Gratitude Toolkit
Thanksgiving is often a holiday marked by a focus on expressing gratitude. However, for those focused on eating disorder recovery, Thanksgiving can be a challenging time. Given the traditional focus of food and drink around Thanksgiving, those on the journey to eating disorder recovery can often experience quite a lot of anxiety during this holiday. Anxiety, worry or stress can create significant barriers to focusing on and expressing gratitude.
With that in mind, we wanted to share a few tools to inspire your gratitude practice.
To help get your creative gratitude juices flowing, we’ve created this Reflections on Gratitude worksheet. Give it a look and see which prompts inspire you! Print it out and fill in whatever areas resonate with you. Struggling to identify what you’re grateful for? Ask a friend what they’re giving thanks for this year. Sometimes, hearing another person’s gratitude can cultivate the same feelings in you.
Not feeling inspired to express yourself in writing? No problem. There are countless other activities you can pursue to cultivate a grateful state of mind. Check out the infographic to get some ideas on things you can do to inspire thankfulness. Ask your friends and family what activities or practices inspire feelings of gratitude for them, too. Even a conversation about how to cultivate gratitude is a step towards it!
Last but not least, be easy with yourself. Extend grace to yourself throughout this holiday season. Honor your feelings. Be true to where you are. Gratitude is ever-present. Some days it may be easier to access than others. And that is okay.
