Summary: Positive psychology exercises have significant benefit in boosting mood for those recovering from substance addiction, a new study reports.
Source: Mass General.
Brief, text-based, self-administered exercises can significantly increase in-the-moment happiness for adults recovering from substance use disorders, report researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Recovery Research Institute. The study, published online in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, is the first of its kind to test whether positive psychology exercises boost happiness in persons recovering from substance use.
“Addiction scientists are increasingly moving beyond the traditional focus on reducing or eliminating substance use by advocating treatment protocols that encompass quality of life. Yet orchestrated positive experiences are rarely incorporated into treatment for those with substance use disorders,” says lead author Bettina B. Hoeppner, PhD, senior research scientist at the Recovery Research Institute.
Through a randomized, online survey, more than 500 adults who reported current or previous problematic substance use were assigned one of five short, text-based exercises that took an average of four minutes to complete. Participants reported the greatest gains in happiness after completing an exercise called “Reliving Happy Moments,” in which they selected one of their own photos that captured a happy moment and entered text describing what was happening in the picture.
An exercise called “Savoring,” in which participants described two positive experiences they noticed and appreciated during the preceding day, led to the next highest gains in happiness, followed by “Rose, Thorn, Bud,” in which they listed a highlight and a challenge of the preceding day and a pleasure they anticipated the following day. Conversely, “3 Hard Things,” in which participants were asked to write about challenges they had faced during the preceding day, led to a significant decrease in happiness.
The authors note that the ease of use and effectiveness of these positive psychology exercises suggest they may be promising tools for bolstering happiness during treatment, which may help support long-term recovery.
“These findings underscore the importance of offsetting the challenges of recovery with positive experiences,” says Hoeppner, an associate professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Recovery is hard, and for the effort to be sustainable, positive experiences need to be attainable along the way.”
Source: Deborah Halber – Mass General
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Abstract for “Do self-administered positive psychology exercises work in persons in recovery from problematic substance use? An online randomized survey” by Bettina B. Hoeppner, Melissa R. Schick, Hannah Carlon, and Susanne S. Hoeppner in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. Published January 9 2019.
doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2019.01.006
[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Mass General””Happiness” Exercises Boosts Mood For Those Recovering From Addiction.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 18 January 2019.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/happiness-exercise-mood-addiction-10584/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Mass General(2019, January 18). “Happiness” Exercises Boosts Mood For Those Recovering From Addiction. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved January 18, 2019 from https://neurosciencenews.com/happiness-exercise-mood-addiction-10584/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Mass General””Happiness” Exercises Boosts Mood For Those Recovering From Addiction.” https://neurosciencenews.com/happiness-exercise-mood-addiction-10584/ (accessed January 18, 2019).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]
Abstract
Do self-administered positive psychology exercises work in persons in recovery from problematic substance use? An online randomized survey
Quality of life and psychological well-being are increasingly being recognized as important factors in and outcomes of substance use treatment. Very little empirical evidence exists, however, to indicate if and how positive psychological outcomes could be targeted within treatment. Using a randomized survey administered online, we examined 5 brief, self-administered happiness exercises, and tested if completion of these exercises resulted in increases in in-the-moment happiness compared to 2 control exercises. Participants were n = 531 adults describing themselves as seeking or being in recovery from problematic substance use, who were recruited online from recovery-focused websites. Participants rated in-the-moment happiness immediately pre- and post-completing randomized text-entry-based exercises. Results indicate that in-the-moment happiness increased in participants randomized to happiness exercises while it decreased in controls (F(1, 444) = 9.94, p = 0.0017). Greatest pre-post increases in happiness were observed for the “Reliving Happy Moments” exercise (gav = 0.15), followed by “Savoring” (gav = 0.09) and “Rose, Thorn, Bud” (gav = 0.07). Our modified “3 Good Things” exercises performed relatively poorly (gav = 0.02). The control exercise “3 Hard Things” resulted in the greatest negative pre-post difference (gav = −0.10). Exercises took on average 4 ± 4 min to complete and most participants (93%) felt they could complete them as part of their daily routine. Effectiveness, ease of use, and positive views of the tested brief, self-administered positive psychology exercises render them promising tools to bolster happiness during treatment, which may have utility in supporting long-term recovery. Observed decreases in happiness in response to the “3 Hard Things” exercise underscore the importance of offsetting the challenges of recovery with positive experiences.
