Practice gratitude to survive the coronavirus pandemic

In aworld reeling fromthe worst disaster in a century, it can be hard to feel grateful. Normally our holiday celebrations and family gatherings would boost our spirits. This year our lives depend on maintaining social distance from friends and extended family.

However, it is in our darkest times thatwe most need to consciously turn our attention to being grateful. We must consciously cultivate an attitude of gratitude in order to counter our brain’s hardwiring that’s designed to protect us from threats.

Otherwise, our minds will incessantly direct our thinking to what’s going wrong, which will keep us locked into fight-flightfreeze reactions.

There are so many examples of the unrelenting stress pulling us into anger, anxiety, and despair. I’ve observed that for many parents the stress of working and schooling children at home is overwhelming their heads and hearts with negative emotions.

I’ve spoken to people who live alone and have become increasingly depressed as they’ve gone for months cut off fromtheir normal means of connecting to others. Life isn’t as enjoyable as any of us would like these days.

To fight off our minds’ automatic attention to fear, faults, and frustrations, we must make a concerted effort to become aware ofwhat is good about our lives. We need to fight our lethargy and seek out the beauty in nature. We must embrace the joy in the festive music and decorations that brighten the season and our spirits.

However, the most important action we must commit to taking in order to give ourselves happy holidays is to engage in

loving and being loved. Study after study has shown that people who have love in their life experience the highest level of satisfaction.

Positive psychologists have found that an effective method for breaking free fromrumination andworry is to write about what it is that makes you feel grateful. Expressing gratitude to people you love boosts your resilience, helping youward off feelings of disappointment, disparagement, and disengagement. Practicing gratitude helps you to be more patient and more positive with people.

The Gratitude Letter has become famous for its ability to create incredibly meaningful momentswith loved ones. Write a one-page letter to someone to whom youwould like to express heartfelt gratitude. Whohas made a difference in your life? Whomakes you feel loved? The best gift those people will receive this yearwould be hearing you read a letter letting them knowhow grateful you are for their loving kindness. Give them a framed copy and they’ll cherish it forever.

Gratitude also involves being a gracious recipient aswell as a giver. Howyou receive kind deeds determines howeffectively you’ll be at strengthening your relationships, which have likely been strained during the pandemic. You can recreate strong bonds with your loved ones by adequately acknowledging and appreciating their acts of love and kindness. Take the time to create a moment in which you allowpositive emotions to be shared when someone you love does something thoughtful for you.

Another approach for enhancing gratitude is to keep a journal. Write down the three things that you appreciate every day. As you cannot repeat the same thing each day, you’ll become increasingly aware of the specific events that trigger your feelings of gratitude during the day.

Keeping a gratitude journal trains your brain to look for the positive moments during the day, providing a major boost to your mental health.

An enhancement to the three good things journal is to ask yourself, “What could I have done to make those experiences even better?” Add those thoughts to your writing in order to prime yourself for pursuing even more profound activities that will immerse you in extraordinary feelings of appreciation and gratitude.

For example, if you savor your morning coffee, plan to take a cup to someone whowould appreciate your bringing some coffee and kindness to get their day started.

If you struggle to see what’s good in your daily life, youwould benefit frommeditation. Taking 10-15 minutes during your day to breathe and relax your body can open your mind to appreciating the beauty and goodness in the world around you.

The Greater Good in Action Science Center atUC Berkley recommends listening to a guided meditation. They offer one created byDr. KathiKemper, executive director of the Ohio StateUniversity College ofMedicine’s Center for Integrative Health andWellness. It can be found on theirwebsite: ggia.berkeley.edu/ practice/gratitude_meditation