If you suffer from depression at times and tend to get lost in negative thought spirals, you’ve probably noticed how these tend to bring your mood down in a hurry.  If you also often find you struggle in finding anything to look forward to, then mindfulness and gratitude may be very important tools in improving your mood and outlook.  Read on to learn more about how you can reverse depression by taking up both of these practices.  

Gratitude and Mindfulness are Rare in Modern Life

One of the reasons we have a mental health crisis these days is not only because of Covid, but because of how we don’t pay attention to what is going on around us and fail to practice gratitude.  I’m not talking about current events here, but more about noticing what is literally happening around you in terms of taking in what our 5 senses are telling you.  Not only that, but when you can’t express gratitude for what good you do have in your lives it starts a cascade of negative thoughts and feelings that can only worsen over time.  

How Mindfulness and Gratitude Change the Brain

While research has shown that mindfulness can improve brain function and have a positive influence on mood, there is much debate about the quality of the research itself.  Suffice it to say that mindfulness and gratitude’s effects on the brain are more about how they train your brain to work differently instead of on the structure of the brain.  If you suffer from depression and anxiety, gratitude trains your brain to look for and acknowledge things that go well or work out in your favor.  This can help to build a track record in your memory of success or overcoming struggles that can lead to developing a sense of trust in life and perhaps build a greater sense of spirituality in you.  The effect of mindfulness, which is more about paying attention to subtle things like your breathing and 5 senses, is to take the focus off of troubling thoughts and patterns of thinking that are unhealthy and put the focus on something other than your thinking.  Much of the time your mind is focused on problems and solving them, but so often the answers to these problems are easier to solve if you aren’t obsessing about them.  That is why going for a walk can sometimes help people figure out difficult problems rather than spending unending amounts of time going over and over them again.  

Where to Start with Gratitude and Mindfulness

One thing that helps many people is to write down things you are grateful for on sticky notes or in a journal.  If you’re not into writing things down, then starting by taking some time each day, perhaps at bedtime to identify one or more things that you experienced that you can be grateful for is a start.  Perhaps it was something worked out well for you that day, or avoiding a potentially serious accident.  Whatever it is, take a moment to reflect on it and acknowledge it as something you’re grateful for.  You don’t have to feel grateful, just acknowledge it as something you consciously appreciate.  With mindfulness, it is important to start by focusing on something like your breathing or your heartbeat.  From there you can try to focus on what information your 5 senses are giving you at any given moment.  If you go for walks regularly, you can try to engage your 5 senses while on a walk by noticing how the sun feels on your skin or what the air smells like.  What sounds do you notice as you walk on a path or the sidewalk?  That is what mindfulness is essentially all about.  You can do it conceivably wherever you are.  

If You Struggle with Gratitude and Mindfulness

This is a common problem, and like I said, our culture doesn’t promote either of these.  One way to foster mindfulness is to put your phone down and try to focus on the here and now.  You can actually program your phone to chime every hour to remind you to be mindful if you like that kind of thing.  If you struggle with gratitude, you can do a Google search about what you can be grateful for.  Again, it can be very simple things that you need to simply identify and acknowledge.  If you struggle with depression and anxiety however, this can indicate a need for professional help.  I’ve been helping people with depression and anxiety recover my entire social work career.  I can show you how to use gratitude and mindfulness to help you in your recovery.  Just call the number at the top of the page or fill out the inquiry form below and I can arrange a free 20-minute phone consult to give you a better idea of whether I can help you in your particular situation.  You’ve got nothing to lose, but stand to get your life back by taking this important step today.  

Visit our page on depression therapy to find out how Scott can help you with gratitude and mindfulness.  

About the author:  Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland.  He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin.  He now works with adults and adolescents 12 and up in private practice. His most recent book is titled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.