In today’s world, the pressure to keep up with work obligations, family dynamics, self-care, and other daily demands can cause a serious strain on our mental health. Balancing these responsibilities can easily cause you to feel overwhelmed and disconnected from your mental and physical wellness. Additionally, accessibility to formalized mental health care can be limited, and finding a clinician who fits your needs can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.
However, there are holistic methods to improve your mental health that don’t require any specialist or intimidating financial commitment: mindfulness and gratitude. These holistic therapies are powerful tools for promoting mental well-being. These practices not only give a break to the mind but also nurture the body, creating a more balanced approach to mental wellness.
What is Mindfulness?
At its foundation, practicing mindfulness means being fully present in the moment. Mindful awareness involves paying attention to our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without judgment. By practicing mindfulness, we train ourselves to observe our experiences with curiosity rather than fear, which allows us to respond more thoughtfully to life’s challenges rather than reacting out of habit. Mindfulness can help you reduce stress, anxiety, and depression by shifting your focus away from past regrets or future worries [1, 2].
Benefits of Mindfulness
One of the primary benefits of practicing mindfulness is regulating emotions. Regular mindfulness practice can improve emotional intelligence, helping you recognize and manage your feelings more effectively [2,3]. Mindfulness is particularly helpful in reducing negative thought patterns, such as rumination, and catastrophizing, which can worsen mental health issues. By learning to notice and acknowledge emotions without judgment, you create space for more adaptive responses, promoting a healthier relationship with yourself [3,4].
Cognitive Flexibility
Mindfulness can also lead to improved cognitive flexibility. Our ability to adapt our thinking in response to changing situations. This skill is essential for navigating daily life and maintaining clarity and focus when faced with challenges. By practicing mindfulness, we observe our thoughts without becoming controlled by them. Over time, this practice promotes a sense of inner calm, making it easier to manage stress and regain emotional equilibrium in difficult situations.
This shift from reactive to responsive thinking not only fosters better mental health but also cultivates a sense of empowerment. When you become more aware of your thought patterns, you can identify unhelpful habits or biases, allowing you to choose more constructive responses consciously. This enhanced awareness extends beyond the mental realm, helping to improve emotional regulation and decision-making.
Acceptance and Resilience
Mindfulness encourages a non-judgmental acceptance of yourself and others, which strengthens relationships and improves overall well-being. As a result, practicing mindfulness creates a positive feedback loop, reinforcing your ability to face challenges with resilience and adaptability.
How to Practice Mindfulness
There are many ways to practice mindfulness. You might start with a simple body scan that involves focusing on various parts of your body, tuning into any physical sensations you’re experiencing. Once you have paid attention to the physical sensations of your body, try tapping into the rest of your senses–anything you can see, taste, hear, and smell. Focus on just one sense at a time before moving on to the next one to ensure that your practice is thorough and intentional.
Mindful Movement
In addition to sensory exercises, you can practice mindful movement, including tai chi, yoga, or dance. These practices require full attention and coordination, calling attention to your body and the present moment. You can also engage in mindful eating by chewing slowly and noticing the texture and flavors of each bite.
Mindful Breathing
Another mindfulness technique is mindful breathing, where you breathe deeply and slowly in and out while counting your breaths. For example, you might try inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for five seconds; elongating your exhales can help induce feelings of calm and relaxation.
Mindfulness Meditation
Finally, try practicing a traditional seated meditation. Sit in a comfortable, upright posture. Focus on your breathing or any physical sensations you might be experiencing. Allow yourself to witness your thoughts without growing attached to them, letting them come and go without judgment [1].
Related: The Mind-Body Connection: How Caring for Your Mind Impacts Your Physical Health
Gratitude and Mental Health
In addition to mindfulness, practicing gratitude is another holistic method to support your mental health. Practicing gratitude involves intentionally focusing on the positive aspects of life, no matter how small or inconsequential they may seem, such as how great the sunshine feels on your face or how good the first sip of a cup of coffee tastes.
When we take the time to appreciate the good things in our lives, we begin to shift our mindset away from negativity and deficiency and toward abundance and appreciation. Expressing gratitude can contribute to positive emotions and reinforce feelings of connection and contentment while offering alternative perspectives on less-than-ideal preservation stances [1,5].
Benefits of Gratitude
Gratitude can boost your mood and increase your overall life satisfaction. By acknowledging the good, you can create a counterbalance to negative emotions, helping to create a more optimistic outlook on life. When you regularly practice gratitude you can lower levels of stress and anxiety and create greater resilience in the face of adversity.
Practicing gratitude can also benefit your physical health by lowering your blood pressure, improving sleep, strengthening your immune system, and relieving aches and pains. Additionally, individuals who adopt a gratitude practice are more likely to engage in behaviors that promote wellness, such as regular exercise and healthy eating [5,6]. This mind-body connection further illustrates how taking care of the mind through gratitude can have far-reaching positive effects on the body and overall health [1].
How to Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude can include journaling about the people and life circumstances you’re grateful for, writing thank-you notes to loved ones, or meditating while thinking about all the beauty, love, and support you have in your life.
