In this week’s Notes from the Week, I focus on how to practice gratitude and self-care in life’s difficult moments. This is your reminder to slow down, take some deep breaths, and remember that whatever challenges are causing you stress right now will never be greater than your ability to overcome them.

This week, life slowed down considerably. I caught a cold from my kids and lost the energy to write, which is why I hadn’t posted at all last week. I’m finally feeling a bit better now, but since we didn’t do much all week it got me thinking of what I could write about in this week’s Notes. Being sick is awful and undesirable, but it does force us to slow down and be more reflective. I practiced gratitude and took time to do some much needed self-care. Granted it was with the goal of recovering from a cold, but it got me thinking – why should it take an abrupt disturbance in our daily routine to do those things when they are so important to our mental health?

How to Practice Gratitude

In my own mental health recovery journey, practicing gratitude has become essential. Every night before bed, I used to mentally create a list of 10 things I was grateful for that day. The list could range from large-scale, obvious things like family, good health, and a safe shelter, to more smaller, personal things like an act of kindness someone showed me that day. I would do this every night before falling asleep until it was habit.

I’m not sure when it happened, but suddenly I discovered that I had stopped practicing gratitude. I noticed it when I was sick this past week, and I thought to myself how wonderful it is to be in good health and how so many people struggle with conditions that make life difficult. Those with good health often don’t realize how fortunate they are, and might not take the time to mindfully feel gratitude.

We are all one accident, or one gene mutation, away from losing our good health, so if this is something that you can relate to, I encourage you to take time today and practice gratitude. Even if you’re someone who is suffering from a health condition, there are still many things that are worthy of thanks. Being able to explore the world through your senses, having the ability to walk, or just feeling each breath enter and exit your body knowing you are alive and loved, can be something to be grateful for.

How to Practice Self-Care

Self-care is one of those things that I’m sure everyone knows by now is important to our mental health, but can also be overdone to the detriment of our loved ones. That is why finding a good balance between having the time for others and finding your own personal enjoyment is vital. For me, I try to leave the day open for spending time with family and caring for the kids and blocking off one or two hours in the evening for just myself. Of course, life happens and things get in the way, but having some kind of routine in place where you can care for your loved ones and still have time for hobbies will do wonders for your mental health.

For longer events like going to a salon, doing some shopping, hunting/fishing, etc., try creating a calendar and writing down which days you would like to do something. Make it a family event where everyone has input to avoid arguments or miscommunication. Our family tries to set aside time on the first Sunday of the month to plan out our calendar for events or hobbies that we would like to do. That way, there are no surprises or arguments about someone having more time than the other and everyone is on the same page.

This week, my self-care looked like getting more sleep at night, doing my skincare routine, making myself some homemade chicken noodle soup, and reading more.

Summary & Thoughts from You

It was a slow, easy-going week that focused on recovery, practicing gratitude, and self-care. I might make future blog posts about some of these things and going into more detail if you’re interested in reading more.

How has your week been? Are there other ways that you like to practice gratitude or self-care? I’d love to hear from you in the comments! If you enjoy these little Notes from the Week posts, leave a like as well to let me know.

Wishing you all good health and a great week! Until next time!

Peace and love,

Julie