It feels Great to be Grateful
Have you ever felt like life just keeps dealing you one crappy hand after another and you just can’t catch a break? Have you thought, “why me?!” or “there’s no way my day could get any worse” only to be kicked while you’re down? One negative thought can lead us into a spiral of negative thoughts that when added on top of each other can often feel very overwhelming and lead to feelings of hopelessness and isolation.
How can I defeat the cycle of negativity?
Being a fan of comic book heroes, I like to think that we all have our own super powers that help us through life and we just might not have honed in on that greatness. No, I don’t mean super strength, or the power of flying, or any of that. The super powers we have access to are coping mechanisms and as a therapist it is my duty to help you harness those powers you have within you. One super power that I want to talk about today that can help fight off this negativity cycle is GRATITUDE.
The attitude of gratitude
Gratitude in summary is when you appreciate or are thankful for something. Practicing gratitude can help with bringing your focus back to the positives in your life. We so often take what we have for granted and can easily forget the many simple things to be grateful for. This doesn’t mean whatever challenges you are going through in life should be completely ignored. In fact, those challenges you are facing can eventually make you even stronger. But I will get into that another day. Instead, think of gratitude as a way to refocus your thoughts and not dwell on some of the things you may not be able to control. Gratitude has been found to directly link to feelings of happiness and joy.
it takes practice
Gratitude isn’t always an easy power to execute which is why it can really take practice, especially if you are used to the pessimistic way of life. Have you ever had a cold where your nose gets so stuffy that you can’t smell or breathe comfortably through your nose? Then that first day that the cold is gone you notice you can breathe freely again and appreciate the idea of “stopping to smell the roses”. By the next day, you probably forget and life goes on as if you were always able to enjoy the freedom of breathing in deeply through your nose. That gratitude fades away. The practice of gratitude is dedicating the time to stop and smell the roses even when you haven’t just gotten over a cold. It’s about making the conscious effort to stop an appreciate the little things (or even the big things) that can bring joy to your life. You may find it difficult to identify things to be grateful for at first. It’s okay to start small! In fact, let’s start practicing RIGHT NOW!
What are you grateful for right now?
Close your eyes and take a deep breath in your nose and out of your mouth. While doing this visualize your gratitude for your lungs and your body to be able to do this deep breathing. You can start each day with this single thing you are grateful for and eventually build on that. Your mind is resilient. YOU have the power to shift your focus away from the toxic negative thoughts and towards positive gratitude. Of course, practicing gratitude is just one coping mechanism to help navigate through difficult times in your life and might not always be enough to combat certain negative thought processes. If you find that you still struggle with negative thoughts despite practicing gratitude, it may be beneficial to talk to a therapist or other mental health professional who can help you navigate these feelings in other ways.
& Don’t forget to nourish your mind for a better tomorrow!