Journal Challenge Week 6: Gratitude Journal

A common practice when journaling is used as a mental health intervention is the use of a tool called a “gratitude journal.”  Gratitude journaling fosters a practice of writing down a handful of things that we are thankful for at the end of each day.  The repetition of this practice helps us to create new neural pathways in our brains that foster positive emotions, even on the hardest of days.  It helps shift us away from habitual thinking like focusing on negatives.

Gratitude journaling has been shown to boost happiness, foster more positive thinking, improve relationships, and even reduce stress.  Establishing the practice can take a little time but hopefully at this point in the journal challenge, you’ve got some routine around writing.  It’s important to be specific when writing what you’re thankful for that day.  For example, rather than just listing “my spouse,” identify what about that person you were grateful for today such as “that long hug I got when I came home after a long day at work.”  As the practice develops, people tend to start to notice and appreciate the little things in their lives that can be easy to miss, but meaningful to observe.

Week 6 Journal Prompt- Gratitude Journaling:  Try this out this week.  Take a few minutes at the end of each day to write down 3-5 things you are grateful for.  If you want to elaborate on any, go ahead.  Maybe even write about how it feels to do this, on good days and bad ones too.