5 Gratitude Journal Prompts for Cancer Survivors
It’s November. Think turkey, family, togetherness, and Thanksgiving. That one big day a year that we are supposed to feel oh so thankful. But what if we aren’t feeling that warm, cozy, life is good feeling? Maybe we can’t be with our family. Maybe we just still aren’t feeling all that great. Maybe we’re feeling guilty because we are cancer free but instead of feeling gratitude, we are thinking about the things that we lost from having cancer. What do we do if this November we just aren’t feeling it?
Research has shown that gratitude may decrease anxiety and depression and may increase well-being and relieve stress. Now a whole gratitude practice, over time, can help us track our growth, gain perspective, and increase our state of well-being. But you can’t just force gratitude. It must be genuine to really give us that feel good feeling. And if you want to start in November with a gratitude practice, well if you’re not feeling it, that’s going to be a tough one to reach. Journaling can also help reduce stress and anxiety, increase health and well-being and help us process emotions. So maybe if we just aren’t feeling those warm and fuzzy thankful feelings maybe a little consistent journaling about gratitude can help get us in the mood. Here are five journaling prompts to try.
Describe something that you now see beauty in that you did not before you had cancer.
Describe how a relationship strengthened after your cancer diagnosis.
Remember an act of kindness that was bestowed upon you during your cancer journey.
What is one thing besides your health that you took for granted before your diagnosis that you now treasure.
What bad habit did you have that you had to let go of because of your cancer.
Now which of these prompts made you remember something that you forgot or put a smile on your face? Let’s take this one step further. Because it’s not only feeling those feelings of gratitude that helps relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety, but it’s also in the act of doing for others, acts of service that can increase our sense of well-being.
This November, the month of Thanksgiving, and the month that includes World Kindness Day, let’s pay it forward. Here are five ways to try.
Send a note of thanks to your oncologist, nurse practitioner, nurse, or treatment team.
Bake something for a neighbor.
Call or text a friend or family member and tell them you love them, or just tell them you’re thinking of them. Out of the blue. No other explanation.
Text or call that person who you now have a stronger relationship with and let them know that you are so grateful for how your relationship grew and got stronger during your cancer journey.
Thank that person that did something kind for you during your treatment and let them know, however long ago it was, that you remember and that it meant a lot to you then and now.
Which one will you do?