What are you Grateful for?
Using gratitude to take care of your mental health this holiday season
Whether it’s SAD, holiday blues, winter blues, or just feeling overwhelmed since we’re not only heading into winter but winter AND a pandemic, it can be easy to begin to feel like you’re losing a grip of your mental health. I’ve written about morning routines and mental health before, but winter mental health is a whole different ballgame.
As we head into this time, one thing that has always been grounding (at least, for me), is focusing on gratitude and looking forward to small things. I think of gratitude as self care. It may not seem like it, but taking the time to acknowledge what you are grateful for on a daily basis, and numerous times throughout the day, aids in creating an abundance mindset. This focus on what you have vs. don’t have is an absolute game-changer in the thought process. Because even in those moments where you might think “Dang it! I wish I had _____” being able to shift your perspective into “But hey, you know what, it’s okay because I have _____” gives your brain whole different approach and perspective to life.
Expressing gratitude can come in a variety of forms:
Gratitude Journaling Daily
Repeating the phrase “thank you” for each thing you’re grateful for throughout the day
Taking the time to write a note or letter to someone you’re grateful for
Journaling about something that happened for you during the day that you’re grateful for
Personally, I started journaling gratitude daily in a notebook with several sections:
3 Things I’m Grateful For
Affirmation of the Day
Manifestation of the Day
3 Amazing Things that Happened Today
Self-Care of the Day
In fact, I stuck with this so frequently, I ended up publishing my very own gratitude journal on Amazon within 3 months because I knew this method covered everything your mental health needed - from gratitude, to daily positivity, to holding yourself accountable for daily self-care.
Often times, my daily self-care is just my morning routine, but whenever I do more for myself, I always write it as well.
When you express gratitude, you allow yourself to focus on the positives, and this alters your brain chemistry to feel happier. So there is also a science behind gratitude as well. In those moments that you feel down, remind yourself of the things and people you have in your life that you’re grateful for - your home, your food, your cat (oh just me?), your family, your cellphone to call home, your couch, you get what I’m saying? Focusing on all the things you have will eventually lighten your mood and pull you into a higher state of consciousness.
Need a place to journal your gratitude? Check out my daily love gratitude journal! You can check out the e-version for free by clicking the button below, or purchase your own copy off Amazon!