No matter how you express gratitude, incorporating this practice into your daily routine can positively change your quality of life. For example, try setting daily reminders to note down something you’re grateful for. The reminders might come once or twice a day, every day. You can also make a gratitude list or jar and contribute to it daily. Additionally, it might be helpful to find a gratitude buddy to hold yourself accountable for the practice [5,6].
While you’re describing things you’re grateful for or writing in a gratitude journal, focus on the depth of your gratitude rather than the quantity of things you are grateful for. Diving deep into one topic will allow you to slow down and better remember all the reasons you feel grateful for a specific person or life circumstance. When practicing gratitude, remember to express gratitude not only for the people and circumstances in your life but also for yourself. If you can find reasons to be grateful for yourself, you will develop a deeper self-love and understanding and boost your self-esteem [1,6,7].
Related: Journal Prompts for Mental Health
Combining Mindfulness and Gratitude Practices
The transformative power of gratitude is often amplified when practiced in combination with mindfulness. Mindfulness allows you to become more aware of the present moment while gratitude encourages you to reflect on the beauty and goodness within that moment. Together, these practices create a profound sense of appreciation for life, which can enhance overall happiness and mental well-being [7,8].
Simple Application
The beauty of these practices lies in their accessibility, simplicity, and versatility. You do not need to dedicate hours of the day to benefit from mindfulness or gratitude. Simple practices, such as taking a few minutes each day to meditate or jotting down three things you are grateful for can make a significant difference [8].
Consistency and Perseverance
Consistency and perseverance is key, as the effects of mindfulness and gratitude might not be discernible immediately. However, as these practices become integrated into your daily routine, their cumulative effect becomes worthwhile. You may notice a shift not only in your mental health but also in your relationships, physical health, and overall outlook on life. In this way, mindfulness and gratitude serve as foundational practices for creating a balanced, harmonious, and fulfilling life.
Create Your Own Practice
Together, mindfulness and gratitude create a powerful weapon against mental health struggles. Both practices encourage self-compassion, resilience, and emotional well-being. By incorporating these practices into daily life, you can develop a greater sense of serenity, clarity, and emotional balance.
Whether you practice mindfulness and gratitude through meditation practices, basic breathing exercises, or daily gratitude journaling, these practices support you in taking on a more active role in your mental well-being. In a world that often feels chaotic, the combination of mindfulness and gratitude provides a pathway toward greater peace, resilience, and joy.
Mindfulness and Gratitude at Clear Behavioral Health
At Clear Behavioral Health, we understand that fostering mental health requires not only clinical and psychiatric approaches but also holistic methods. That’s why our treatment programs provide opportunities to practice mindfulness and gratitude, through practices such as yoga and meditation, creating a space for you to nourish your mind and body.
Comprehensive Clinical Care
In our virtual, outpatient, and residential treatment programs, our psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical therapists are trained to guide you through holistic wellness practices, including mindfulness and gratitude. No matter which program you engage in, we will provide breathing exercises and meditation opportunities to help induce a sense of being fully present and attuned to the beauty in your life.
Holistic Therapy at Clear
Our outpatient and residential treatments also offer yoga and sound baths to help you relax and become aware of any physical sensations you’re experiencing. Yoga and sound baths have been proven to induce feelings of calmness and regulate your nervous system, which contributes to your overall mental well-being [4,8].
Our residential treatment facilities also provide exercise equipment so that as you improve your mental wellness, you can foster your physical well-being. You will go on daily walks to enhance your cardiovascular strength and clear your mind by moving your body.
Reaching Your Mental Health Goals
No matter what your mental health goals might be, we are here to support you. Understanding the importance of holistic treatments, we prioritize your total mind-body wellness throughout all our treatments.
If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health issues or substance abuse, contact Clear Behavioral Health to learn more about our treatment programs. We offer a full continuum of care for mental health and substance use disorders starting with residential mental health treatment as well as medical detox and drug and alcohol rehab. The next level of care is outpatient mental health treatment for adults and IOP for teens and outpatient addiction treatment. Finally, we have a virtual IOP program offering mental health treatment throughout California.
We offer our programs in Los Angeles, CA, and the surrounding areas, including Pasadena, CA, El Segundo, CA, and Van Nuys, CA. Don’t wait to get the support you need, your mental health goals are within reach and help is only a call or click away.
References
- Can mindfulness exercises help me? (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness-exercises/art-20046356
- Mindfulness. (n.d.). https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/mindfulness
- Ba, M. R. C. (2024, September 19). The neuroscience of gratitude and effects on the brain. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/
- Clinic, C. (2024, October 10). What is a sound bath? Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sound-bath
- Harvard Health. (2021, August 14). Giving thanks can make you happier. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
- Greater Good Science Center. (May 2018). “The Science of Gratitude.” https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/GGSC-JTF_White_Paper-Gratitude-FINAL.pdf
- Neuro Wellness Spa, “A Guide to Gratitude.” (November 2024) https://neurowellnessspa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/November-Gratitude-Guide-2.pdf
- Mind and body approaches for stress. (n.d.). NCCIH. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/mind-and-body-approaches-for-stress
