Practice Gratitude - Simple but Powerful

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and here at Cascade Behavioral Health we are always focused on how to help our clients live the healthiest lives possible. A big part of mental health is perspective, and unfortunately it is all too easy to focus on the things in life that are not going well. Perhaps you find yourself comparing your life to others and feeling they have it better than you do, or maybe you struggle to see what is good through all the struggles you are facing.

These perspectives can increase depression and anxiety, not to mention they aren’t the whole truth! By adding one simple practice to your life each day you can begin to turn these thoughts around, which will result in improved happiness and well-being. What is this simple practice? Gratitude! Being grateful might not come easy to you, but with a bit of practice and intention you can begin to find that perspective shifting from the negative to the positive. Get a journal and take a few moments each day to write down three things you are grateful for that happened in the last 24 hours. These don’t have to be big things; they can be coffee with a friend or a success at work or perhaps a few moments sitting in the sunshine. When we begin to train our brain to see the positives in our lives and to focus on what is going well it will quickly improve our overall mood. Gratitude is a practice! Make it a part of your daily life for better mental health.