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This Holiday season...... Take An Attitude Of Gratitude Attitude -- your perception of and beliefs about events, situations and people -- can increase stress and negatively impact your physical and emotional well-being. Changing your perceptions about and reactions to stress-causing events and people in your life may, in turn, positively impact your health and well-being. Getting Started To help you get started, the Better Health & Medical Forum and disABILITIES Forum (keyword: HEALTH or DISABILITIES) offers the following tips and strategies: 1. Make a list of all of the people & things in your life for which you are grateful. Consider: -- People (such as parents, friends, spouses, teachers, acquaintances, former significant others, people who have died, etc.) that you know or have known. -- "Possessions" (such as gifts, jobs, houses, apartments, personal income, automobiles, computers, etc.) that you have or have had. -- Events (such as birthdays, vacations, job accomplishments, educational achievements, parties, reunions, etc.) that you have experienced. -- Opportunities for personal growth and development (such as relationships, sharing, learning from others, helping others, etc.) that you have or have had. 2. Make a list of *why* you are grateful for each of the above and define ways in which you can identify more of those people or create more of those things in your life. 3. Identify ways in which you can acknowledge and show your gratitude. For example, send an e-mail, letter or card to: -- Your parents or grandparents. -- A current or old friend. -- A neighbor. -- A current or former teacher or professor. -- An organization, agency or store that has been particularly helpful to you or your family. 4. Increase your awareness of and gratitude for abilities and common events that are often taken for granted. For example: -- Notice the sunrises and sunsets, the faces of individuals, the colors of flowers and trees and the architecture of buildings. -- Listen to the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, the laughter of people, the sounds of automobiles, and the tone and pitch of your voice. -- Feel the ground on which you are standing or the chair on which you are sitting supporting you. Feel your muscles holding your body upright. -- Increase your awareness of your physical abilities, such as turning your head, reaching out to shake someone's hand, smiling, swallowing, standing or stooping. -- Notice how different air and water temperatures feel on your skin. Focus on the taste and smell of different foods. Notice the feel of wind, rain and snow. Thank Yourself, Too. Increasing your ability to thank yourself (or to allow others to show their gratitude toward you) is also important to your health and well-being. To begin developing an attitude of gratitude about yourself, try some of the following: 1. Increase your awareness of when you put yourself down (verbally or in your mind). When you catch yourself, stop the negative thought and re-frame it as a positive. 2. Assess if you are more critical of yourself than you are of others. If so, analyze why. Reframe your thoughts so that you view yourself in a more positive, forgiving light. 3. Give yourself credit and thank yourself for all of the nice things you do or have done for others. 4. When someone gives you praise or shows gratitude toward you, learn to say "thank you" and to *feel* the other's appreciation. If you have low self-esteem or feelings of low self-worth that you seem unable to influence on your own, you might want to consult a health professional for help. For more information about how to choose a health professional and how to make more informed decisions about factors that influence health and well-being, check out some of the articles in the Informed Decisions collection in the Better Health & Medical Forum. People Helping People The Better Health & Medical Forum and disABILITIES Forum are among the nation's most supportive, active communities of People Helping People. This Thanksgiving I would like to thank Glenna Tallman and dedicate this article in her memory. Many AOL members knew Glenna as GTallman or GlennaT. Glenna started and lovingly led the Living With Cancer mutual-support group in the Better Health & Medical Forum. Her spirit of giving and her attitude of gratitude was evidenced by everyone with whom she came in contact -- whether through the message boards, during live group meetings or in e-mails. Her presence online is missed by many, but her spirit of giving is remembered daily and continues to be embraced by our group facilitators and the active, supportive community found in the Better Health & Medical Forum and disABILITIES Forum. Wishing all of you and the people close to you, a very happy, safe and healthy Thanksgiving. For Better Health, Elin Silveous Host Better Health & Medical Forum disABILITIES Forum Copyright 1994 Health ResponseAbility Systems