So yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the U.S. This last year (really the last 2 years) have been really bad for me, so I’m having a hard time feeling thankful/grateful about anything. Does anyone else on this site feel the same way? Also, how do any of you find things to be grateful for? I appreciate any and all suggestions.
share your suicide story
Report Post
Please log in to report posts
14 comments
Be thankful that you’ve made it this long while you’re living with depression everyday you survive is something to be grateful for its hard living with sadness
Well said Deadinside59. I just wish I could figure out what to do with these extra days I’ve been given since my last serious suicide attempt to accomplish something useful.
I close my eyes. I pretend I live in Darfur. I pretend very hard. Then I open my eyes. Most everything becomes magical.
It doesn’t work all the time. Two months ago I was very close to killing myself. I tried to pretend I lived in Darfur but my depression and pain were all consuming.
Why do you need to feel grateful? Is it because it is Thanksgiving and we all feel the need to find things to be grateful for?
Some days I wake up and I don’t feel so grateful for she shitheap of crap that was unloaded on me that week. There have been weeks and weeks where I wasn’t particularly grateful for the clusterfuck my life had become.
So here is my question, do you have to feel grateful? And if not, is not being grateful going to allow you to move forward in your life in a way that will help you build the kind of happiness that will stop you from killing yourself?
I get what you’re saying Hazy Day. I don’t need society telling me I need to feel thankful because it’s a particular day. It’s just everything I read in the bible and have heard at AA tells me that gratefulness on a daily basis is the key to moving forward from sadness to happiness. And I HAVE experienced times when appreciating what I have instead of bemoaning what I don’t makes me feel better. I just have a REALLY hard time doing this on any kind of a regular basis. Usually the sadness just consumes me. Thanks for your reply Hazy Day.
@just: Like anything else, it takes practice. I was unbelievably negative at one point in my life.
Take a look at very simple things. For example, from the window I see that the sun appears very pretty in a misty dress of clouds. In no time, you could put up all your fingers. Maybe even your toes.
Misty dress of clouds. Very nice visual.
I do agree whole-heartedly Tick, it’s the simple things that bring me the most pleasure. I like when I wake up this time of year and see the sunshine. It’s usually so cloudy and dreary this time of year. Thanks.
I sometimes ask myself: “What three things am I grateful for today?”
1) I got stuff done this morning.
2) Cute chick smiled to me at work.
3) It’s Friday.
I’ll give it a try muspelhem. Thanks.
No problem. *hug*
For me the easiest things to be thankful for are the smallest things, like feeling my breath, the noises I can hear. It’s easier just to focus on them being there to begin with. And I try to practice being grateful for people I know, or feeling love for others. That’s one thing the depression destroys to a large degree, and being able to feel like that at all is something to be grateful for. I don’t feel grateful for anything right now, but it does help when I can feel grateful. I think when you’re severely depressed it can be a bit of a push though – it’s almost like being asked to be find something that makes you happy. Focusing on the better things, things you *would* be grateful for, can help a lot, but actually trying to feel grateful can be a stretch.
Thanks Trix for your response. I agree with you the easiest things to be thankful for are the small things. Yeah, you’re right – it’s hard to love others when the depression won’t allow me to even like myself. Maybe I’ll take your advice to think about what I “would” be grateful for to try to develop some goals for myself.