A young client I hadn't met before stops by my office yesterday morning. We didn't have an appointment, but I tell him to come in anyway and we spend time chatting.
He wanted to introduce himself and thank me for the care he'd received during his time with us.
When I questioned him he told me he'd been to six or seven other treatment centers before he came to us. I asked what the difference was and he wasn't sure. Maybe he was just ready to change this time.
Whatever the difference was, I appreciated his gratitude. My experience is that those who have gratitude seem to have a better chance of staying sober.
For gratitude has a way of putting us in an emotional state where we're thankful for what life has given us.
We recognize that others spent time in classrooms to learn to help those with addictions. We realize that others put a lot of effort into developing programs like TLC.
Gratitude is sometimes what keeps us strong when our addictions put temptation before us.
