The Art of Gratitude – 2/5 Ways to better mental health
The Art of Gratitude – 2/5 Ways to better mental health
The practice of gratitude is a life changer! As a family we found that when our daughter was suffering from anorexia finding whatever we could to feel grateful for helped us through some pretty tough times. Forward thinking GP’s recommend it for patients suffering with depression, and many good therapist support their clients to practice it.
So what is it, what do I mean?
Simply finding things to say thank you for. Whether it is a nice cup of tea after a busy day at work, winning the contract you have been working on or having a baby smile at you. I encourage my clients to make the time to write down at least three things they are grateful for every day. Like all good habits, it is worth doing at the same time every day. I keep a notepad by my bed and just before I turn the light out at night I write down what I am grateful for that day. A good friend of mine does it in the morning as she says that is a great way to set up her day.
There have been times when it has felt like a struggle, to find the things, but I start with really small things and often once I have got in the flow more and more things come to mind. When life is good this is easier to do than when it’s feeling hard. If we have a choice in the, matter this is a good thing to start when we are feeling good. This sets us up for when times are harder. If however you are in a place of swimming through treacle persevere by looking for the little things, because over time it will start to shift the way you feel.
Helping our brain find what we want
One of the results of this practice is actually getting more of what we want in life. Our brain is constantly bombarded by information, more than we can possibly register. As a result our brain constantly filters all that information for the things it thinks we want. If we tell it we are having a bad time, it will constantly search for information to reinforce that view of the world. If on the other hand, we are telling it what we are grateful for it will search out more of the same, so we notice more things that we can be grateful for, shifting us on to an upward spiral.
Better relationships
I use this same technique to help me feel better in my relationships. If one of my friends or my husband is irritating me, I take some time to write a list of all the things I love about them. What I find is that when I next see them those are the things I notice and as a result I tend to forget the stuff that has been irritating me.
Please share this blog, 1 in 4 of us will suffer some sort of mental health issue in our life time. Knowing things we can do to help prevent mental ill health is invaluable. Thanks!