Gratitude is a practice of consciously recognising and appreciating the good things that happen in life. While it sounds like a simple practice, it is one that has deep reaching effects on mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
I like to describe the way this works as two paths through the woods – the one that is walked along more frequently has a clear and obvious path, the other can get overgrown. The brain does the same thing – when you have recurrent thoughts of any type, those pathways become strengthened. Negative thoughts, depression and anxiety can all strengthen those pathways in the brain, and the practice of gratitude helps to work on that other path – clear away some of the overgrowth and help re-train the brain.
Gratitude is not about ignoring the hardships in life, but instead helps to build resilience, and acknowledge that good does exist, even in the worst of times.
Science backs this practice up, showing that the practice of gratitude can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve sleep, increase happiness and even support immune function. Gratitude is also important to talk about with our children – it not only increases satisfaction with life, but also fosters social behaviours like generosity, empathy and kindness.
So, how do you practice gratitude? There are lots of ways to do so, and you need to find the way that resonates with you:
*Gratitude list, writing down three or more things a day that you are grateful for.
*Journaling, writing about your day, but focusing on including things you are thankful for.
*A gratitude jar, writing items on a slip of paper, then placing in a jar. You can then review this weekly or monthly to remind yourself of all the good things in your life.
*Express thanks directly to people, like writing thank you cards.
*Sharing your good things with others – I like to do this at the dinner table, and it is a great way of modelling with children.
*Mindfulness or meditation can also be ways to practice gratitude.
It sounds great, but when you have had a terrible day, gratitude can be hard to practice. This is where you start small, pick the little things. You can be grateful that the day is over, or grateful that you have a warm bed to crawl into. This helps to reframe the story of your day – it was a bad day, but there were some people who helped along the way. This brings balance and helps to ground you, remembering that happiness is not just in the big things, but also in the small everyday blessings.
The practice of gratitude is a way of inviting us to pause and reflect on our life – giving thanks for the people we love, the beauty around us, and the opportunities in our life. It helps to reconnect us with ourselves and also build connections with others.
What are you grateful for? I wrote this late on Monday night, so after the long weekend, some of the things I was grateful for:
*Completing my Exploratory Essay on PANS and PANDAS and submitting that to ACNEM for my Fellowship.
*Yoga – practicing this daily for the last few months has really made a difference to my life.
*I was packing for Greece over the weekend, and really grateful for being able to present my paper as a poster, attend the HRI conference, and holiday in Greece.
*Now that the cold weather is here, I am really grateful for the fire keeping my house nice and warm 😉
*I am grateful for being able to work as a Homeopath, to support people on their journey to health.
*And I am grateful for all the people who take the time to read what I write – thank you for reading this, and coming back week after week to see what I have to say, as well as your care when things happen in my life. THANK YOU.