If you are unhappy with your life, or you feel things are not going well for you, it is easy to slip into despair. This can lead to depression, anxiety and a very negative attitude to life. All these are things to be avoided, or life will indeed become a lot worse.
One simple technique is to start a "Gratitude Journal". To do this you only need to buy an inexpensive notebook, or use Notepad on your computer, to keep a daily journal.
At the end of each day you must try to write five or more positive things that made you feel good during the day. These can include the smallest events, like seeing a child smile, or your dog's enthusiastic welcome when you got home. Maybe the sun came out from behind the clouds or you ate something nice. It could be something you enjoyed doing, like reading a good book or watching a film. Every day you should try to find as many of these small moments as you can to write about.
If you really cannot think of anything positive, think of any negative things that happened and write those down instead, but you must say why those moments had a bad affect on you. Maybe you had an argument or you lost something. Whatever put you in a bad mood, write about it and try to explain why you reacted as you did. This may not seem a very positive thing to do but by thinking of why you feel bad can make you see that you have over-reacted, or are angry about something trivial, and it was not really worth getting upset.
Read what you have written each day and think about it. You should start to find more positive things to write down and fewer negative ones. You may start to find yourself noticing more pleasant things every day and fewer bad moments. Your journal writing should soon become a good habit and a pleasant daily task, as you begin to notice the positive side of life more and have less of a negative attitude.
