Why It’s Hard To Feel Grateful When You’re Depressed
What I realized when someone stole my eggs.
“Just be a little more grateful and you’ll see your negative feelings disappear.”
That’s a common phrase I repeatedly hear when I talk about my depression and what’s been on my mind lately. I don’t necessarily think that it’s bad advice and I know that gratitude can have enormous psychological and physical benefits.
- reduce negative emotions like envy, regret, and resentment
- increase empathy
- ensure better and longer sleep
- improve self-esteem
- improve physical health
Some people have even argued that practicing gratitude can lift you out of your depression and while all of that is nice to hear, I feel like most people just don’t get it.
Gratitude doesn’t come easy to me.
It’s not that I don’t want to feel grateful or that I can’t see anything to be grateful for. There’s plenty of things to be grateful for.
I am grateful for having a roof over my head and having food and fresh water every day. I am grateful for having parents and friends. I am grateful for having access to…
