A Grateful Recovery Continues

Drug addiction is a powerful disease that takes the lives of thousands of people each year. For each one of those people, there was an answer in their lives that they didn’t find. Take celebrity Ryan Knight from MTV’s Road Rules Challenge. The world was shocked when it learned that Ryan died of a fatal overdose even though he had openly discussed his addiction problems before. Many of us see drug addiction as a moral flaw and few people see a friend or family member addicted to something and really think that the person may one day be gone from their illness. It seems so senseless. Even those who have everything to live for would rather throw it away for a bottle or a pill. The question has always been and will always be why.

MTV’s Ryan Knight Dies From Drug Overdose

This story hit the news a couple of years ago and it caused everyone to, once again, briefly reflect on why a drug addict might choose drugs over life itself. The answer is that few drug addicts really believe that their next use is their last use. Some of them are so depressed that they might not even care if they died. It’s difficult for someone who doesn’t use drugs to understand because a drug addict’s brain has been so altered by the chemicals it takes into it that it no longer knows what it needs or doesn’t. A drug addict’s body and mind truly believes they need drugs to survive. So while a drug addict might go without food, they won’t go without drugs. Baffled friends and family are furious over this fact. The addict feels isolated and unloved. It’s a cycle that all too often, and in the case of Ryan Knight, ends in tragedy.

My relationship With Gratitute

If you’re a recovering addict or an addict who wants to recovery, the subject of gratitude is huge. In order for you to keep what you have or might have one day, you have to be grateful for it. This means that when you see a beautiful sunset, you see a beautiful sunset and appreciate what it adds to your life. If you have just enough food to eat, but not more, you acknowledge that not everyone has that and you want to make sure that you appreciate what you have on your plate. It seems like such a simple concept but so many addicts struggle with the concept of gratitude. They might want more money, more respect, and more friends. They might want people to treat them nicer or do more for them. The important thing to remember is that if you have an attitude of gratitude, you will almost always find yourself smiling because of the things you have, even if what you have is very little.

Addiction and gratitude

Addicts in early recovery are blessed. Yes, the road is difficult, and yes, there is enormous suffering in early recovery. But as the fog lifts and you express gratitude for the things you do have, you find that you begin to amass so much more to be grateful for. Everything you have is something that an addict who dies will never have. They will never see another simply beautiful sunset. They will never enjoy food again. Their friends will never say I love you again. An addict who starts recovery with what seems like nothing actually goes into recovery with the only thing they need which is their very life to live and the concept of gratitude for it. Whatever recovery fills that new life with is a blessing compared to how bad it could have gotten or how it could have ended.

If you’re suffering from addiction, you don’t have to continue. The hardest thing to understand about addiction is that it will always end with suffering. If you go on using, it will end with suffering and death. If you choose to recover, it will end with suffering and a new life. The choice would seem to be easy for any rational person, but an addict whose mind is clouded and whose body is shaking from drug withdrawal may think it’s easier to continue using than to change. If you are one of those people who is at a crossroads, the choice to fight your addiction is the most important step you will ever take. It can literally save your life.