Does Stress Mask Gratitude?

Since the purpose of starting this blog was to cultivate gratitude, and I am someone who often feels stressed, I’ve started to wonder…does stress hinder my ability to feel grateful? If I feel more stressed, does that mean I’m less grateful? I believe the answer is “no,” but I wanted to dig a little deeper.

To start, I searched in Google: “What is Stress?”

Google’s definition: Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. … Even positive life changes such as a promotion, a mortgage, or the birth of a child produce stress.

Every day we all carry a certain level of stress with us, whether we realize it or not. For some it’s more evident than others. Some stress is considered “ok” or arguably “good”, but most of it isn’t. Studies show that it’s not healthy to dwell in a stressful state. Stress may temporarily cloud your mindset and breed negativity if you are challenged to find perspective. Yet, some people thrive in stressful situations while others find it crippling.

Why Ask the Question?

Late last year, I experienced what I have claimed as my most negatively stressful day to date. This is not to be confused with the saddest, the angriest, the most fearful, or the most worrisome day – because those particular descriptions can be assigned to other events or other days in my life. I’m referring to pure, but overwhelming stress. The “under an extreme deadline/not going to make it happen” type of stress. A series of unfortunate events all occurred within one, short 24-hour period. In an effort to not derail, I won’t share the details of the day, but rather the feelings that surfaced. The stress was all-encompassing as it affected both personal and professional aspects of my life. I was worried, scared, angry, disgusted, helpless, rushed, exhausted and above all else – out of time. As an attempt to calm down, I had to focus on reasons to be grateful.

Grateful that the situation wasn’t worse

Grateful that I had help and support of others

Grateful that I had understanding from someone who had shared a similar experience

Grateful that there was a solution

Grateful that I had perspective to deal with the challenge and eventually overcome it

As I started to focus on these reasons, I was able to gain focus on many other things for which to be grateful. As I did that, the stress started to slowly dissolve. I’m still grateful for this day because it’s gotten me through the many stressful moments, days and weeks that arrived in 2020.

The Reality and The Reminder

I know that I can’t just think positive and everything will instantly work itself out. Also, I’m not the type of person who can be in the middle of a negative situation and just instantly change my mindset with the click of a finger. Sometimes, it requires time and space to get a better handle on perspective. Each day, I am actively working to cultivate gratitude. I’ve heard many times that the more grateful you are, the more easily the gratitude flows. And then it’s more easily found in the challenging times when you need it.

I’ve mentioned before that I started this “Glass Half Full” blog as a personal journey. I don’t claim to be an expert on how to obtain a positive mindset. I’m putting in the work and sharing if there are things that have worked for me. This is not a “one size fits all” experience. It’s trial and error with a goal to successfully grow.

Also, I don’t think you have to endure some traumatic experience to initiate positive changes in your life. The little challenges and steps you take to address them can still propel you forward. I don’t consider it to be a race because the finish line is not something I’m aiming for. I want to continue to learn, evolve, improve – to live and love better – and therefore make the journey that much more fulfilling.

I’m still going to have challenging moments. I’m going to forget to follow my own advice. But I’m not going to stress about that. I’m going to continue to do the work anyway. This year has certainly provided plenty of opportunities to work on that. And perhaps for that, I should be grateful.