The Power of Gratitude: Do I make an effort to be grateful?

I recently spent five weeks working with a group of women experiencing Post Natal Depression and Anxiety. During this time I was reminded of the power of Gratitude.

What is Gratitude?
We all have times when we are aware of being thankful for a person, an experience, a situation. These moments give us a positive feeling and we call this “gratitude”.

Feeling grateful can be a spontaneous expression of appreciation for what one has. It is also possible to cultivate gratitude, making a conscious effort to notice the goodness in life from the big things to the very little things. Just being around your family and friends can help you to feel more grateful. It might be that you feel thankful when waking up in bed and hearing the birds sing outside your window.

What are the benefits?
Studies have shown that feeling grateful can boost happiness, improving both physical and psychological health and well-being. We also know that good things we experience don’t tend to stick around in our minds as easily as unpleasant thoughts.

When we think about the bad things in our lives this leads to feelings of sadness or stress. However, if we make a conscious effort to think more about the moments of gratitude in our day this can help us to refocus and improve our mood. Put simply, counting our blessings rather than focussing on the negatives. These little moments can change the whole tone of our day.

How can I practise gratitude?

1. One of the suggestions I had for these women was starting a Gratitude Journal. This can be as simple as finding a notebook and jotting down things that you are grateful for. I was once given a Sentence A Day Journal which I use as a Gratitude Journal. You can find these online and they have space for writing an entry for each day for five years. So once you have used it for a year, then you reap the benefits of making entries in your second year and re-visiting what you had written that same day a year ago. I’ve made this part of my bed time routine and I choose to write about what I am grateful for on that day- it might be a funny quote from one of my kids, a moment in the day I felt valued, an achievement, a positive experience. I just leave it blank if I can’t think of anything, we can always have days like this that we are eager to sleep on and move on to the next!
2. Expressing our gratitude to others, this might be in the form of sending someone a text to let them know that you appreciate them or their efforts or action. It could be telling someone in person what you are grateful for. It might be that you choose to bring their attention to the good things you are noticing around you. Taking wonder at the world around you. I am often telling my children to notice the beautiful colours or shapes of the flowers and leaves. I remind them of the love we all have for our lunatic dog!
3. Take photos of things that express your gratitude. I recently went camping and forced myself to get up early to watch a sunrise. It was truly glorious. I took photos and now have one of them saved as my wallpaper on my mobile phone.
4. So I see this image multiple times in the day. It reminds me of the warmth of being up north, a family holiday and a stunning country. A visual image can offer so many things. Take photos of things that make you smile.
5. Notice the small things. I love my morning coffee, I can’t really function without it! I love looking over my Gratitude Journal. Watching a television series or reading a really good book helps me to cultivate a positive mood. Watering my plants and seeing the new leaves growing brings me joy. Cuddling with my dog at the end of the day when all is quiet. Using our senses can be a useful way to cultivate thankfulness, slowing us down and noticing what you can see, hear, touch, smell and taste.

Gratitude is a powerful way to rewire your brain for more happiness and less stress. If you would like to find ways to practise gratitude and incorporate it into your daily life, speak to an Occupational Therapist at Lifeworks OT, we would be happy to explore this further with you.

Be thankful. Enjoy the little things, there are many… you just have to slow down to notice.