, and now lives in Calera, Alabama, with her husband, Jay, their daughter, Aubrie, and their two dogs, Honey Girl and Cooper. She hopes to write more books in the future. Follow Amanda’s journey on Facebook,  or twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaGremilli2 and order her book here.  Also, follow her on the Mighty here Amanda Dodson Gremillion | The Mighty Contributor or listen to her podcast here Just Buy Her A Dress and She’ll Be Fine • A podcast on Anchor . You can also find her on Instagram here Amanda Dodson Gremillion (@justbuyheradress) • Instagram photos and videos.