Gabriella here! For this week’s blog post, I want to discuss a topic that is near and dear to my heart: gratitude. Yes, I know. “Gratitude” reigns as a cliche buzzword in conversations about mental health, but there is merit to the concept if you employ it correctly.
In high school, I seriously struggled with my mental health. I’m not ashamed to admit it. It doesn’t make me weak. In fact, I learned vital lessons that have made me a stronger person. (Stay tuned for a blog post about what helped me through that time!). I now consider myself to have surmounted this hurdle, and I would describe myself as both a happy and optimistic person, but hey, I am human, and some days are better than others.
To maintain my mental health, I was inspired by the Gill Drexler (MFPA’s lovely, talented, intelligent Volunteer Chair) to start a gratitude journal. Gratitude is the quality of being thankful for what an individual presently possesses, both tangible and intangible. Through gratitude, individuals recognize the good in their life. To this end, we recognize that the source of this good lies at least partially with something outside of ourselves. Thus, gratitude encourages connection with something larger than the individual: other people, nature, or a higher power are some examples.
In psychological research, gratitude is associated with greater overall happiness and satisfaction with life. Gratitude aids in one’s ability to increase positive emotions, value good experiences, improve personal health, overcome adversity, and foster genuine relationships.
To test this theory, I have written in my gratitude journal just about every single day for the past 10 weeks. Here’s what I learned…
As I mentioned, I journaled *just about every day*. I was 100% consistent until this past week, when I visited a friend out of state and forgot to bring my journal. To be honest, it wasn’t until I *didn’t journal that I realized the effects of actually journaling.
Today was my first time journaling in four days and DANG it felt good. Here’s an analogy that hopefully makes sense… When I began my gratitude journal, I viewed it as a chore, like drinking a “green juice” every morning. I knew it was good for me, but I tried to drink it as fast as possible, plugging my nose to avoid the grassy taste. But after a few weeks, I began to LOVE the green juice so much that I looked forward to drinking it. I savored it, and embraced the flavors. It is the same thing with gratitude journaling.
At first, I was like “yeah yeah gratitude journal… I’m thankful blah blah blah” and produced my journal entry as fast as I could, citing the classics like “food, shelter, family, etc” without giving it much thought. After a few weeks, however, writing in my journal evolved into an “experience”. An experience in which I take a few minutes out of my day and write. There are no distractions, no thought of my exam later that day or the laundry I need to fold. It is me, my journal, my pen, and my thoughts. This gain of focus allows me to reflect deeply on what I have and what makes this life so worth living. These moments are so emotional that I may or may not have shed a tear once or twice…
Without my gratitude journal these past few days, I have found myself more anxious and impulsive. When I journal in the morning I thereby setting an “intention” for the day. Without establishing the day’s tone, I felt a little more scattered and less in touch with myself. It is this difference that informs me as to how gratitude journaling has benefitted my mental health.
Though I haven’t stated it explicitly, I highly encourage gratitude journaling. Regardless of where one stands in terms of their mental health, gratitude journaling can serve as a powerful tool.
So how did I do it? I was inspired by “The Five Minute Journal” by Intelligent Change (https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-journal). I already own a few small notebooks, so I opted to save $25 and simply copy the format of this journal. Every day, you answer the same set of prompts. You answer questions 1-3 in the morning and questions 4-5 at night before bed…
I am grateful for…
What would make today great?
Daily affirmation. I am…
3 Amazing things that happened today…
How could I have made today even better?
What I love about this set of questions is that it combines simple gratitude (1, 4) with manifestation/inspired action (2-- future blog post!!), affirmations (3), and self-reflection (5). While the focus of this article is gratitude, the combination of these other prompts results in a powerful synergistic effect that magnifies the positive effects of this exercise.
Some other pre-prompted journals include…
The Happiness Project One-Sentence Journal: A Five-Year Record by Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Planner: 100-Day Planner
Good Days Start With Gratitude: A 52 Week Guide To Cultivate An Attitude Of Gratitude
Alleyoop Grateful Journal & You’re Write Pens
Ban.do Wellness Workbook
I am partial to journaling as I feel the physical act of writing forces me to slow down and act thoughtfully; however, some other ways to cultivate gratitude are writing thank-you notes regularly, thanking someone mentally, counting blessings, and mediation.
Ultimately, gratitude is essential for true happiness. We often talk about healthcare versus sickcare in conversations regarding the improvement of the medical field. And clearly, mental health is a major, if not the most significant, component of general health and well-being. With that being said, practicing gratitude is a fantastic way to maintain mental health rather than react to issues once it is too late. In the horror movie that is 2020, it is tempting to focus on the bad or the lack of something. Happiness is a mindset that concerns itself with the good, the abundance of life, and individual blessings. Just as exercising increases physical strength in the body, practicing gratitude increases positive thought formation in the brain.
See you next week!
Gabriella <3
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