In this blog, we shall talk about gratitude, the antidote to mental illness. But what is this gratitude? How it is different from thankfulness? Gratitude is a feeling which comes from within and it can come for the benefits received by you or for nothing. Thankfulness is an act from the person who received the benefits. Gratitude can be expressed in thankfulness. A ‘Thank You’ with the feeling of gratitude has the power to transform your life and change its course towards positivity. It is a powerful cure to your mental block and illness. How? We shall talk about it further in the blog. Since the coronavirus pandemic has struck the entire world, thousands of people have been finding it difficult to keep a control on their emotions of hopelessness and agony. The necessary evil, i.e. the lockdown has also pushed many people into solitude and without human touch, most of them are finding it difficult to maintain a high life state. However, in such situations we often forget that no matter what the situation, one has numerous things they can be thankful for. Why should one be thankful for everything they have? Let me answer that question with a short example.

Mike, a young lad, had recently been offered his dream job. He was extremely excited as he joined the firm and wanted to display his potential to his best. Suddenly his company had some issues and to support his company he started shouldering more responsibilities beyond his job specifications. Everything worked in his favour, he was in constant touch with his manager, and he was being appreciated at great lengths as he worked at his best for a few months. However, gradually, he began to feel that the levels of appreciation have reduced. He began to feel as if he is working for no gains. He started to lose his interest and began to feel that his company and manager has probably taken him for granted. He felt as if he isn’t being respected and this eventually became evident in his quality of work.  “I am taken for granted in this company!”, “Everyone here is thankless!” This is what he thought. On the other hand, his manager had begun to believe that Mike had reduced his dialogue with him and has stopped respecting him. “I think he has taken me for granted. He is not feeling gratitude towards how well I trained him. Maybe he forgot how well I trained him at the start!”, his manager thought.

One factor became the sole reason for the dispute in Mike’s work life, i.e. Lack of Gratitude. One cannot feel the zeal to do well at a place where there’s lack of appreciation. It is a vicious cycle of negative energy. You attract what you believe in. Overload of fear, lack of appreciation, and negative energy swarms your life and seizes the functions of your mind. This in turn leads to mental illness. However, basing your actions on gratitude and thanking your surroundings for what you have instead of focusing on what you don’t, leads you towards abundance!

How does gratitude cure mental illness?

1) Improved Sleep: Balanced and sufficient sleep is a must for a peaceful state of mind. People who realise the importance of gratitude in their lives end their day by thanking the universe for everything they have. This creates a focus on things that are positive in life. Sleeping on positive and happy thoughts results in a satisfying sleep. Gratitude also releases stress and helps relieve anxiety and depression which results in better sleep. Gratitude in this manner improves sleep, thus, in turn, maintaining the balance of mind.
2) Self-love: Once you realize that you are fortunate to have a healthy body and mind, which are the key ingredients for success, and you’re fortunate in numerous terms for your life, your gratitude towards your life increases. This will reduce your self-criticism and will increase your self-love. You love what you have, and you begin to accept yourself the way you are. Focus on ‘what is’ than ‘what is not’ shoots up self-love and makes way for positivity in life.
3) Building effective social relationships: Gratitude is the key to building effective and fruitful relationships with society. Man, being a social animal, depends on society to a great extent for his well-being. When you begin appreciating and paying gratitude to the person next to you, you build harmonious relationships. Harmony and goodwill help an individual in maintaining mental health.

Begin paying gratitude in your daily life in the following manner:

1) Appreciate and accept yourself, the way you look, the way you think, your achievements as well as your failures. Begin by writing what you really love about yourself and meditate on those positive thoughts. Be thankful for what you have and begin focusing on working upon yourself to grow in life each day.

2) Appreciate your family, your friends, the society you live in. Pay gratitude to the person in front of you. It is not necessary to always show to them that you’re thankful. Being grateful at heart is conveyed through positive energy.

3) Pay gratitude to the universe for all the materialistic things you possess.

Where there’s gratitude, there’s abundance. Use the power of gratitude to fill your life with positivity.

Stay Grateful, Happy, and  Stress-free!