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You’ve probably heard about the benefits of gratitude. Research shows that cultivating gratitude is among the most effective positive psychological tools and serves to improve well-being and reduce distress when used over time. Focusing on and actively appreciating the positives in life is proven to alleviate symptoms of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more, while also boosting physical health.
Those who have a practiced sense of gratitude express increased satisfaction, hope, and a generally improved quality of life. But depending on your situation (or the world’s), tapping into your reserves of appreciation can be decidedly difficult.
“Sometimes we put pressure on ourselves and berate ourselves by telling ourselves that we ‘should’ be more grateful,” says psychologist Terri Bacow, PhD. But this habit isn’t particularly helpful, especially when things in your life are legitimately difficult. “Gratitude shouldn’t be a chore,” says Bacow.
The arguments in favor of gratitude
Gratitude is something of an internal panacea, which has its roots in our very humanity.
Micah Mortali, founder of the School for Outdoor Mindful Leadership at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, says that embracing gratitude creates a spirit of gratitude, allowing us to focus on what we have rather than what we don’t have. not. “Gratitude was (and is) an integral part of Earth cultures, because they knew that their well-being and survival depended on the well-being and survival of the world of which they were a part,” he explains. “It’s a way of life.”
When appreciation seems forced
Knowing that you’re supposed to be grateful when the world seems to be falling apart can come with a strange cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, you know that making space for gratitude will likely improve your mental landscape, and therefore your experience. It’s proven by science, after all.) On the other hand, feigning appreciation in the midst of a difficult situation or time can seem disingenuous.
If you find the concept of gratitude tedious or even tedious, you may be experiencing gratitude fatigue. Whether due to events in your personal life, changes in your inner landscape, or the general state of the world, feeling sick and tired of the pressure to enjoy is a normal (perhaps even healthy) reaction. .
If you find yourself in such a state, practices such as savoring – or identifying positive moments as they occur and working to absorb the associated emotions – can help you access the real-time appreciation, which Bacow says can be more manageable. Noticing glimmers—small instances of beauty and mindfulness—also helps.
3 Ways to Fix Your Gratitude Fatigue
“Gratitude opens the door to the heart,” says Mortali. “If you experience “gratitude fatigue,” simply stop trying to feel grateful. »
If this seems like a difficult task, these three steps can help.
1. Recognize the places where you suffer
Avoiding negative emotions altogether, or not making room for them, is known as toxic positivity. According to Bacow, forcing yourself to enter a state of gratitude can be categorized in the same way. Rather than avoiding difficult aspects of your life or the world in general, make space for them. Feel all your feelings. Who knows? Genuine gratitude may begin to resurface.
2. Make room for what is real and true
Things don’t have to be perfect to be essential. Even if gratitude is not available to you, recognize areas of your experience that contain resonance and depth. The important thing to remember is that these aspects of life don’t have to be or feel GOOD– they just have to be real. Your breath. A poem or a story. Fresh air. The movement of your body.
Even when life seems particularly difficult, there are always things to enjoy.
3. Ask yourself if there is Nothing it’s special.
“In the outdoor mindfulness experiences that I guide, I use the language: ‘Notice if there is anything in that moment that feels like a gift,’” Mortali says.
These instances (or glimmers) can be both small and simple as long as they spark something in you. “Gratitude cannot be forced: it is an investigation,” explains Mortali. It’s being attentive that counts.