Why this woman is grateful for the accident that paralysed her

“I started to realise you can either let something ruin your life, or make it better. From there, I began focusing on what I had, rather than what I’d lost.”

The power of gratitude

Gratitude is strongly linked to greater happiness, with research showing it can improve emotional and social wellbeing, sleep quality, depression risk, heart health, and even longevity.

“Gratitude isn’t just a buzzword slapped on a throw pillow,” life coach and CBT practitioner Loz Antonenko says. “It’s a science-backed mindset shift that transforms how we handle stress, build resilience, and create meaningful change.”

Antonenko, author of Get the F*ck Unstuck, says learning to understand gratitude helped her to process the suicide of her first husband nine years ago, and it’s something she now draws on regularly in her work and life.

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“Gratitude is one of the most underestimated tools I use with clients to rewire negative thought patterns and improve emotional regulation,” she says. “It’s not about ignoring hardship – it’s about training your brain to acknowledge the full spectrum of life, not just the chaos.”

Counsellor Lukas Winward, who works with both teens and adults, encourages gratitude strategies to help them find clarity amid the noise and busyness of life. “Gratitude is very grounding, it brings you right into the moment, and helps you focus on what’s really important in your life.”

He believes anyone can benefit from practicing gratitude – from those struggling with depression or anxiety, to people stuck with sadness from the past or feeling fearful about the future. For those who are already naturally optimistic, gratitude can act like a superpower.

How to practice meaningful gratitude

“Gratitude works because it’s trainable,” Antonenko says. “With just a few minutes a day, we can shift physiology, regulate emotion, and improve focus.”

Copas says expressing genuine appreciation takes presence, sincerity, and an understanding of what works for you. “The whole intention is to create a feeling and experience of gratitude.”

To weave gratitude into everyday life, try the following:

• Mantras: Speaking gratitude out loud reinforces the message by sending it from your thoughts, through your voice, and back into your mind.“You’re telling yourself what you’re feeling, and choosing what you’re going to focus on,” Winward says.
• Say ‘thank you’ – and mean it: Copas says giving thanks and saying it with meaning, is not just polite, it also activates feel-good vibes within ourselves. “It shifts the energy in our body.”
• Create a ‘gratitude attitude’: Antonenko recommends arming yourself with tools that reinforce positive thinking and expand your understanding of yourself.
• Journaling: Writing down what you’re grateful for in the moment can boost mental wellbeing by encouraging reflection on positive experiences and shifting your focus to what’s going well. “Two or three bullet points are enough to help you concentrate on what’s important and lean into the positive instead of the negative,” Winward says.
• Start a ‘mojo jar’ ritual: Write down daily wins and grateful moments and pop them in a jar, suggests Antonenko. “This visual accumulation helps reframe progress and foster self-efficacy.”
• Take a ‘grati’ walk: This simple practice combines mindful presence with mood-boosting movement and the benefits of being outdoors in nature, Antonenko says. “It’s backed by studies showing gratitude combined with nature equals a potent dopamine boost”.

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