Mental Health Tip #3 - Practice Gratitude Gratitude can support your mental health without forcing you to pretend everything is fine. The idea of practising gratitude might sound...

Mental Health Tip #3 - Practice Gratitude Gratitude can support your mental health without forcing you to pretend everything is fine. The idea of practising gratitude might sound as though you're supposed to ignore what is difficult and focus only the positive. This is a common misconception. However, you can acknowledge the difficult parts of your day while also noticing something that helped and being grateful for that too. When something is worrying or upsetting you, your mind can stay focused on the problem or what might go wrong next. A regular gratitude practice where you write or notice what you are grateful for helps you acknowledge moments that your mind might otherwise pass over. It helps to be specific. Rather than acknowledging something broad like being grateful for your friendships, think about an actual moment that was important for you. Perhaps a friend sent you a message that made you feel cared for. You might be grateful for things we take for granted like food, water, shelter, clothing, careers, health and so on. Try this once a day: Choose one moment you are grateful for, write down what happened and why it mattered to you, then spend a few seconds thinking about it. Some days, the moment you choose may feel very small. That's ok. You can have a difficult day and still notice one part of it that you appreciate. With practice, you may start noticing more of those moments while they are happening. Gratitude then becomes a natural way of being in the world, taking nothing and nobody for granted but appreciating each moment.