As we get towards the end of another challenging year, we encourage you to think back to the things and people that have helped you get through. With many Australians struggling with increased living costs and indications that COVID will be out and about in force over summer it could be a challenging few months ahead.
One of the best ways to get through tough times is to spend time thinking about what you’re grateful for. Gratitude magnifies positive feelings and experiences and prevents us from taking things for granted. Not only does practicing gratitude improve our mental health, but it can also improve the quality of our relationships as well as our physical well-being.
Psychologically we are naturally primed to give more attention and emphasis to negative, stressful and threatening events or feelings. By consciously re-focusing our attention to notice and appreciate things that are helpful, joyful, supportive or fun, we are rebalancing our thinking and enabling some positive feelings to emerge. Practising gratitude helps us rewire our brains. This in turn sets us up to be better able to think through and respond to the challenges we face.
We hope you have a relaxing and rejuvenating summer break, and you’re able to celebrate with loved ones near and far (because presence always trumps presents).
