I think one of the most dangerous things about depression is that it steals your ability to dream. When you're depressed, you're stuck in this never ending moment in which it's hard to remember a time before your depression or to see a time after it. My dreams are usually how I keep myself motivated, but when I'm feeling depressed it's impossible to feel like my dreams are possible or like I can ever feel happy again. That's where gratitude comes in. Gratitude helps change the lens on your depressed outlook, to show you that things might not be as bleak as they seem. Gratitude is really one of the simplest things that has helped me the most with my depression. And not just depression, but having a better outlook on life in general. When you're unable to believe for a better future, gratitude helps you remember the beautiful things you've had before which makes it feel possible to have them again. Now gratitude isn't as simple as just "positive thinking" or "always looking on the bright side of things" and it most definitely isn't toxic positivity. Having gratitude means that you're still aware and accepting of the difficult things in life. It just means that you're working extra hard to balance it out by stopping and noticing what's genuinely good. And it's usually a lot of stuff that we forget to notice. I first started practicing gratitude through the meditation app Calm. I decided to try their 7 day meditation series on the power of gratitude. Afterwards, I've decided to try to keep up with my own daily gratitude practice of writing down ten things that I was grateful for. Similar to how sometimes after you exercise you immediately feel a boost in energy and mood, I had the same effect with gratitude. After keeping the gratitude journal for a week I immediately started to feel a little happier after noticing how many things in life I had to be grateful for. It's now been over two years since I first listened to that meditation series and I now have over 3,000 entries in my gratitude journal. And it's amazing too, because I can see how it's affected my mindset over time. Over the past two years I've noticed how much easier it is for me to recover from setbacks, how I've stopped taking so many things in life for granted, how I've started to cherish the little moments in life along with much more. We all have things to be grateful for, it just gets hard to remember when times are difficult. So start by just focusing on the small things. What are some things that help you get through the day? What things make you feel happy to be alive? I challenge you to take some time today to reflect on what you're grateful for. Maybe even start a gratitude practice. Who knows? You might find that your life is a lot fuller than you thought. Happy World Gratitude Day!
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Naija SunshineHi! My name is Efe and this is my mental health blog where I'll be talking about my experiences with mental illness, as well as my thoughts and tips. Archives
September 2021
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