Gratitude
Thankful for You
Gratitude can help with changing mindsets, coping with stress, and improving overall health and wellness. Sometimes it is easy to recognize what we feel grateful for in life; other times can be significantly more challenging. It can feel uncomfortable or unrealistic to try to focus on small glimpses of positivity when the rest of our life feels overwhelming, depressing, or negative. I can recommend a wonderful article from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America that explores the many factors in how we might experience gratitude practice.
“Gratitude therapy” is a type of cognitive-behavioral approach that can relieve anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship struggles, and even chronic pain. A thoughtful gratitude practice can bring about the release of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that naturally enhance good feelings. A consistent gratitude practice can also strengthen the brain’s neural pathways, and regulate the sympathetic nervous system. It’s more than making lists or journaling. It is a way of thinking about life and acknowledging what is going well despite other factors.
In sessions, I always include the strengths of a client, or what went well in a week, before moving into challenges. If challenges are urgent, and we spend a great deal of time focused on those, I make sure to come back around to what the client says is okay at the moment. Even if we feel we are drowning in problems, it’s great when we recognize one or two things that are okay. To a person who is drowning, a few small positive points can be a lifeline. Strengths can be built upon, and used as stepping stones to the next goal in life. Often, when I reflect to clients what I hear is going okay, or even going well, they are surprised with how empowered it feels to have this lifeline in the midst of distress.
Gratitude is not dismissing all that is going wrong, or toxic positivity. Rather, it’s just an acknowledgement or gathering of all the things that persist in going right despite the circumstances. The quantity of these things may seem small next to the list of problems at a given moment, but their existence can tell us a lot about what you value, and what you would like to have more of in your life. They can tell us about your strengths, or what you do well even under stress; they can also tell us about the type of support system you have that enables you to go on even in hard times.
Today I’m reflecting on my gratitude for clients, both past and present. The reason I became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker was to engage with all types of people in different circumstances, and provide resources within trusting relationships. The clinical experience is meaningful to me because clients allow me to bear witness to their life stories, and become a small part of their timeline for the duration of our work together. It is a joy for me to receive trust while becoming part of their healing journey. I sincerely mean it when I thank each client for coming to see me. Every individual is a whole world unto themselves, and I have so much gratitude for each one who is brave and vulnerable in sharing their experiences with me.
Thank you, for being you! You are amazing and you make my job something I hope to do for decades more!
