Coaching Illness and Gratitude 

Top 10 Benefits

Comparing unfavourably to others is something many of us can be guilty of even at the best of times. During times of illness and adversity, we may be even more susceptible to those types of thoughts. More than that, we can constantly use our idea of where our life should be as a barometer to measure our current circumstances.  

Thinking that the glass is half empty due to ill health, disrupted careers, fractured social lives, and abandoned pursuits can lead us to feel like disempowered victims of circumstance. Feelings of despair are an inevitable by-product of this type of mindset. 

 Have you ever had those thoughts? 

 Through research and personal experience, we have discovered that finding the aspects of life to be grateful for is an extremely empowering exercise. There are multiple ways of doing this:

Daily Gratitude Exercises to boost your positivity

Gratitude Journal.

Writing your thoughts down in writing helps you accept your own experiences and put them in context. This allows you to see the meaning of events going on around you and create meaning in your own life, which is essential when coping with the changes involved with chronic illness. 

List 3 good things which happen to you each day. 

Think about a conversation with a friend, a book you have read or something new you have learnt. Go for depth over breadth, elaborating in detail about a particular event for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many items.

Identify the qualities you like in other people.

Reflect upon their intelligence, confidence, or kindness. Doing so has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.

Look to find the lessons you have learned in challenging situations. 

We adapt to positive events quickly, especially if we constantly focus on them. 

Whatever your preferred method may be, it only takes a minimal investment of several minutes a day, but the benefits can be significant and include the following:  

1)   Improved Outlook or Seeing the Glass Half Full

Having gratitude will help you realise that your life is still filled with positive features, refocusing some of your attention away from your poor health and physical restrictions. 

2)   Limit all or nothing Thinking 

Understanding that your life is a mixture of both positive and negative aspects will move you away from all or nothing thinking which may catastrophize your illness condition. 

3)   Reduce Depression

Focusing on the positive aspects of life you are grateful for can enable you to see that not everything is hopeless, thus alleviating feelings of depression. 

4)   Resilience and Coping

Realising that there are still some positives in your life will help you cope better when inevitable setbacks in life do occur, making you more resilient.  

5)   Boost Self-Esteem  

Seeing that your life still contains many things you can be thankful for, will help you scale back some of the negative comparisons you may make between yourself and people who you perceive as being more fortunate than you. 

6)   Increase Optimism

Identifying what is positive in the here and now may help cultivate a belief that more good things can happen in the future. For example, your health might improve, or you may regain some strength and energy.          

          7)   Proactive vs Reactive

The knowledge that other good things are still possible may motivate you to actively pursue them. For example, engaging in patient education or walking every day. 

8)   Better Physical Health

Feeling more optimistic and proactive has been linked to increases in energy as well as overall improvements in physical health.

9)   Improved Relationships

Becoming more grateful can help avoid feelings of bitterness, which may cause you to be vitriolic to those around you. As you become an easier person to get along with, more people will be drawn to you and provide further support. 

10)        Reduces Material Needs

Once you realise that your life is already filled with abundance, you become less dependent on seeking material possession to fill an emotional void. This will also provide you with financial benefits, as it will save you money in the long run.