The holiday season is meant to be a time of joy, celebration, and spending time with our loved ones, but for many, it also brings stress and anxiety—the long hours of traveling, the pressure to attend numerous holiday gatherings, and the financial stress of gift-giving. It’s easy for our mental health to take a step back during this busy season, but taking care of our mental well-being can help us unwind and enjoy the holiday season. One powerful tool to help manage holiday overwhelm is gratitude.
The Gratitude Mindset
Gratitude is a mindset that shifts your focus from what’s wrong in your life to what’s right. A daily gratitude practice can improve your mental and physical health, and help you reduce stress, ease anxiety, and overcome depression.
The holidays can be an overwhelming time. All the social gatherings and celebrations tend to add to your busy calendar. It’s easy to feel drained from all the demands that break your daily routine.
Before we entirely dismiss depression and anxiety, it’s important to understand that these feelings are part of our human existence. We are meant to feel these emotions, but when we get stuck in a negative pattern that begins to affect our daily lives, it can become an issue.
Anxiety is part of our “fight or flight” response, which is an essential survival mechanism. Depression, on the other hand, helps us process stress, hardship, and loss. These intense emotions are designed to problem-solve. They are part of our natural survival instinct. However, the brain has a very powerful way to hold on to these emotions and get stuck in negative thinking patterns. This is where gratitude can be a game-changer.
Gratitude can break the negative thinking loop. It draws your attention to the present moment and shifts your focus from what’s wrong or missing, to what’s already good in your life. As Lao-Tzu’s famous quote says, “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the moment.” Practicing gratitude can help you live in the present moment—your happy place.
When you make a habit of appreciating the little things in life, you begin to rewire your brain. It can be something simple like being grateful for a warm cup of coffee, a funny joke from a friend, or the sunshine coming in through your window. Noticing these small things can start shifting your life for the better.
Gratitude goes beyond improving your mood; it can lead to better sleep, deeper connections with others, and reduced substance abuse and alcohol dependency.
How to Practice Gratitude
Start Your Day on The Right Foot. Begin each day by taking note of the things you are grateful for. It can be as simple as being thankful for the coziness of a winter morning or being grateful for waking up with no set alarm. These small observations can set the tone for the rest of the day.
Keep a Gratitude Journal. Take a few minutes each day to write down things you are grateful for. You can write about the good things that happened to you throughout the day. Writing things down helps reinforce a more positive thinking mindset.
Practice Mindfulness. When you are feeling stressed or anxious, pause and take a moment to name things you’re grateful for. Look around the room and notice things that bring you joy, from your favorite books on the shelf to your pet’s companionship or the cozy couch you are relaxing on.
Share Your Gratitude. Share gratitude with others to create a wave of happiness. Send your friend a kind message or point something out you are grateful for to a stranger. Sharing positivity can enhance your mental health while spreading joy to others.
Mediation and Mindful Breathing. Meditation, even for just a few minutes a day, can help you recenter yourself and bring you back to the present moment. Focusing on your breath, relaxing your body, and taking a moment to slow down can help you reduce anxiety and depression.
Make It a Routine. It is no secret that consistency is the solution for creating a new habit. Stick to your gratitude practice by setting a specific time each day to write down in your journal and meditate. The more consistent you make your gratitude practice, the more natural and more effortless it will become.
Gratitude is a simple way to beat the holiday blues. Try these tips to improve your mental health and find more joy this holiday season.
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