Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is, in short, it is one of those holidays that has the potential to be so great – focusing on social connection and gratitude (or, ironically, complete disaster: overindulgence to point of an ED visit and anger over who really should have gotten Nana’s spoon collection when she passed in 1987.)

Gratitude is really excellent practice, and we have really good evidence on how it can help support our mental health as well as our physical health, especially as a stress management tool.

Note the word: practice. You hear people talk about gratitude journaling. If you are a busy mother like me, one more wellness task is probably not a practice you need in your life. How to bring it into your family home?

I encourage my boys to do “3 thankful things” before bed. To end the day on a high note, on a positive note. Sometimes these things are profound, sometimes small, sometimes a few they repeat when they can’t think of anything. Sometimes they are quite insightful, giving a glimpse into aspects of how they see their world.

Bringing gratitude can be as formal as gratitude meditation or journaling. If you are religious or spiritual, you can add it to your prayer or reflection. It can be a simple a silently listing some things we are thankful for as a stress management technique when sitting in traffic.

Some of the best parts of thanksgiving can be brought into our every day – no turkey or family feud required.