Gratitude Practice: Tools to Support Joy and Emotional Resilience
Jessie Egedal
Video
8 min
This video explores how a gratitude practice can support emotional wellbeing and resilience during difficult periods. It shares simple tools for cultivating gratitude and joy, helping create moments of balance and emotional steadiness over time.
Periods of prolonged challenge can gradually narrow how we experience the world. When life becomes dominated by uncertainty, disappointment, or emotional strain, it is easy for the mind to focus almost exclusively on what feels missing or unresolved. Over time, this can increase stress, isolation, and emotional exhaustion.
Gratitude and joy are often misunderstood during difficult periods. They are not about ignoring pain, forcing positivity, or pretending that everything is fine. Instead, they offer a way to gently widen perspective, allowing space for moments of light to exist alongside hardship. Even small moments of appreciation can interrupt cycles of stress and emotional fatigue.
Quick Answer: A gratitude practice involves intentionally focusing on positive moments, experiences, and connections, even during difficult times. Practicing gratitude can support emotional wellbeing by reducing stress, strengthening resilience, and helping shift attention away from constant worry. When combined with simple tools such as journaling, mindfulness, self-care, and shared appreciation, gratitude can help foster moments of joy and emotional balance.
What Is a Gratitude Practice?
A gratitude practice is the intentional act of noticing and appreciating positive aspects of life, regardless of how small they may seem. It involves consciously shifting attention toward moments of comfort, connection, or meaning, even when circumstances are difficult.
Gratitude does not deny struggle. It simply acknowledges that more than one emotional experience can exist at the same time. Someone can feel grief, frustration, or fear while also recognising moments of kindness, warmth, or relief.
This practice can be especially valuable during periods when life feels dominated by uncertainty or emotional strain.
Why Gratitude Matters During Challenging Times
During prolonged stress, the mind naturally becomes alert to threat, loss, and disappointment. This response is protective, but when it persists, it can increase anxiety, sadness, and emotional burnout.
Practicing gratitude helps rebalance attention. By intentionally noticing positive experiences, the mind begins to recognise that safety, support, and meaning still exist. Over time, this shift can reduce emotional intensity and create a greater sense of stability.
Gratitude can help:
- Reduce feelings of stress and anxiety
- Ease emotional overwhelm
- Support a more balanced mental state
- Improve overall emotional wellbeing
These benefits are especially meaningful during periods where emotional resources feel stretched.
Gratitude and Emotional Wellbeing
Gratitude has a direct impact on emotional wellbeing. When gratitude is experienced, the body releases chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin, which are associated with feelings of calm, contentment, and emotional balance.
This does not mean gratitude eliminates distress. Instead, it helps soften emotional responses, making stress easier to tolerate and manage. Over time, gratitude can contribute to a more regulated emotional state.
Regular gratitude practice may support:
- Improved mood stability
- Greater emotional resilience
- Increased feelings of connection
- Reduced emotional reactivity
These effects build gradually through consistent practice rather than immediate results.
How Gratitude Supports Mental Resilience
Mental resilience refers to the ability to recover from emotional difficulty and continue moving forward. Gratitude strengthens resilience by reminding the mind that positive experiences still exist, even during hardship.
When gratitude is practiced regularly, it trains the mind to notice resources rather than focusing exclusively on perceived losses. This does not remove pain, but it can prevent emotional collapse when challenges arise.
Resilience grows when people learn they can hold multiple emotions at once without becoming overwhelmed by any single one.
The Role of Joy During Difficult Journeys
Joy is often misunderstood as something that only belongs in easy or successful periods of life. In reality, joy can exist in small, quiet moments even when circumstances remain unresolved.
Joy does not require perfection or certainty. It often emerges through connection, self-recognition, or moments of meaning.
Examples of everyday joy may include:
- Feeling supported by someone who cares
- Noticing personal strength during adversity
- Experiencing calm during a brief pause
- Recognising progress, even when outcomes remain uncertain
These moments help maintain hope and motivation during long or emotionally demanding processes.
Finding Joy in Small Moments
Joy does not have to be dramatic or life-changing. Small, ordinary experiences often provide the most accessible sources of relief and emotional grounding.
Examples include:
- Enjoying a warm drink
- Sitting quietly in natural light
- Noticing fresh air during a walk
- Allowing yourself to rest without guilt
These moments matter because they reconnect the nervous system with safety and presence.
Tools for Practicing Gratitude Daily
Gratitude becomes most effective when it is woven into daily life through simple, repeatable practices. These tools do not need to take much time or effort.
Gratitude Journaling
Writing down moments of gratitude is one of the most accessible ways to practice appreciation. This often involves noting a small number of things each day that brought comfort, relief, or positivity.
These might include:
- A supportive conversation
- A pleasant sensory experience
- A moment of calm or clarity
Over time, journaling helps retrain attention toward noticing positive experiences more naturally.
Mindfulness and Presence
Mindfulness supports gratitude by encouraging presence in the current moment. When attention shifts away from constant worry or anticipation, it becomes easier to recognise small joys that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Mindfulness can include:
- Noticing your surroundings
- Paying attention to physical sensations
- Allowing thoughts to pass without judgment
This presence creates space for gratitude to emerge naturally.
Self-Care as a Form of Gratitude
Self-care can be an expression of gratitude toward your body and emotional needs. It acknowledges that rest, comfort, and nourishment are worthy, even during difficult times.
Examples of self-care include:
- Taking a bath
- Reading a book
- Spending time outdoors
- Allowing yourself to slow down
These actions support emotional recovery and reinforce self-compassion.
Sharing Gratitude With Others
Expressing appreciation toward others strengthens relationships and creates emotional connection. During challenging periods, this sense of togetherness can reduce feelings of isolation.
Sharing gratitude might involve:
- Acknowledging small acts of support
- Expressing appreciation to a partner or friend
- Reflecting together on meaningful moments
These shared experiences reinforce emotional safety and mutual understanding.
Holding Onto Future Hopes
Gratitude and joy are not limited to the present moment. They can also involve gently holding onto future hopes and dreams.
Visualising positive possibilities can help maintain motivation and meaning, regardless of uncertainty. This practice focuses on intention rather than outcome and supports emotional continuity.
Building Emotional Strength Over Time
Gratitude and joy are not one-time fixes. Their impact grows through repetition and patience. On difficult days, gratitude may feel limited or subtle. On easier days, it may feel more accessible.
Both experiences are valid. Emotional strength develops through consistency, not perfection.
Allowing gratitude to exist without pressure helps it become a sustainable source of support rather than another expectation to meet.
Gratitude as a Gentle Shift, Not a Demand
Gratitude should never feel like an obligation. It is not meant to replace grief, frustration, or sadness. Instead, it gently broadens emotional experience, allowing space for multiple truths to coexist.
By practicing gratitude without judgment, it becomes possible to find moments of steadiness even during deeply challenging times.
Final Thoughts
A gratitude practice offers practical tools for supporting emotional wellbeing and resilience. By consciously acknowledging positive experiences, nurturing small moments of joy, and strengthening emotional connections, gratitude can help reduce stress and restore balance.
Gratitude does not erase difficulty, but it can help soften its impact. Over time, this practice supports a more compassionate and sustainable emotional approach, allowing both struggle and hope to exist together.
