In the darkest days it’s hard to find things to be grateful for. What I eventually realized was the importance of gratitude when I was drowning in depression. It never occurred to me to take time to not just think of things to be grateful for, but also to really sit in the gratitude. Why? So the feeling penetrated my heart, mind, body, and spirit.

What’s Gratitude?

When I first started writing down the things I was grateful for I was just going through the motions, so my therapist would shut up about it. I was writing some basic shit to be grateful for – like having the energy to take a shower. But, the more days I took the time to pin point things I was grateful for, I realized even the mundane daily habits many people do each day without a second thought that I struggled with – well, it was okay to show gratitude for! And, damn, as the days went on I started to add a ton of things, and people, to my list of things I was grateful for.

Gratitude is legitimately feeling appreciative or thankful for people, places, actions, and things in your life that make you feel good. When I took a shower after days of not being able to summon the energy to do so, I was grateful for multiple things:

• being clean and feeling fresh
• having the ability to overcome what was happening in my mind and take that shower
• having a home of my own to take the shower in

Gratitude can be felt for small things, big things, and everything in-between! I always thought being thankful required a large-scale scenario, like buying a house. How amazing it is to have the finances, support, and resources to purchase a home. What I forgot I should be grateful for all that comes after the purchase that I get to partake in: summer nights sitting by my fire pit with my kids roasting marshmallows, cooking meals with my kids in the old but functional kitchen, and taking hot showers in my own bathroom.

Importance of Gratitude

So, what’s the importance of gratitude? Why do we sit down, and either think of or write down all the things we’re grateful for? It’s not to create some nonsense, phony positive thinking crap. Being truly grateful and feeling blessed improves your mood. Saying or writing down what you’re thankful for often alters your mood in positive ways. In my case, spending time each day writing down all the things I felt thankful for, like my children’s health, the opportunity to travel with them, and even having quality coffee in my house, improved my depression and anxiety. The more things, situations, and people I felt grateful for, also helped lower the intensity of my chronic pain.

Improved sleep starts to set in, too. When you have real positive energy humming through you, it helps your body relax, steadies your breathing, and lowers your blood pressure – so you sleep better. Better sleep boosts your immune system along with helping reduce inflammation in your body. When your body isn’t fighting to survive, it runs like a well-oiled machine!

And, honestly, when you’re appreciating rather than shitting all over your life, those positive emotions permeate through every:

• experience you encounter
• relationship you have
• difficulty you come up against

Gratitude = better mental and physical health, the ability to reach your true potential and achieve successes that last your entire life!

How to Practice Gratitude

Simply saying you’re grateful doesn’t always penetrate your brain so actual changes happen in your life. Oftentimes, when we say thank you to someone, it’s because we’re being polite. Yes, we are thankful, but we’re so “trained” that those thank yous fall flat. They don’t resonate to the level we need them to make a difference in our overall wellness. If you find yourself numb to gratitude, start doing some of these:

• write in a gratitude journal every day (be specific and make it a habit)
• create a gratitude jar (write specific things you’re thankful for on slips of paper and add them to the jar)
• actively acknowledge things you appreciate
• focus on what you’re grateful for in the moment you feel grateful (basically, be in the moment)
• meditate
• create gratitude rituals (just like going around the table at Thanksgiving and saying what you’re grateful for, do this every day)
• when you do say thank you to someone, really be present in that moment
• write gratitude letters (even if you don’t send them, getting them down on paper helps your own well-being)

Never underestimate the power there is in focusing on the importance of gratitude in your every day life! It improves your mental health, physical health, along with your relationships with those closest to you. Find time every day to reflect on things you want to give thanks for – no matter how big or small. Gratitude is gratitude, it doesn’t matter what its for. You had enough cash to swing by and get your kid those chicken nuggets they’ve been asking for as a treat, that’s just as important to show thanks for as finding a way to purchase a new, safe car for yourself.