#380 - National Recovery Month: From Despair to Gratitude | Dr. Mark E. Shaw#380 - National Recovery Month: From Despair to Gratitude | Dr. Mark E. Shaw
The Addiction Connection Podcast
Dr. Mark E. Shaw explains how a "perishing mentality" feeds despair in addiction and how practising gratitude, rooted in biblical teaching, marks genuine transformation. The conversation focuses on National Recovery Month as "National Transformation Month" and highlights humility, giving, responsibility, and thankfulness as key traits for change.
7:40•21 Sept 2026
From Perishing Mentality to Gratitude: Marking National Transformation Month
Episode Overview
- Gratitude is presented as the fourth mark of a transforming addict, following humility, giving, and responsibility or obedience.
- A "perishing mentality" grows out of entitlement, consumer, and victim mindsets when substance use stops "working" and leads to despair.
- Sin is described as being designed to fail so that people cry out to Jesus for rescue rather than finding lasting satisfaction in addiction.
- Ephesians 5:18–21 is used to show how praising God with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs reflects a grateful, transformed heart.
- Counsellors are urged to listen for thankful language and to gently challenge attitudes that reveal a lack of gratitude in everyday life.
“"God didn't design sin to work, to make you happy. God designed sin to bring conviction in your heart and say, I need to cry out."”
What drives someone to seek a life without addiction and move from despair to gratitude? This conversation on The Addiction Connection Podcast focuses on "National Recovery Month" – or, as host Dr. Mark E. Shaw prefers to call it for Christians, "National Transformation Month" – and the fourth mark of a transforming addict: gratitude. Speaking directly to people impacted by addiction and those who counsel them, Dr.
Shaw breaks down what he calls the "perishing mentality" drawn from Proverbs 31:6: "Those who are drinking, they feel entitled, they're consuming everything, they're thinking like a victim, and now it's not working for them." He explains how entitlement, consumer, and victim mentalities feed despair, and how God has designed sin to fail so people are driven to cry out, "Save me, Jesus.
Save me from my sin." The target audience here includes Christians in recovery, family members, lay counsellors, and anyone curious about a Bible-centred approach to addiction. You’ll hear how Dr. Shaw uses Ephesians 5:18–21 to outline five marks of a transforming addict: be humble, be giving, be responsible or obedient, and, in this episode, be grateful. Gratitude is framed as the key antidote to a perishing mindset, shifting attention from what’s missing to what God has already given. Dr.
Shaw paints a vivid picture of what gratitude sounds like in real life: addressing others "in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," where everyday conversations feel like music because they’re saturated with praise and thankfulness. He even jokes about spotting gratitude problems when someone says, "Yeah, I got a new job, but I don't really like it...
I have to sweep the floor." Short, direct, and firmly rooted in Scripture, this episode is geared towards anyone who wants to connect recovery with transformation and learn how practising gratitude can reshape the heart of addiction. So, where could a shift from victimhood to thankfulness change the way you view recovery today?
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