The act of journaling has many known benefits for cognition and overall mental health. Journaling helps to reduce stress, set goals, increase overall mood, cope with daily problems, reflect, and increase your memory. While journaling does have these benefits, a lot of times it is hard to know where to start when beginning this process. You may be wondering, what do I write about? While there are no set requirements for journaling because it is an avenue of personal expression and reflection, but seemingly this process can still present as intimidating.
Adopting an Attitude of Gratitude: Giving Thanks During Tough Times
As the holidays approach, many struggle with difficulties that can make it a challenge to feel grateful and maintain a positive outlook. However, having a positive outlook has been linked to better ability to problem solve, and overall greater emotional wellness. So why be grateful at all? Well, gratitude enables you to see your life in a larger context beyond immediate problems. Gratitude expands your life experiences and counteracts ego-centered preoccupations with losses, fears, and wants. If you are only grateful when good things happen, it reinforces your ego’s demand for good things, leading to greater disappointment when things do not turn out the way you had hoped.
Thanksgiving, Gratitude, and Mental Health
As Thanksgiving approaches, the focus on gratitude and being thankful for others comes to mind. The research on understanding the impact of gratitude on health and relationships has also expanded over the last several years. Expressing gratitude on a consistent basis has been shown to positively impact important areas in one’s life including emotional wellbeing, physical health, and connectedness in relationships.